Photoshop problem

[Michael Carter]

I didn't know where else to post this and it only relates to sim building because of what I'm trying to print.

I downloaded the PPG Aerospace Glass logos from their website. This is for all sorts of electronic and print applications. I'm trying to reproduce the PPG decals for the windows.

When I try to print out the decal I can't get it to show up in color and the black printing is washed out. I've tried printing it as a .psd, .gif, and .jpg file and it always looks the same. It's in color on the screen with the lettering very black, but it won't print like this.

The other work I've done is fine and in color and I have plenty of ink. I can't figure out what's happening with this logo.

Are there any Photoshop pros that might know why this is happening and what I can do to fix it?

[AndyT]

I opened it up in Fireworks and looked at it.
The colors are not black, they are custom colors with some off transparencies included in them.

Try re-painting the logo with straight colors and no weird gammas.

[Westozy]

Hi Mike,

Take a screenshot of it then open it as a bitmap...

Gwyn

[Matt Olieman]

Hi Mike, guess I don't understand. I use Paint Shop and was able to change colors and print with what ever I did.

Here is a test (not perfected and not finished) but was able to change colors....



Matt Olieman

[Michael Carter]

Thanks for the replies fellas.

I tried using the pickup tool to re-color the blue logo and changed everything to opaque but it didn't seem to matter. I tried using another program called Serif Photoplus 6.0 and that didn't make any difference either. I have to open it up in the Serif application as Photoshop wouldn't allow me to save it as any other format except .psd. I didn't have any luck color printing it in any format though.

Maybe I selected the wrong file type. Here is what was in the download:
Windows Metafile .WMF, .tiff and .eps for Adobe Illustrator.

There are also color variations like, CYMK, RGB, and Pantone. I don't understand much about that, but I think it's a different way of representing colors.

I'll try your idea Matt in Paintshop and see if I get better results.

I've never run into this problem before.

The reason I'm printing through Photoshop is because it allows me to place this logo anywhere on the page using measurements. I'm printing on adhesive labels. Or attempting to. I didn't see the option to move the decal around in other apps.

I'll fool with this more tonight when I get home from work.

[warvet]

Mike,
CYMK are Cyan Yellow Magenta and Black this is the color set you would use when doing any kind of printing. RGB is Primary color conception purely for using on a screen to define a color concept. If printing, your project must be concluded in CYMK spectrum or the blue you see will not be the blue you print.Pantone again is a defined number to clarify a definitive color, however when transfering Pantone to a CYMK print formula it will always change the numbers slightly, giving you a moderately different color than the pantone. PPantone is primarily used when defining paint or some sort of covering color. RGB is for screen definition and CYMK is for printing duplication.

Hope this helps Mike

Tim

[BHawthorne]

Could you elaborate on what sort of printer and material you are using to print these on?

A few prepress specs to keep in mind. Logos should be 300-600dpi CMYK color and 1200dpi b/w for print ready art. Do all art in a vector app such as Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Photoshop (or any bitmap graphic application) is the worst place to do logo work.

If you are trying to print on a transparency stock you are going to need to use a solid inks printer such as a Xerox Phaser series printer. Inkjets will do nothing but wash out on transparency stock. They do not hold good opacity once printed and are only meant for overhead projection.

[Michael Carter]

Tim, thanks for the explanation on the color formats. I didn't know any of that except they are different kinds of color.

HB, I'll check my settings again for resolution. One thing I did notice is that this is not paper I'm printing on, but some sort of paper-like plastic. I looks like paper and even feels like paper until you try and tear it. It stretches before tearing and is extremely thin. I didn't realize this at first. The ink still has not dried from last night's attempt.

I'll also look into Adobe Illustrator.