Gerber printing question?

[MCV]

May be a dumb question but thought I would ask. Let say you are printing mostly Black label with gold writing? Do you guys use gold vinyl and print black or would you use black vinyl and gold medal ink? or does it not really matter? Is the decision made on which color covers better?

Is there a general rule of thumb you guys/gals use to decide which substrate you will print on? or is white the way to go for most things? I know there are many variables involved and probably many correct answers I am just trying to gain some general knowledge .

Thanks

 

[J Hill Designs]

I would go gold with a black print, cause you would most likely have to put down a prime layer under the gold medal to get it to come out right

 

[GoodPeopleFlags]

It's different for different situations. In the case you described, I would print Black on Gold vinyl because #1) no gold foil in stock, #2) if I did, that would be printing 2 foils vs. 1 and #3) the gold vinyl will hold up longer outside than the gold foil. But if it was Red & Gold, I would print both on White because the Red will come out weird printed on Gold vinyl without a primer. And if i did print 2 colors on White, I would use the Choke/Spread to avoid the White vinyl showing where the colors meet.

 

[J Hill Designs]

ugh cant believe I've never seen/used the choke/spread feature....all this time manually contouring colors to bleed

thx bluefish

 

[omgsideburns]

black on gold.

gold on black needs a prime or it looks olive green.

 

[Zambookajoe]

I would print black on gold too, makes a nice label thats durable.

Judgement call on different situations, Ive been running my edge for ten years now and I still get a few headscratchers once in a while

 

[WhiskeyDreamer]

i agree the black print on gold vinyl, unless the customer wants medal and it's for indoor or limited outdoor use....then i would suggest black vinyl with a gold medal print....medal foils are opaque and do not require a white base....they look great on black too...

 

[MCV]

Makes sense. So more or less you need to determine how the substrate will react with the colors your printing. So printing yellow straight on red will probably give you a orangish color? is there ever a time where you would choose a colored substrate, other than the obvious reflective, metallic, etc. vinyls? and if so do you need to lay down white first in most cases or do some colors just cover better?

 

[J Hill Designs]

darks cover lights better...I would use colored vinyl over white when most of the field is the color of the vinyl - less printing, less chance for a messed up print

 

[miltondavis]

black on gold, the gold metallic vinyl will probably last longer than the gold foil