Pewter0000
Graphic Design | Production
Hey team, long time no chat.
Recently I've picked up some lil' part time work at a print shop and I'm trying to transition from my VersaWorks mindset to HP Flexi mindset - but it seems like Flexi/Project Manager is ridiculously and unnecessarily more complex than it has to be - or I'm just not understanding correctly.
Previous workflow would be: make a .pdf, drag and drop to VersaWorks, prep profile, tap "get media width" if it's odd, print. Bang, easy. If there is cutlines, I'd be using Roland's spot colour for it, easy as choosing Print, Print & cut, or Cut. Very straighforward and if I wanted to change head speed for different media or mess around with settings, no problem. The XR-640 was simple and didn't have a fancy profile interface, it was 100% from Versaworks. Even the cut pressure could be controlled on the computer. If it needs to be mirrored, one click.
Now, at this print shop I'm being trained on Flexi/HP, and I can't help but think this workflow is much more tedious. Make a .pdf, drag and drop to flexi - well the colours aren't working well for .pdf, so often they print from a .png. OK sure. So we've brought it into Flexi but now I have to manually input media size, manually pick where it falls on the media, since this is latex we add a little bar on the front of the first print of the day so the inks get consistently moving. If I want cut lines I'm dropping a second file on top with the cut lines (????) and aligning them, or adding a cut contour with the cut contour button, masking/unmasking things... it seems like I'm deconstructing the work I did in illustrator and building it back up again?
Then it's "send" to Print Manager. IN which I have to make all of these adjustments AGAIN. Choose media width, choose what colour to cut, mirror or step and repeat (unless you did it in flexi, then you don't want to do it again!) Not to mention now I have to be sure the media width includes space for pinch rollers (Versa/Roland does this automatically), leave the computer and go check if the printer has the right profile, now come back and make sure they match. What are those lines? Barcodes? Why would I even need to see this? Versa does it automatically and I don't have to think about it. Print manager seems super picky - too much stuff ripped, files that shouldn't be to large are too chunky for it to handle...
This CAN'T be the right workflow, right?
Recently I've picked up some lil' part time work at a print shop and I'm trying to transition from my VersaWorks mindset to HP Flexi mindset - but it seems like Flexi/Project Manager is ridiculously and unnecessarily more complex than it has to be - or I'm just not understanding correctly.
Previous workflow would be: make a .pdf, drag and drop to VersaWorks, prep profile, tap "get media width" if it's odd, print. Bang, easy. If there is cutlines, I'd be using Roland's spot colour for it, easy as choosing Print, Print & cut, or Cut. Very straighforward and if I wanted to change head speed for different media or mess around with settings, no problem. The XR-640 was simple and didn't have a fancy profile interface, it was 100% from Versaworks. Even the cut pressure could be controlled on the computer. If it needs to be mirrored, one click.
Now, at this print shop I'm being trained on Flexi/HP, and I can't help but think this workflow is much more tedious. Make a .pdf, drag and drop to flexi - well the colours aren't working well for .pdf, so often they print from a .png. OK sure. So we've brought it into Flexi but now I have to manually input media size, manually pick where it falls on the media, since this is latex we add a little bar on the front of the first print of the day so the inks get consistently moving. If I want cut lines I'm dropping a second file on top with the cut lines (????) and aligning them, or adding a cut contour with the cut contour button, masking/unmasking things... it seems like I'm deconstructing the work I did in illustrator and building it back up again?
Then it's "send" to Print Manager. IN which I have to make all of these adjustments AGAIN. Choose media width, choose what colour to cut, mirror or step and repeat (unless you did it in flexi, then you don't want to do it again!) Not to mention now I have to be sure the media width includes space for pinch rollers (Versa/Roland does this automatically), leave the computer and go check if the printer has the right profile, now come back and make sure they match. What are those lines? Barcodes? Why would I even need to see this? Versa does it automatically and I don't have to think about it. Print manager seems super picky - too much stuff ripped, files that shouldn't be to large are too chunky for it to handle...
This CAN'T be the right workflow, right?
Unfortunately I get the feeling that even though I have more years print experience, and have advised appropriate colour management and other adjustments / workflows, since I'm "new" in the space (and the only female) my opinions don't really matter. I think I'll stick to just the graphic design for them and they can snail the production themselves.