hi all, two areas i'm after some help in....mesh like effect, and color seperation for screen print

[simon bridge]

#1.
trying to create a round mesh hole effect, have done so by creating a small circle, and making it a pattern. then using fill on my final image. is there a better way? as i'm trying to get the effect of a mesh overlay, with slightly transparent round holes.
#2.
this is going off to a screen printers, who create a screen per color...i have no idea how many colors my image is (100's no doubt..) but i'm trying to limit it to about 7 or 8ish...how do you scale down the colors/seperate them etc, and then get a layer to represents each color?
I hope i've explained myself properly

thanks in advance

simon.

[BLUDVLZ]

Simon,

If you can post a link to the effect you're trying to accomplish, we'll probably have a better chance of understanding the effect you're after. I *think* the effect you're looking for can be accomplisted by applying the Color Halftone filter to a Quick Mask... but that's if I am understanding the desired effect correctly.

As for your question about screen printers, this can be a bit more tricky. My advice would be to show the file to your screen printer and let him decide A) if the file is something he can work with B) if the file is set up properly C) what adjustments you need to make to get the best possible output for your image.

I've done many t-shirts over the years, and all with varying results (depending on what I have to work with). Odds are that the image you're working on can be screen printed as Process Color (CMYK), but I've found that the colors and crispness of the images don't often handle the screen printing process too well. This is because the screen printing process uses such a low linescreen that much of the image quality is lost--and because it's printed on fabric, not paper, which has a far different dynamic of how ink is absorbed.

If at all possible, I suggest using a vector program like Illustrator or Corel Draw to create the T-shirt art. You'll get better output that way and have more control over the colors. The caviat to this is that if you're using photo-realistic art, a vector program isn't going to give you any better control than Photoshop does.

Check with your screen printer about the possiblity of using transfers for your t-shirt image. These are small sheets that you print your image to, and then are iron onto the t-shirt. These often achieve better results when dealing with photorealistic color.

[Eco Gatdula]

Simon,

If you're going to google, you'll find some interesting software about converting full color pictures into 7 or 8 colors. I know how to do it manually but I'm afraid I can't tell you because it was a trade secret. However, I can give you a hint: USE INDEX COLOR.