Studio Task Workshop print - To do list Research

TO DO LIST

Research- 


In the session we created a to do list of things we would like to know from some print processes we seen on our table of examples. We then went round the class to see what people had said.




My to do list - 

• Hand crafted print examples (laser cut)

• Thinking about audiences and appeal

• Refresh memory on colour theory

• Which printing methods work best on which stock?

Laser Cut - I was really interested in some hand crafted cards i had seen in class when everybody brought there examples. So i am interested in laser cut and what different finishes i can achieve.

Definition - A laser cutter is a machine that uses a laser to cut and engrave material. These machines can be used in industrial manufacturing, but also in small businesses and for personal use. It takes some practice to use a laser cutter. Here are the steps to learn how to use a laser cutter.

• Create an image that you wish to cut. Choose the image that you wish to cut. This can be from a camera, a drawing or an image you found online. The image will need to be uploaded to your computer and into software that works with your laser cutter. Most laser cutters will use software called Corel Draw, but your model may have different software.

• Choose the material you are going to cut your image onto.There are many different materials that a laser cutter can work with. Wood, acrylic and laser-safe plastic can both be cut and etched. Aluminum and glass can also be etched with a laser cutter.

• Check to make sure the lens is clean.Make sure that the lens is clean before starting to cut, or your image and cut may be off. To check the lens you will have to remove a few screws using a screwdriver. If the lens does need cleaning, use a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol to gently clean it.

• Turn on your machine and get ready to cut.Turn on the machine and wait for it to warm up before starting. Go to your computer and in your software program go to "File" and then "Print." A Preferences menu should pop up allowing you to choose the cutting method. Most machines will have 2 cutting methods: "raster" and "vector." "Raster" is used when you wish to engrave something, and "vector" is used when you want to cut out pieces.

• Set your laser cutter's line width and cutting speed and then cut out your image.You should set your cutting line according to the material you have, but also keep in mind that wider lines will take more time to cut and may result in a jagged cut. The cutting speed should also be set according the material you are cutting, but also whether you want to cut all the way through the material or just do laser etching. Once all your options are set, you can go ahead and cut your image.

Paper laser cut

 Card laser cut

Plastic laser cut - 

I have attended a laser cut induction see design practice blog - http://v-redmond1215-dp.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/experimentation-laser-cutting.html

Thinking about audiences and appeal - 

In the session with lorraine we spoke about audience and appeal and how the audience for something is never 'everyone'. I thought it would be a good idea to take some pictures of some my fragrances i own and talk about the audiences for them.

This fragrance is D&G - 3 , D&G is seen to be an expensive luxury brand but this fragrance wasn't as expensive as similar perfumes of the same ml. At first i though all fragrances would be for just women or girls , but its 

preference as this perfume is only 39.00 for 100ml i think that its quite reasonable price and its an affordable luxury and for women who prefer a more citrus smell. 

      

After doing some research Lady million is a very commercial brand and is bought by younger girls rather than older women. Who it is advertised for a lady. The bottle isn't really a lady like design being a large gold diamond shape. Younger people more likely to buy into this brand as its advertised as popular fragrance     

I also looked at my Marc Jacobs honey fragrance i originally thought young girls would love this fragrance for the packaging as well as the perfume as its playful and pretty but after some research marc jacobs is one of the most expensive commercial  fragrances there for it wouldn't be bought by someone younger who wouldnt be able to afford this brand it would be a luxury.

Refresh my mind on colour theory:

Primary Colors: Red, yellow and blue
In traditional color theory (used in paint and pigments), primary colors are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues.

Secondary Colors: Green, orange and purple
These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary Colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green & yellow-green
These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red-violet, and yellow-orange.

Additive Color involves the mixing of colored light. The colors on a television screen are a good example of this. Additive primary colors are red, green and blue.

Subtractive Color involves the mixing of colored paints, pigments, inks and dyes. The traditional subtractive primary colors are red, yellow and blue.Hues - A hue is one of the colors of the spectrum. Hues have a circular order as illustrated in the color wheel above. The color wheel is a useful device to help us explain the relationships between Primary, Secondary and Tertiary colors.

Complimentary colours:

Opposite colors are diagonally opposite one another on the color wheel. Opposite colors create the maximum contrast with one another. You can work out the opposite color to any primary color by taking the other two primaries and mixing them together. The result will be its opposite or ‘complementary’ colour.

Colour tint - A tint describes a colour that is mixed with white.

Colour shade - A shade describes a colour that is mixed with black.

Colour intensity - Colour intensity is the strength or value of a color. In our illustration, the three violet rectangles are identical colors but they appear to change when surrounded by different colors. Therefore, the intensity of a color changes in relation to the color that surrounds it. This effect is known as Simultaneous Contrast.

Transparent colours - Transparent colours are colors that you can see through. Paint is usually mixed very thinly to make it transparent. Watercolor is the most transparent paint, but oil and acrylics can also be thinned for a similar effect. Transparent paint is applied in what we call a ‘color wash’ in watercolor painting or a ‘color glaze’ in oil or acrylic painting. When you overlay two transparent colors they will mix to create a third. Different types of paint and certain colors are naturally more transparent than others.Opaque colours - Opaque colours are colors that you cannot see through. Paint is usually mixed very thickly to make it opaque. Oil and acrylic paint are the most opaque paints, but gouache is a type of watercolor also designed for this purpose. Different types of paint and certain colors are naturally more opaque than others. Titanium white is often added to very transparent colors to make them opaque.

Tone- Tone is the lightness or darkness of a color. It is used to suggest the effect of light and shade and to create the illusion of 3D form.

I am glad i recapped my colour theory as there was a few things i had forgotten from last year and i will use colour theory in my print book to make people aware of the fundamentals of colour.

Which printing methods work best on which stock?

I had to leave this question till the last because i felt it was best to try different processes and try different stocks so that i could make my own judgement on what stocks.

FOILING

I tried lots of different stocks when i tried foiling and i was surprised at the outcomes-

When using grey textured stock the black foil did not work at all and peeled off straight away not leaving any shine or any parts of the foil to the text.

When i used normal paper and all three different shades of foil they stuck really well. I was surprised as it was just printer paper that it would work so well with foil and the heat press.

Foiling with a screen is a lot better than foiling with a heat press and you get a better finish and a higher quality print. If i was to repeat foiling for a new brief i will definitely use a screen.

LASER CUTTING

For laser cutting there isn't really a specific type of material that is best to cut on as the laser cutter itself will cut through almost any material. You can't cut onto reflective material and some materials give off a toxic fume and are advised not to be cut out onto for to long. 

Such as : Acrylic & Lino 

• No mirrors or reflective services the laser cut will reflect and bounce off.

• Don't put anything on the machine that are coated in solvents , chemicals ECT as these cause toxic fumes and or increase flammability.

EMBOSSING

When embossing you should consider the stock you cut the plate out onto. 

For example 

• If you etch onto a metal plate you are going to the get the best result.

• If you raster or cut through MDF(wood) on the laser cut the emboss won't be as clean as a metal plate and the wood has ruff particles on it from the wood.

UNCOATED & COATED STOCK

I have learnt after this print brief that different stocks can have certain feels and that coated stock is best for book covers and uncoated stock is best used for the inside pages your content goes on. Also foiling doesn't work very wall on uncoated ruff pages.