Print. Software. Innovation.
Navigator for Screen Printers
Navigator RIP and Workflow are ideal for screen printers
Navigator RIP and Workflow for Screen Printers
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Xitron’s Navigator RIP and Workflow are perfect for screen printers using film or direct-to-screen systems. Navigator offers fast, accurate rendering and workflow control from any Mac or PC in the shop. Submit jobs, preview rendering, remap inks, and re-run separations all from your workstation. Its built-in calibration ensures precise halftone results and consistent screens. Post-RIP viewing simplifies inspection and approval.
Interlocking Screens and Simulated Process Printing
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Maximize color fidelity and clarity while preventing registration issues
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Preparing artwork for screen printing blends can be frustrating and time-consuming. Traditional screening often reproduces effects but may lead to color shifts, contamination, or visibility of the garment color or white under-base.
How Interlocking Screening Works
In Example 1, you see a PDF with the five colors noted in the output preview. There are three Pantone colors, plus black and white. When you zoom in, you can see the blend between the Pantone 185 red ink and the Pantone 113 yellow ink.
Example 1
Using standard halftone screening for this job, the Pantone 185 dots are reduced in size while the Pantone 113 dots are increased, causing the dots to overlap as seen in the Standard Screening example. Although the blend appears smooth, closer inspection reveals that the garment color or white under-base shows through due to insufficient ink coverage.
Standard Screening
To address these issues and achieve accurate reproductions, interlocking screens can be used to simulate process printing. While this used be tedious, Xitron’s Navigator Workflow simplifies the process. Prepress operators can easily create the necessary workflow steps, allowing the system to automatically invert the screening and enable selection of either a standard or inverted separation that interlocks with the standard one.
Interlock Screening ensures a smooth transition from Pantone 185 to Pantone 113, matching the original artwork. Zooming in reveals a visible interlocking pattern with 100% ink coverage, eliminating show-through, color shifts, and contamination. This technique enhances color fidelity and clarity while preventing registration issues in blended jobs.
Interlock Screening
