# Plastisols Faded Look, Not Just Distressed (Examples Posted Inside)



## Slinky3 (Nov 12, 2012)

Ok I was wondering how you obtain the FADED look in the attached pics.


I am NOT talking about DISTRESSING in the way of removing tiny bits and pieces of that artwork and laying a pattern down over the artwork, etc... but the actual fading looking part

My printer wants everything to be vector and in .ai format.

I know how to make things look distressed vector-wise...I actually have some vector overlay distressed type of patterns that I lay over the artwork.

BUT i can not seem to figure out how to get the artwork to look faded, how the attached pics look and to keep it vector and in the .ai format.

Any ideas? How do you do it? Or is it just a extremely distressed pattern laid over it? Please help.

Thanks


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## rhilferding (Jun 18, 2010)

I think what you are seeing is a distressed print with an unusual ink color. Want faded black? Use a grey. Want white that looks faded on red, use a pinkish ink. Less ink, of a softer color, will look faded.


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## termn8her (Nov 16, 2012)

These may also be discharge imprints.


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## geniussuineg (Sep 21, 2010)

Also, use high mesh and reduced inks.


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## LCE (Jan 18, 2007)

Agree with geniussuineg. One pass.


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## Slinky3 (Nov 12, 2012)

I don't know anything about the inks or screens, i am sending it out to get it done.

My printer said that i should be able to create the effect with software.

Also my printer said i can send them files in either .ai or .pdf

I am just trying to do a one color design that is distressed and faded..... I was able to get the distressed part done and do it all in illustrator and all vector.

Is there a way to get the faded part done with just software (illustrator, photoshop) and only use just one color?

thanks


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Those are direct prints not transfers.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using T-Shirt Forums


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## Preston (Mar 21, 2006)

Slinky3 said:


> I was able to get the distressed part done and do it all in illustrator and all vector.
> 
> Is there a way to get the faded part done with just software (illustrator, photoshop) and only use just one color?
> 
> thanks



Gradient fills. Your printer should know that.


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## Slinky3 (Nov 12, 2012)

wormil said:


> Those are direct prints not transfers.
> 
> Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using T-Shirt Forums


I thought plastisols can get you extremely close though?


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## Slinky3 (Nov 12, 2012)

Preston said:


> Gradient fills. Your printer should know that.


Doesnt gradient fills use a bunch of colors though? Anyway to do this with one color?


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## 20vK (Jul 9, 2011)

Transparency menas you print the ink with dots - In basic terms the more transparent, the bigger the space between the dots. So on a white shirt you can make a grey colour effect by acutally using black ink dots. Your eye will average out the white shirt and the black dots to give you an overall grey.

A gradient is simply an area using a variable transparency setting. eg - black is 100% and white is 0%. To go from black to white, you have to go through all the percentages inbetween, which will give you various shades of grey.

Now, instead of black and no colour, you can also have a gradient of yellow and red - a 2 colour gradient. yellow on the left would be 100% yellow and 0% red and red on the right would be 100% red and 0% yellow. Inbetween you will get a mix of colours 50% and 50% using the dot technique mentioned before. You would see this as orange (yellow and red mixed up is orange) you would get a gradient of colours inbetween

The dots are known as halftones. Look at a black and white newspaper and you will see how they create greys and photographs from just black ink on white paper using halftones


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## Slinky3 (Nov 12, 2012)

20vK said:


> Transparency menas you print the ink with dots - In basic terms the more transparent, the bigger the space between the dots. So on a white shirt you can make a grey colour effect by acutally using black ink dots. Your eye will average out the white shirt and the black dots to give you an overall grey.
> 
> A gradient is simply an area using a variable transparency setting. eg - black is 100% and white is 0%. To go from black to white, you have to go through all the percentages inbetween, which will give you various shades of grey.
> 
> ...


Thanks for detail description of halftones, I am still trying to learn and use them. So for halftones you would need 2 colors? and the middle color is just a mixture of the 2 if I am understanding correctly?

So say the first shirt I posted (miller shirt), how would you create that using halftones?


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## Preston (Mar 21, 2006)

Slinky3 said:


> Doesnt gradient fills use a bunch of colors though? Anyway to do this with one color?



No, you can do this with one color. A gradient can be one color fading from 100% to 10% for example. 

Since you use Photoshop it is real simple. Just Spot Color Separate the art in Photoshop and then use the eraser tool with a soft edge and a low opacity number to fade out each color.


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## Slinky3 (Nov 12, 2012)

Preston said:


> No, you can do this with one color. A gradient can be one color fading from 100% to 10% for example.
> 
> Since you use Photoshop it is real simple. Just Spot Color Separate the art in Photoshop and then use the eraser tool with a soft edge and a low opacity number to fade out each color.


Is there a way to do this in illustrator?


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

Halftones via gradients in the artwork will get you close.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using T-Shirt Forums


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## mmonk (Oct 23, 2011)

Yes there is a way to do in AI. It involves using brushes i AI. I just watched a video from Ryonet on specialty printing doing tis very thing. do a search in the mean time in the design help forum.


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## Slinky3 (Nov 12, 2012)

I talked to someone earlier today about this.

He said a way I a might be able to get the faded look in Illustrator with one color is:

(I am using a couple distressed patterns)
He said to do this a couple of times:
-take the distressed pattern and change its opacity
-and then copy it
-and paste it down again, over the artwork and over the first distressed pattern too (you can rotate it some, scale it, etc)(by pasting it over the first distressed pattern it will then create different levels of opacity by being placed over each other again and again)

Then he said that I can make the distressed patterns any color I want (except the original one color of the artwork). 
Lets say the one color for the artwork is red.
And I made the distressed patterns all green.

Then tell the printer to just use the one color for the artwork (which is red) 

Finally when printed the green distressed patterns w/the different opacity will not show up...but you will just get different levels of opacity from the original red artwork causing somewhat of the faded look.

What do you think of this? Will this work? It sounds like a good idea, but I am still pretty nooby to this whole thing, please let me know what you think, thanks.


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