Use CorelDraw X5 to output film positives for screen printing. Over the past few weeks it seems that my films are not printing with the auto-spread, even though the settings say it is. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the program, and I'm printing test films with sets of blocks touching at the corners to see if auto-spread is printing. It would clearly overlap if it were printing correctly (set to a 3.5pt bleed to make sure!!!). The blocks are converted objects and have NO outline. Attached is a JPG showing no spread at the intersecting corners of the rectangles.
The computer is less than 6 months old (Win 7, 64bt). I have tried just about every thing I can think of to get it to print the auto-spread. My next option is the dreaded tech support phone call ($).
I thought I'd try the forums first. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks in advance.
Seems that you don't understand the auto-spread feature (trapping). A single object ou one color don't use auto-spread or trapping, because don't need it. If you want to test this feature, use a vector object (ie, a text or ellipse) with magenta fill, in the middle of a cyan rectangle. Altough you don't use an outline you will have a thin border around the text or ellips
I think what I meant to use was the "Fixed Width" setting. After going back and reading more help text that may be what I need to use. I used X4 which didn't have the "auto-spread" feature. I will run some more test with that feature as I want a consistent spread.
I also forgot to mention another issue. The Print Preview has discontinued working. I click PRINT PREVIEW from the file menu and the screen flashes quickly, then returns to the editing screen. I see the mini print preview window under PRINT dialog window, but the full screen preview flashes when clicked on print preview from either the File Menu or the Print dialog window. I believe this is also tied to the trap not working, as both used to.
Krucible said:With screen printing film positives, you only print one color on film (Black)
All color separations are always on black.But you need at least two or more overlapped objects with different colors for apply auto-spread
Krucible said: The rectangles in my example are vectors. The auto-spread should have shown up there.
No, both are rectangles of the same color without other object. There's no auto-spread needed or possible
this is a sample of auto-spread
I understand your example, but you are printing one color against another colored background, where I'm wanting to print one color on top of a White base, without the White color base below showing.
In X4 I was able to do this not only with Vectors but with embedded duo-tone/tri-tone/quad-tone Raster files as well. I would print one page that would only have what was going to print as a base coat. Then my next page has all the PMS colors, gradients fills or Duo-tone images. I would print those films with the Bleed, and they would have the .8 spread on all those films. Not working with X5, plus the Print Preview has become non functional.
Krucible said: I understand your example, but you are printing one color against another colored background, where I'm wanting to print one color on top of a White base, without the White color base below showing.
What you want is not possible. There's no auto-spread with a white background, only if you create a color separation you will se each color as black & white
Krucible said:In X4 I was able to do this not only with Vectors but with embedded duo-tone/tri-tone/quad-tone Raster files as well.
Sorry, but it's not possible to add auto-spread to a raster file. X4 can't do this
Attached is an example of a WHITE base that has to be printed. If you use "Corel 8 PMS White Trans CV", it will print the WHITE (shown here), as a Black silhouette on film. Below is how my artwork looks for a koozie. I only print the PMS White Trans CV color from the separations tab in the Print command window. No spread on the WHITE.
I have to print the White Base above, as the Red and Athletic Gold inks are somewhat transparent and will not show up well on a Black koozie/shirt/whatever.
On the next page I have my design which I want to print. No White shows, as it is not part of the design.
There are no White objects underneath this design either. I have not used overprint, as it's not needed.
When I print this page, I want both colors (Red and Athletic Gold) to spread so the White base, printed above, doesn't show.
This spread is what is not printing. Even if this design was only Red, I want the spread to cover the White base, so I would print the Red separation only. We do not print the Black. That represents the koozie.
Your example shows a Cyan background with a magenta foreground, which looks like you want both to print. I do not want the Black background to print. It represents the object that is being printing on (shirt, koozie, whatever).
As far as not being able to print a spread on a raster... Is that true with a duo-tone? See below for a job where the customer wants a sepia effect on a photo. This has a White base and a duo-tone of PMS Process Black and PMS 1215 (background and foreground). Next to the shirt sample are the production pages showing the White duo-tone photo (Corel 8 - PMS Trans White CV and PMS Process Black) with vectored text, one one page. and the Sepia version (PMS 1215) and Brown (PMS 160).
Are you saying that when I print out the separation for PMS1215 that a bleed would not be printed if the advanced settings were set for that?
Ya' know, I've been doing art/color seps for a long time.....long enough that I had to do it all manually with rubylith and an exacto knife when I first started
And in all the years I've been using Corel, I've never found a need to use auto spread for seps
Why don't you just add an outline or contour to your under base to choke it? Simple and easy
Why would you want to spread your overprint anyway? That's not going to result in a good print. You're going to compromise the image doing it that way.
With the koozie, adding an outline would work, as long as you convert any outlines in the White base to curves (so you can then apply the "choke" outline to them), but with the duo-tone, you cannot add an outline to choke the White base. In that respect, it's still a Raster image, no outlines will apply.
I need the spread to cover the White base, as the inks are too transparent on their own to print on dark colors.
ColorYourWorld said:And in all the years I've been using Corel, I've never found a need to use auto spread for seps
BINGO!!!
You know your stuff.
The auto-spread feature was made for offset printing, so by default is too thin for use with t-shits. It's almost invisible for you.
You can´t add an auto-spread to a raster image
Krucible, you've got to slow down. You're jumping from one thing to something completely different, confusing all the apples & oranges in the cart
Try to slowly reread all the good information Ariel is trying to explain to you.
If we're now talking about raster images, all guidelines have changed. You need to get off that apple cart and jump into the orange bandwagon.
First and foremost, if you want to make an underbase for a halftone raster image, there's no way, under the sun, that you should be attempting to use a solid underbase of any sort...................unless, of course, you're going for that 'bullet-proof' nasty, heavier than paint look.
The underbase for a raster image should look something like this............an inverted image of the original.
From there, you'll also need to adjust tone curves to compensate for dot gain on your press..........but if your screens are nice and tight, (which they need to be for this kind of work) there shouldn't be any reason this process shouldn't work just fine
Hope some of this information is helpful