Tips for Using the Summa DC4/DC4sx

[garisimo]

Hi all -- Happy New Year and all that!

Just wanted to publish a few tips for the DC4 users out there. Please post yours!

(1) When using the Flexcut feature, it seems the sides pop out much easier than the the top and bottoms of a label -- I have found that turning the label over and folding the waste over the label helps tremendously.

(2) In Illustrator I set up swatches for the Summa ribbon colors, including a spot color named "BlackSpot" so I can design with black as a spot color rather than a process color -- when you open the EPS in Color Control it wont recognize the color -- simply click on the Color ID box and type the number 4 (the black cassette's chip number) and print.

(3) Any color can be selected as above, by simply changing the Color ID number to the cassette you want -- I haven't tried running a CMY job as a Bright Blue, Tomato Red, Golden Yellow job yet, but the results might be interesting.

That's all I have for now -- hope to see your Tips and Tricks soon!

-g-

 

[JR's]

bump

 

[meltsner]

I'll be following this thread.....

1. As is stated in the manual, do not print any shade of red as the Optitrac color. (tried burgundy before reading that, wondered why I almost always got a reg. mark error!!) If I'm printing on clear vinyl w/ spot colors and one color's not used through the whole design, I use white. White doesn't print all the way across, but only two short segments at both ends (another color does the same, I forget which?). Saves foil.

2. Kinda in expansion to G's post above -- I often merge several files into one to print to save vinyl. If it's got a mixture of spot and process OR too many spot, change all the spot colors in Color Control to print "as process". Simple enough.

3. Why use CMYK when you can use CMY?? Color is very inconsistent and much darker w/ CMYK, plus you obviously save foil and time by not using "K". Amazing what you can get with three colors!

4. Use "high resolution" mode -- it's worth the slower speed.

Garisimo -- sounds like you created a palette from scratch in AI?? Color palettes come with Summa (I think for AI as well). I got mine in CorelDraw, tho I think it may be mixed up. Anyway I have a spot color "Corel Black". For some reason though I still have to enter foil num. 4 into CC.

Just my very simple $.02!! I'm still a relative "newbie" [with Summa], I learn something new almost every day........