New owner of the I Image S

[inkman996]

Ordered delivered, set up and running.

It took us a while to finally feel confident enough in such an expensive purchase that also has a very expensive repair associated with it. Now that it is installed and in full production my opinion is the machine is all it is hyped up to be. We received it under the understanding that it can be shimmied through 36" doors. NOPE! not even close actually, hopefully anyone reading this can prepare better than us for this issue. I ended up having to tear through two walls and one door way, both walls were filled with BX 10 gauge wiring, one was 8 gauge. That stuff is like trying to wire rebar. I had to either tear out more walls to disconnect all the wiring form different devices or cut the wires and install junction boxes in the wall, which is what I chose to do. After the machine finally arrived to its final destination the tech came the following week. This part is really the only area I disliked from the whole process.

The tech himself was a great guy Mike. 10 months into the job but woefully under trained for what we were expecting. Don't get me wrong mechanically he was spot on with the machine, in fact we were pumping out screens in just a couple hours of him arriving. Everything went smoothly and we went through maintenance procedures etc. The machine itself is pretty plug and play with very minimal work required from the tech unless their happened to be a defect from the factory which there was not.

This leaves the software side of things. Anyone running these machines knows there is 3 separate softwares required. The first is software for the machine itself, head cleaning, nozzle check, maintenance etc. The next is the RIP itself. The RIP does not talk to the printer, it only RIPS then hands that off to the third software. That software is the printing que, this is where you send the ripped file to the printer. I find it all very very clunky, I am coming from many years of using a RIP that also que's to the printer. Another aspect that makes it all even more clunky is that you need to set up individual folders for every print settings you use. A folder for 45LPI, a folder for 50LPI etc. In the RIP you need to create a printer setting for each of those folders and point those settings to that folder. What this means is you have to carefully put your files into the correct folders at all times. Unlike in a traditional RIP I am used to where I can send a dozen files into it and then individually adjust each file specific to its needs all with in the RIP itself and just hit print. The software would all be much better if it was somehow all packaged into one with the ability to adjust individual files on the fly. But I digress it is what it is and I will get more proficient in it as I use it more.

Now the tech had zero software ability other than setting up the three programs and thats it. When it got time to get files over it took me an entire day to figure out on my own how to set the files up to lay out correctly on the screen. It took me a while to finally figure out EPS has a to page constraint, i never knew this since I never used it or needed it. Originally I was using PDF's but it was causing way to many file errors and the files were massive in size. Again not blaming the Tech but we were paying for 3 days of service and everything the tech knew was covered in half a day. The techs should have more software training to help with the initial flow for customers that may not ever used such systems.

My next issue was network. Nothing I did or even the two Martin Screen reps that were here could figure out how to get the art room computer and the CTS computer to talk to each other. I am still struggling with this to no avail which has left us google cloud to transfer files which is clunky as hell and slow. My goal is to just have a shared folder on both desktops for quick simple art transfer.

My next struggle is art prep. For ever I always seperated my spot colors separately, that way i always had control over outlines, traps and chokes on each color. I never used spot colors ever. I know how to do it essentially and is the process I really should use now with the CTS. My struggle is how to do with and deal with underbases at the same time. If I have a 5 color spot, two of the colors underbased 3 are not. How or can a file be set up to send as one to a printer for RIP. And if that is possible how do I control traps? Is it just easier to create a second file just for the underbase positioned exactly as the spot color file? Is their a chance the two files will not register perfectly once printed? How do others handle this?

After machine install my rep from Martin Supply Charlie Thorp an incredibly knowledgeable person in screen making spent two days with me dialing in our process. We first using his 21 step dialed in all our exposure times for each mesh. Then we used a fantastic tool he has which I will post an image of below. It is a moire tester. It consists of 17 steps of 4 angles starting at 49LPI ending at 81LPI. You expose this test on every screen mesh you use. Then you print it about a dozen times to get an accurate build up. You then can determine which angles and LPI works best for each mesh count. It was eye opening, lately I have been struggling with moire. I would use the traditional 4.5 times LPI to determine mesh count required, use the typical 22.5 angle. With his test we discovered that recipe was terrible at most mesh counts and surprisingly I needed to go up in LPI instead of down. I am shooting 55LPI on 200 mesh counts easily as can be. The image below shows I can hold a great 81 LPI with the tone curve adjustments we did. I do not know where he got this from or if it is available anymore but if it is I recommend everyone should have one in their shop.

Pictures below of the machine and of the moire test.

[Homer]

life changing equipment, excellent purchase...

where d'hell you been?

[inkman996]

Life has been busy. We have upgraded so much  in the shop, all new embroidery machines, now the CTS etc.

Other than that tho I am concentrating more on my self and potential future. I have no plans of doing this for ever and hitting that age where I want to be the boss of my self. I have taken a renewed interest of an old job, machining. Something I always enjoyed but never had the opportunity to fully explore. I have been busy aquiring job shop type machines, have a mill and a surface grinder soon hopefully a lathe. I am restoring everything I get my hands on down to the last nut and bolt. My plan is to eventually have a fully functional job shop machine shop on my property  and work with that. Job shop work is out there and available for those with the ability and equipment. I am also interested in learning and perfecting cast iron braising. Essential for a good job shop. I spend a lot of time cruising swap meets and flea markets looking for old iron and precision tools.

[bimmridder]

Just imagine how much money he will save not buying tape!!!

[inkman996]

Just imagine how much money he will save not buying tape!!!

Actually going to spend more than before the I Image. We are using scotch tape along the edges of the screen to keep the fibers from being dragged by the head. I thought I could just burn them down and not have to worry about them anymore but it seems after every reclaim more turn up. Its not really necessary, they just drag along the image being printed usually not causing any real problems but I am going to make it a priority to gewt the most out of the print head for as long as possible. If that means using some scotch tape I will do so.

[Dottonedan]

There is a lot I would need to mention, but for starters, I think you jumped the gun and moved the machine into the room before a Teach got there. The Tech knows how to dismantle the table from the machine and is the one that usually gets the machine through the 32" door. That table comes apart and the back (wide part) and table are taken in the door separately.  Most customers are not as prepared as you were though with getting the machine in the room.  There is more to go over but yo provided a pretty good list of experiences.
I can hep you with file prep using Photoshop and Illustrator files. Not so much on Corel.

[Zelko-4-EVA]

im not an artist, but our artists use adobe illustrator and have to click on "overprint" before they send the art to the RIP computer.

https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/overprinting.html

i dont know if that will work for you.  before our artist figured this out, they were sending the overprint colors in a separate file from the underbase...

also, Charlie Thorpe is an awesome guy - he helped us out back when he was with Autotype.

[inkman996]

There is a lot I would need to mention, but for starters, I think you jumped the gun and moved the machine into the room before a Teach got there. The Tech knows how to dismantle the table from the machine and is the one that usually gets the machine through the 32" door. That table comes apart and the back (wide part) and table are taken in the door separately.  Most customers are not as prepared as you were though with getting the machine in the room.  There is more to go over but yo provided a pretty good list of experiences.
I can hep you with file prep using Photoshop and Illustrator files. Not so much on Corel.

Maybe procedures changed since you were there. We were instructed that the machine had to be in its final location prior to the tech arriving. We even had to check this off on a couple check sheets for M&R to insure everything was set and ready. If we were informed that the tech could help us separate the machine I would have done so immediately, tearing through the walls cost a lot of time and money. Still tho a rocking machine it is and prints a beautiful screen!

[Sbrem]

for the underbasing, any color on top of white (or any other base color) needs to be marked as Overprint in the Attributes Dialog box. I'm pretty sure you'll need to make all of your colors spot colors, they can have any name, they don't have be PMS anything, for example we might have White Base Spot, and Highlight White Spot, and Green etc., as long as they are spot colors and not process. If not marked to overprint (not the base white in case I need to mention that) they will knock out of the base.

Steve

[inkman996]

for the underbasing, any color on top of white (or any other base color) needs to be marked as Overprint in the Attributes Dialog box. I'm pretty sure you'll need to make all of your colors spot colors, they can have any name, they don't have be PMS anything, for example we might have White Base Spot, and Highlight White Spot, and Green etc., as long as they are spot colors and not process. If not marked to overprint (not the base white in case I need to mention that) they will knock out of the base.

Steve

Does the base have to exist tho in the art? For instance imagine 3 circles in a line each is an individual spot color. I want an underbase under each color, do I have to actually create that base under the spot colors? Hope I am making sense. For traps is it a matter of just adding outlines to the spot colors I want to trap over the base? I dislike traps personally and always used chokes on the base.

[Alex M]

There is a lot I would need to mention, but for starters, I think you jumped the gun and moved the machine into the room before a Teach got there. The Tech knows how to dismantle the table from the machine and is the one that usually gets the machine through the 32" door. That table comes apart and the back (wide part) and table are taken in the door separately.  Most customers are not as prepared as you were though with getting the machine in the room.  There is more to go over but yo provided a pretty good list of experiences.
I can hep you with file prep using Photoshop and Illustrator files. Not so much on Corel.

Maybe procedures changed since you were there. We were instructed that the machine had to be in its final location prior to the tech arriving. We even had to check this off on a couple check sheets for M&R to insure everything was set and ready. If we were informed that the tech could help us separate the machine I would have done so immediately, tearing through the walls cost a lot of time and money. Still tho a rocking machine it is and prints a beautiful screen!

If you send the service manager a note stating it has to go through a 36" door they will not make you move it to its final place.
If this was not the case I am sorry, they should have let you know to leave it until the tech arrives... as one of the guys who designed this machines concept... this was a critical piece to it.

[inkman996]

There is a lot I would need to mention, but for starters, I think you jumped the gun and moved the machine into the room before a Teach got there. The Tech knows how to dismantle the table from the machine and is the one that usually gets the machine through the 32" door. That table comes apart and the back (wide part) and table are taken in the door separately.  Most customers are not as prepared as you were though with getting the machine in the room.  There is more to go over but yo provided a pretty good list of experiences.
I can hep you with file prep using Photoshop and Illustrator files. Not so much on Corel.

Maybe procedures changed since you were there. We were instructed that the machine had to be in its final location prior to the tech arriving. We even had to check this off on a couple check sheets for M&R to insure everything was set and ready. If we were informed that the tech could help us separate the machine I would have done so immediately, tearing through the walls cost a lot of time and money. Still tho a rocking machine it is and prints a beautiful screen!

If you send the service manager a note stating it has to go through a 36" door they will not make you move it to its final place.
If this was not the case I am sorry, they should have let you know to leave it until the tech arrives... as one of the guys who designed this machines concept... this was a critical piece to it.

To late now but that would have been really appreciated. Maybe insert that into the purchasing literature somewhere.

[GraphicDisorder]

Welcome to the club.

[tonypep]

Not to derail much but when Dan posts/calls pay attention! Not only a tech but a highly decorated artist and separator. We were very good and happy with our I-Image and then.....DTone came on board and kicked it up several notches and will continue to do so. Not to take away from other techs, they are all good and qualified. I miss the synergy though. He taught me as to what I did not know and hopefully, I did the same.
Yes, dimensions, freight, enviroment, and install info should all be in be in place prior to purchase before having an install. Obvious comments but should be not overlooked.

[Maff]

for the underbasing, any color on top of white (or any other base color) needs to be marked as Overprint in the Attributes Dialog box. I'm pretty sure you'll need to make all of your colors spot colors, they can have any name, they don't have be PMS anything, for example we might have White Base Spot, and Highlight White Spot, and Green etc., as long as they are spot colors and not process. If not marked to overprint (not the base white in case I need to mention that) they will knock out of the base.

Steve

Does the base have to exist tho in the art? For instance imagine 3 circles in a line each is an individual spot color. I want an underbase under each color, do I have to actually create that base under the spot colors? Hope I am making sense. For traps is it a matter of just adding outlines to the spot colors I want to trap over the base? I dislike traps personally and always used chokes on the base.

Yes you will still have to make an additional underbase spot color. So in your example, you would copy the 3 circles and "paste in place" and move underneath them all. Then set as a new underbase spot color. Then select your top colors as overprint in the attributes. 

Or if you like using layers in Ai, you could make a new layer and paste your base into that, then work on it separately and send it to the RIP on it's  own. Sometimes I do it that way when I'm separating more complex designs with lots of colors, you can  keep all your top colors on their own layer (no need to set as overprint in this case)  Layers allow you to keep everything in it's exact place and just turn on and off the layer when you need it.

You can choke the underbase with white, or trap the top colors depending on the artwork. You can also set strokes to overprint if needed

Congrats on the I image!!