We do trapping the old-fashioned way (Well, not the old, old way). Our artists avoid using automated trapping software and instead rely on manual methods. Trapping software has come a long way but it still can’t beat a warm blooded artist’s attention to detail. Due to the error prone nature of automated software and the time and energy necessary to catch and correct mistakes our artists can complete a job as fast or faster and with a higher quality trap.
We offer a full range of graphics and pre-press services from simple typesetting, step and repeat, distortion, and barcode generation, to advanced services such as trapping, separation and process color correction, and proofing.
Trapping
We do trapping the old-fashioned way (Well, not the old, old way). Our artists avoid using automated trapping software and instead rely on manual methods. Trapping software has come a long way but it still can’t beat a warm blooded artist’s attention to detail. Due to the error prone nature of automated software and the time and energy necessary to catch and correct mistakes our artists can complete a job as fast or faster and with a higher quality trap. See what we mean by clicking on the image of the trapped bird and play with it on our virtual press.
Color
We take an artful approach to separation and color correction to minimize press setup time and maximize color repeatability. We call it color deletions. CMYK is more complex than the RGB world that our eyes see. CMYK can be mixed in different ways to get nearly the same color. That may sound like a good thing but in reality it can cause a lot of problems on press. If you don’t use the proper CMYK mixture you can introduce a lot of color variation from label to label and run to run. Green hues in an image should not use magenta ink. The same goes for cyan ink in reds and yellow ink in blues. We remove these unwanted inks and replace them with an appropriate amount of black when necessary. The result is more vibrant colors, a reduction in press setup time and better color matching between labels and press runs.
Proofing
Predicting what’s going to happen on press is a bit of a dark art. Our “Blackmagic” proofs conjure a pretty good glimpse into the future. They’ll let you see the interactions of all traps, controlled process and Pantone colors, and even the dot-for-dot screened images that will match the final plates to a T. If you want to view every ink, our digital color keys will let you pull apart your proof layer by layer.
Convenience
We accept orders by phone, email, fax or even carrier pigeon if necessary, but none is more simple than through our Online Order Center. Registered users are quickly guided through the necessary steps of uploading art files and providing pertinent information for their order. And it’s all done through our website — no convoluted FTP or faxed purchase order necessary. Whether you send us virgin art files straight from the designer or plate-ready files all set for engraving, you’ll love this convenience.
