# in accurip a requirement in screen printing?



## sunra1081 (Aug 8, 2009)

In screen printing do you have to use accurip? and or at what point in screen printing is it actually needed? exactly what is it. Please explain?


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## FullSpectrumSeps (Aug 2, 2012)

sunra1081 said:


> In screen printing do you have to use accurip?and or at what point in screen printing is it actually needed?exactly what is it. Please explain?



The short answer: NO.




sunra1081 said:


> In screen printing do you have to use accurip?


 No, you don't have to use it at all.



sunra1081 said:


> and or at what point in screen printing is it actually needed?


 It is not needed, but the process called "RIP" is needed - "Raster Image Process" which takes continuous-tone Greyscale information from each color-separation and converts this to halftone "black-only" dot-patterns which are for printing on film and exposing to the screens is a part of the process which is "needed" if you don't have a postscript-enabled printing device such as a laser printer which can convert the greyscale separations to halftones within it's own "RIP". 

This part of the screenprint (or many other forms of printing) process called "RIP" is performed after or along with the "Color separations", and it is "needed" when you are trying to take any greyscale image and prepare it for output to vellum or film... but there are many graphics programs available, even open-source and totally free, on the internet or for purchase online or in stores, such as GIMP for open-source, Adobe Photoshop or CorelDraw for purchased or subscription programs, which will have all the capability you need to create the color separations and the halftone RIP so your films are ready to simply print to any printer, laser, inkjet, or thermal, etc. 




sunra1081 said:


> exactly what is it. Please explain?


A separate RIP program like that is basically just taking the part from where the color-separations are done, or in vector programs built into spot-colors etc, and it converts to the black-only halftone patterns and these programs will also have some control over the printer-driver and device settings to try and make conversions which use the ink in the printer to make darker films, but not always the case such as with laser printers or thermal.

However, it is easily proven and repeatable that you can get as-good or better film output from performing your own RIP and picking the settings for the printer, ink and film output to get the darkest film, using the standard inks loaded in something like an Epson Artisan 1430 printer, and simply using software like GIMP or Adobe Photoshop or CorelDraw to produce your halftone conversions from the greyscale or color-separations, and using the regular Epson print driver to output the films with the CMYK inks and you can just make the black and white into levels of CMYK so it produces a darker film than just using the black ink.

The programs like Adobe Photoshop or CorelDraw or the open-source Free download GIMP, are amazing graphics manipulation programs in their own right, for producing artwork and the separations as well as many other things that are more or less related to screenprinting and graphic design, photography, etc.

Whereas programs like Accurip are only capable of the halftone conversion, with more limitations than the graphics programs have themselves already, and without any improvement in the quality of the RIP or inkjet film output you can get through the other programs. It is basically just a single function of the graphics applications (the halftone RIP conversion), combined with some more or less advanced methods of telling the printer what to do with the ink going on the film. 

You can get much better results without it at all, but it may be more or less technical knowledge and gaining experience with the other tools and techniques that one would need to learn or do, or deciding on what other software which have different features and learning curves may be what you want to go with. The tranforming of a smooth greyscale image into a halftone pattern for screenprint is not necessary if only producing "spot-color" designs, you can simply convert the colors to black for a particular film separation and output that, but having some sort of software or method to convert when you have gradients or blending, or photographic artwork for printing into the halftone dot-patterns like so the ink can be "stippled" when it prints and produce various tones from one ink screen.. this is "needed" - (beyond just going old-school with etched glass and camera-film-exposure systems).

There is a lot more to screenprinting than just the RIP, but it is critical that the halftone mixtures and color-separations are working together, along with the film output and screenmaking, these all work together to mix the dots of ink-color in the right areas on press to reproduce the original graphic. 
However, as stated, you can do all this within a totally free program like GIMP, and it is just the manual process of learning how to create the right color separations and halftone conversions, which makes it more difficult to use for screenprinting than just a stand-alone software created for specific purposes. 

There are lots of more or less useful and accurate automation programs that work with the other mentioned graphics applications, which can make it easier to produce color-separations and halftone RIP ready for printing than a program like Accurip or other stand-alone software for screenprinting, but that is a broader topic than the scope of your original questions. Attached to this response is a set of free instructions and actions I have posted in the forums before, that work in Adobe Photoshop to create a color-separation all the way to halftone RIP that is ready to print out to your films, it is a bunch of steps but then the automation actions speed it up when clicking the button.

This helps to show you that you don't need anything more than a typical modern graphics application which has halftone-conversion capability and can work with the RGB graphic for making color-separations, to produce all you need from an original graphic or creating your own, and being able to produce films from a printer to expose to the screens. Through such steps in a graphics program you are performing the "Raster Image Process", and the results would be conversion of a graphic in color or greyscale or spot-colors, to black-only (white background which becomes transparent on the film) which has solid ink or no ink on the film, it can be shapes and things like text and/or gradients and transitions that become the stippled halftone dot patterns on the film. These are fundamental features of all the graphics applications I mentioned as well as many others. This is why you don't need a program like Accurip for screenprinting, and in fact many other methods and programs produce much better results and have way more features for screenprinting and more.


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## binjoder (Apr 29, 2014)

*full spectrum seps PLEASE HELP ...


while I was working in Photoshop between CMYK and RGB modes and importing my file in separation studio. and due to difficulties of finding sepration studio ink in Thailand. I started to investigate going forth and back between printing RGB image and converting it to cmyk and printing it again. I noticed that % of color and depth lost in the cmyk printed version.

but I asked my self my printer "epson" has only CMYK ink and not RGB but printing in RGB mode give more details and more colors.

1. photo in original mode RGB in P.S ====>print using CMYK ink====> excellent print

2. same image in CMYK mode in P.S =====> print using CMYK ink===> poor quality print 

hence that the printer use CMYK ink in both modes print CMYK or RGB mode image.

what makes the printer to identify RGB mode and use the CMYK ink to give RGB colors although the printer doesnt mix the ink to generate each color and drops it. in-case someone will say the printer mix cmyk to give RGB ink and print it . there my second question to this type of people , where does the printer mix CMYK to generate RGB and which nozzle responsible for mixing? C nozzle or M nozzle or Y nozzle or K nozzle ? and when you make nozzle check why dont you see one nozzle color become different than its color due to previous print and mixing? 

every color alone and every nozzle drop it ink C or M or Y or K with out mixing, the mixing process on the paper whether CMYK or RGB colors mode print using CMYK ink only.

now here is my assumptions for the simulated process using CMYK.

1.white under base (RGB mode) generated in sepration studio + CMYK process for the same image done in P.S + using Gray (RGB mode) from sepration studio + top white (RGB) from separation studio 

OR 

2.white under base (RGB mode) generated in sepration studio + CMYK process for the same image done in P.S + top white (RGB) genrated from sepration studio

by that we might give the picture more details 

the only thing now setting the angels for white underbase+C+M+K+Gray+white top
and 
White underbase+C+M+Y+K+top white 

then the real life test on T-shirt and see which one is working with gray or without , the Gray pantone is cool Gray 8

the white under-base is flash quality white and the black (opaque or process black. and the top white not thick white,i think can make it by adding curable reducer to white plastisol.

Note:
the halftone done using accurip for all layers with epson 1430
for the CMYK separation in photoshop you need CMYK 4 Color Process Color Profiles: 
CMYK 4 Color Process Color Profiles : Ryonet's Help Desk & Screen Print Library

by adding cool gray and white top to K from CMYK I will be able to create DOF Depth Of field and these two layers are printed in RGB mode which they hold more details and more alpha color range


correct me If I am wrong. 

another thing is your fullspectrum WCMWKW WET ON WET technique ???? I see that all angels set to 22.5 is this correct ??? 
*


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## FullSpectrumSeps (Aug 2, 2012)

peterfenw said:


> I really like Accurip, I would say its necessary. An air-nail gun isn't a necessity to a roofer, but would you want to use a hammer.



So you like Accurip... that's nice, it is your opinion.

You can "say" it is necessary -- but that is not how the word "necessary" works. Please refer to a dictionary. Your opinion about the necessity of this program is not founded in reason or the facts. The facts show that you don't need it, period. There is no debate about it. 

And comparing it to tools... LOL! There are much more easier-to-use and more full-featured professional tools out there that do way more than just Halftone RIP and set ink-levels, and for much lower prices or just free open-source software. 

There are things that I need for creating the right color-separations and halftone RIP for a proper and accurate screenprint separation on films, and Accurip CANNOT even do those things in the first place, so it is the opposite of necessary it is actually a handicap if I were to try using it in my workflow. 

It is a gimmick, more like a plastic toy hammer sold to children spray-painted gold to appear like some fancy professional tool, and sold for a real gold-plated price. Other tools that cost less but are higher-end and more full-featured graphics programs, are even easier to use to get better results. Even if you don't have a postscript printer and need to convert to halftones first, this is much better done with the halftone RIP conversions of programs like GIMP, CorelDraw, or Adobe Photoshop and don't require much more than entering the same values you would need to enter into Accurip to make the halftones, and using your printer to print out the films. 

Have fun using your gold-plated toy hammer RIP-off. GIMP can make better color-separations, halftone RIP, and you can just set the black levels to print darker fine with regular ink and print-settings from an inkjet printer, GIMP which is a FREE program... that should tell you something about the level of BS that is Accurip, Separation Studio and many others. Just a sad fact that people get sold on deceptive marketing and over-priced sub-par tools. No arguments about how it is "easier to use" will make any sense, because it is not easier to use than other programs which do the same things and more accurately as well as give you more control over the process. Even the automation or workflow are not up for debate, there are plenty of options with other programs that work easier and better, period.


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## binjoder (Apr 29, 2014)

how gimp can control the droplet ? ink on paper with high black


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## tonkatruck (Apr 10, 2011)

I bought Power Rip instead of Ascurip and definitely regret it. The vendor sells both and told me he though Power Rip was better. However mine crashes all the time. Usually multiple times per day. It also periodically will print ! marks instead of ' even though ' are on the screen. I have burned screens and be ready to print and see a ! mark instead of a '. So I have to remember to conver art to curves if it has an ' in it. When you are busy this can be very frustrating. Sure wish I had not let them talk me into this.


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## binjoder (Apr 29, 2014)

*FullSpectrumSeps is your technique WET ON WET (FLAMENCO)? 

what are also the pantone codes for CMYK AND RGB plus the white under base does it need to be flash ????*


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## TedBirmy (Nov 29, 2010)

tonkatruck said:


> I bought Power Rip instead of Ascurip and definitely regret it. The vendor sells both and told me he though Power Rip was better. However mine crashes all the time. Usually multiple times per day. It also periodically will print ! marks instead of ' even though ' are on the screen. I have burned screens and be ready to print and see a ! mark instead of a '. So I have to remember to conver art to curves if it has an ' in it. When you are busy this can be very frustrating. Sure wish I had not let them talk me into this.


If you have a bad font you will get an exclamation ! instead of a '. The RIP goes to a numbered character look up for letters. This is a bad font not a RIP issue. Sounds like the Program generating the PostScript file also has other issues like bad postscript. Be sure to get all updates for your graphic design program.


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