RE: Reproduction Updates.

        So what's the general process for getting this done? Scan,
> painstakingly convert to Illustrator by tracing the scan, generate an
> output file, go to silkscreen shop, and then pay $x to print the
> silkscreen?
>
The MultiPac marquees I did were "original" in as much as all the
artwork originated in Illustrator. A friend works for the
silk-screening company, so he did all the pre-production work for free
(well, it cost me a MultiPac) and did all the camera ready art and
screens so I didn't have to pay for that.

If I were to do it, I'd probably just scan an original and then import
the bitmap into Illustrator and start tracing. There are some 3rd party
tools that would probably do a lot of the work for you. (Extensis makes
that kind of s/w.) You select the colors from some kind of "standard"
color descriptor (Pantone seems common) and depending on the
service-level of the place to produce the artwork then either send the
image as-is, or possible make the separations yourself. I think most
places prefer to do the separations there though 'cause they know their
equipment and have a "recipe" for good results. (Screen density, angle,
all that printing stuff.)

For the Marquees-- the silk-screens were a permanent deal. T-shirt
places and whatnot will often use soluable screen material so then can
re-use the bare screens on multiple jobs. (For "home" use you can buy
bare screens, treat them with a photo-sensitive "mask" agent, expose
them to the screen design, and then "wash away" the exposed area leaving
you with a screen.)

> I'm not sure of the practicality of printing the Tempest artwork onto
> a
> piece of cardboard ala Ms. Pac-Man, but it might be work if it were
> printed onto a piece of clear, non adhesive, plastic.
>
We did/do a whole bunch of kinda neat things for tradeshows... One that
worked well was having designs printed onto sheet styrene. Durable, and
it looked pretty good. We also printed HUGE bitmaps onto thin plastic
(like for an overhead transparency) for displays called "Duratrans".
The printing process there was rather fragile-- finger prints would
erode it-- but we'd tape them to the back of 1/8" plexiglass and put
them up in front of flourescent (sp?) tubes and get a really amazing
back-lit effect just like a marquee. I put a picture of one up at:

http://www.multigame.com/supra_b.jpg

This is from a OneBBScon show at some point. I'm on the far left with
the speaker-ribbon... The big sign in the center (4'x8') is a backlit
duratran, as are the curved ones on the two end "pods". The giant modem
in the center is printed on 3/8" thick white plastic. It probably would
have killed anyone it fell on. We secured it to the display with
something really durable like scotch-tape... ;-)

> Is lexan a clear plastic? Also, is a 'die cut' when they cut these
> things to some shape you define?
>
Lexan can be clear, or frosted/textured. It comes in different
thichnesses and types too...

A die cut is a fixed cut made on the piece (like for fire buttons,
joysticks, etc.). The die are custom made (kinda like a giant
paper-punch) and require custom tooling which can be expensive--
particularly on small runs.

-Clay
Received on Fri Mar 19 18:36:37 1999