WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.

1 Optional Features

WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.0

OPTIONAL FEATURES
May 14, 2004

• Contour Cutting
• Textile Printing
• Separations for Screen Printing

Other PDF Documents:

User Manual
Appendices and Reference

Disclaimer: The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Wasatch Computer Technology, Inc.
warrants only that its products will conform to representations and descriptions contained in its sales literature. This constitutes
the sole warranty made by Wasatch Computer Technology, Inc. There are no other warranties, expressed or implied including, but
not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Wasatch Computer Technology, Inc.
shall not be liable for any errors or omissions that may appear in this publication, not for any incidental or consequential damages
PAGE - 1
in connection with the furnishing thereof or its use.
 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Table of Contents

ADD ON FEATURES FOR SOFTRIP Table of Contents

The Contour Cutting options, SoftRIP TX for Textile Printing and SoftRIP SP for Screen Printing
are add-on products available at extra cost. Please contact Wasatch Sales at 800-894-1544 to Contour Cutting Option .............. 3
purchase these special products. Intro ............................................ 3
Workflow .................................... 4
Cutpath with Corel ..................... 6
Wasatch SoftRIP is a PostScript compatible RIP with extensions for large format color printing
Cutpath with Illustrator ............... 7
on inkjet plotters from several major manufacturers. Wasatch software provides interactive Cutpath with Quark .................... 8
previews, control of size and cropping, color rendering, and management of job queues for Supported devices ..................... 8
unattended output. Set max cutting interval ............. 9

Your package includes printer drivers for both Macintosh and Windows environments (PPD’s Textiles Option ........................... 10
and WPD’s for Windows 95 / 98 / NT / 2000/ME/XP), which enable users of graphics applica- Intro .......................................... 10
tion software to produce ideally suited PostScript files. It provides sufficient control to allow Repeats Controls ..................... 10
the service bureau operator to achieve good results with the kind of PostScript files commonly Drops and Slides ..................... 10
Issues with Late Halftoning ...... 12
received by such environments.
Textile Separations .................. 12
Managing Spot/Indexed Colors ...
CUSTOMER SERVICE ................................................. 13
Customer service and technical support are usually available from your Wasatch reseller. You
Precision Rosettes .................... 14
are also entitled to free customer service directly from Wasatch for a period of 90 days following Intro .......................................... 14
your registration of any Wasatch software product or any paid-for upgrade to a Wasatch software Using WPRS ............................ 15
product. If you are not currently covered by such a 90-day period, an additional 90 days of service Moire ........................................ 15
coverage may be purchased at additional cost from Wasatch or through your reseller. Stochastic Hybrid Screens ....... 18
Service is available directly from Wasatch at:
Email: wct@wasatchinc.com
Web: http://www.wasatchinc.com
Fax: 801-575-8075 (USA)
Phone: 801-575-8043 (USA)
Toll Free Service Number (USA only): 1-800-683-8214 - Have your PIN ready*
If your PIN has expired (90 days following registration), you can purchase additional service by
dialing Wasatch sales at 1-800-894-1544.
Telephone service is available Monday through Friday, from 8:30AM to 5:30PM, USA Mountain
Standard Time.
* If you dial the USA toll free service number, you’ll be prompted to enter your PIN (Personal
Identification Number). This four or five digit number is identical to the Wasatch Software serial
number printed on your copy protection block. This serial number may also be found under
“Help” and “About this program”. Simply enter this number through your touch tone phone when
prompted, and you’ll be connected.
Wasatch SoftRIP is a trademark of Wasatch Computer Technology, Inc. Win-
dows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows ME and Win-
dows XP are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. PostScript is a trademark of
Adobe Systems, Inc. Kodak Digital Color, and LinoType-Hell are the trademarks
of their respective owners. MrSID is a trademark of LizardTech, Inc. All other
trademarks used in this document are the property of their respective owners.
The contents of this manual and the associated Wasatch SoftRIP software are
the property of Wasatch Computer Technology, Inc. and are copyrighted. Any
reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
Note: Prior to Version 4.1, Wasatch SoftRIP was known as Wasatch PosterMaker
Copyright 1995-2004 Wasatch Computer Technology, Inc. All Rights Re-
served.
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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Contour Cutting

Cutting with Wasatch

SoftRIP
The Contour Cutting feature for Wasatch
SoftRIP is an add-on product available at
extra cost. Please contact Wasatch Sales at
800-894-1544 to purchase this feature.

The Contour Cutting feature allows SoftRIP

to drive print/cut inkjets and standard
cutting plotters manufactured by Allen
Datagraph, Graphtec, Mimaki, Roland and
other manufacturers. When the Contour
Cutting feature is enabled, SoftRIP will
extract cutting paths from PostScript jobs
created in Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator and
QuarkXpress. The following discussion is a
Illustration C1: Artwork shows cutting
general description of how cutting paths are created and exported to SoftRIP. paths
More detailed instructions for creating paths in specific applications are also
included in this section.
• Cutting with CorelDraw
• Cutting with Illustrator
• Cutting with QuarkXPress

Paths created with a spot color name such as

‘cutpath’ or ‘cutcontour’ will be shown as an animated
blue and white dashed lines on SoftRIP’s preview
screen (see Illustration C1). When output to a digital
cutter or print-and-cut inkjet device, the paths shown
will be cut. Illustration C1 shows artwork created for a
promotional decal using ordinary colors. The dashed
blue lines indicate where the cutpath spot color was
used. When this job is sent to a print-and-cut device,
the color image will be printed, then the knife will cut
out the decal on the paths.

Activating Cut Path Processing

The controls for contour cutting are located on the
Setup menu, as shown in Illustration C2. To activate
processing of cut paths for a particular print unit
check the Process Cutting Paths box. Illustration C2: Cutting Controls
If you’re printing multiple images using the Autonesting or Manual Print Layout
features, the cutting path will be correctly duplicated and registered for every
copy (see Illustration C3). The Process Cutting Paths tool is not just for print
and cut applications. It can also be used with ordinary vinyl cutters for such
tasks as cutting lettering with complex paths.
The Process Cutting Paths tool is not just for print and cut applications. It can
also be used with ordinary vinyl cutters for such tasks as cutting lettering with
complex paths.

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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Contour Cutting

Outline Jobs
Checking the Outline Jobs box in the Cutting
Options area of the on the Cutting menu
causes rectangular cutting paths to be
generated at the edges of each image in a
layout (Illustration C3).
This feature can be used together with
“Process Cutting Paths” to produce weeder
boxes. It is also useful for producing work
such as the photographic package job
shown in Illustration C4.

Cutting Workflow
There are three basic cutting workflows
possible using the Wasatch SoftRIP Cutting
Option.
Print and cut: With print-and-cut, processing
is handled in the device driver. After the image is printed, the media is Illustration C3: Nested Images with
automatically rolled back and cut out. cutting paths

Cut only: With standard cutting plotters, the job is simply RIP’d and cut.

Printing and cutting on separate

devices: A more complex procedure
involves printing on a color printer, then
taking the print to a separate cutting device
where it is registered and cut out. To support
this activity, SoftRIP places cutting paths
into a special Cutting Queue at the time of
printing. Once the job has been physically
loaded and registered on the cutting device,
the operator can send these cut paths to
the plotter.

Follow these steps when printing on one

device and cutting on another.
1. Color Printer Configuration Illustration C4: Cutting rectangular
On the Main Screen, select the Unit number that will be assigned to the color paths
printer. In our example, this will be Unit 1. When you select Setup from the Print
menu, the screen shown in Illustration C2 will be displayed.
In the Printer Model window, select your printer, the Imaging Configuration and
the appropriate Physical Connection.
The parameters you select on this menu will depend on the requirements of the
cutter. For instance, most cutters can’t cut to the left edge of the paper. They
can only cut to the leftmost pinch roller. The value in the Left Margin window
should correspond to the distance from the left edge of the print media to the
inner side of the pinch roller. (In this example 1 in.)
Most cutters are also sensitive to the leader space on the print media. This is
the area of the media from the leading edge to the print image. This physical
measurement corresponds to the Top Margin setting on this menu. Set this
number to the value required by the cutter. (In this example 3 inches.)
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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Contour Cutting

Since cutters cannot cut sheet-fed media all the way to the trailing edge
of the print, also add a bottom margin. (In this example 4 inches.)
Enable Cutting Registration Marks by clicking in the box. These marks
are necessary to manually align the print in the cutter. Since these marks
are printed in the printable area outside of the cuttable area, you must
specify a value for top, left, and bottom margin or these marks will not
be printed. Click on OK to return to the Main Screen.
2. Cutter configuration
Next, select the print unit that corresponds to the cutting plotter. In our
example, this will be Unit 2. Click on Print, then Setup.
• Select your cutter and the appropriate physical connection.
• Set the Left Margin, Top Margin, Bottom Margin to 0. Illustration C5: Cutting Queue screen

• Click on OK to return to the main screen.

3. Print the file
Change back to the Unit configured as your color printer. In our example, this is
Unit 1.
• If the file(s) contains Cut Paths, make sure that Process Cutting Paths is
enabled in the Setup menu. Cut Paths will only be created if this option is
checked prior to RIP’ing the image.
• If you want the outlines of each job to be cut out instead, make sure that
Outline Jobs is checked in the Setup menu.
• Open up the file(s) to be cut, then click the Rip and Print button on the Print
menu. Illustration C6: Editing multiple jobs

• After the print has finished, an entry will be made in the Cutting Queue.
4. Align the print in the cutter
• Place the printed media into the cutter. Ensure that the media is inserted as
straight as possible.
• Refer to your printer’s User’s Guide for information on manual
registration. In general, you must choose an Origin Point (which
should be registration mark #1 on the print), and an Align Point
(which differs depending on your printer).
5. Find the appropriate cut job on the Cutting Queue and send it.
Launch the Cutting Queue screen by clicking Cut from the top of the
Main Screen. The Cutting Queue screen shown in Illustration C5 will
appear. In the top window, select the Unit Number that is set up as the
cutter. In this example it is Unit 2.
The Cutting Queue window functions similarly to the Print Queue. The
‘Job Name’ is the same index that appears in the Print Queue. The
‘Description’ is either the original filename of the print job, or if multiple
jobs were nested, it will display Manual Print Layout/Autonesting Job. Illustration C7: Cutting Queue Edit for
The number of original files used is displayed in the Files column. A unique cutting single job
index number is displayed in the Index column.
To further process any job, either right-click or double-click on the job listing. You
can hold down CTRL or SHIFT to select multiple items.
If you select multiple items, the window shown in Illustration C6 will be displayed.
When multiple items are selected, you can only change the number of copies or
delete listed items. If you open a single job listing, the window shown in Illustration
C7 will be displayed. To send this cut job to the cutter, change the value in the
Copies window to ‘1’, and click on OK. To delete this cut job, click on Delete.

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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Contour Cutting

CutPath with Corel 9, 10 & 11

The following tech note will walk you through creating a CutPath to use with
Wasatch SoftRIP from Corel Draw 9, 10 and 11.

1. Click on Tools and select Palette Editor.

2. From the drop down menu select Custom Spot Color (Corel Draw 9 users
will find this option under User Defined Inks).
3. To create a new Spot Color click on Add Color.
4. When the Select Color window opens, click on the Mixers tab.
5. Select any color you want from the color wheel.
6. Click on Add to Palette, then click on Close.
7. Change the Name of the Selected Palette Color to CutPath, click on OK to
save the settings. For SoftRIP to recognize the Cutting Path, the name must
be CutPath, spelled exactly as it appears.
8. To apply the CutPath to your artwork, click on the Outline Pen.
9. Select the CutPath Spot Color, and width should be set to Hairline.
10. When finished, save or print your artwork to create a .ps, .eps, or .prn file.

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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Contour Cutting

CutPath with Adobe Illustrator 8, 9 & 10

The following tech note will walk you through creating a CutPath to use with
Wasatch SoftRIP, from Adobe Illustrator 8, 9 & 10

1. Start by creating a new blank document.

2. Click on Window and select Show Swatches.
3. Click on Window and select Show Stroke.
4. To create a new Swatch you can click on the right arrow of the Swatch Window
and select New Swatch.
5. The Swatch name must be CutPath.
6. The Color type must be Spot Color.
7. The Color mode may be set to any color space you choose. Whatever color
you select, SoftRIP will replace this color with “marching ants” along the cut
path.
8. Click OK to save the swatch.
9. From the Stroke tab, apply the following settings:

• Weight: .25
• Miter Limit: 1

10. For Illustrator 9 and 10 users, the Transparency options need to be set as
follows:

• Normal Opacity at 100%

11. Select the Stroke Color and then select the CutPath color swatch.
12. You can create your art work with the CutPath stroke around the art you
wish to have cut out.
13. When finished, save or print your artwork to create a .ps, .eps, or .prn file.

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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Contour Cutting

CutPath with Quark 4 and 5

The following tech note will walk you through creating a CutPath to
use with Wasatch SoftRIP.

1. Click on Edit and select Colors and click on New.

2. Use the following settings:
Name: CutPath
Spot Color checked

In order for SoftRIP to see the cutting path the name must be CutPath,
spelled exactly as you see it here.
3. Click on OK, and then SAVE to save your CutPath to the color platte.
4. Layout out your artwork as you normally would. Apply the CutPath
by selecting the object you want to add the CutPath to. Click on Item,
click on Modify, then select Frame.
5. Select the CutPath spot color from the color palette, and use the
following recommended settings:
Width Type in .25pt
Style Solid pattern
Shade between 0% and 100%

6. When finished, use Quark’s Save Page as EPS.

Cutting Devices Supported

Currently Supported (August 12, 2003)

• Roland CAMMJET CJ-400/500

• Mimaki CG-FX Series
• Mimaki CG-EX Series
• Mimaki CG-LX Series
• Allen Datagraph 800 Plus Series
• Graphtec FC5100 Cutter
• Graphtec SignJet Pro JX-2000
• Generic HPGL Cutter (Supports most makes and models)

Further information on operating these cutters is found in online Help.

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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Contour Cutting

Set Maximum Cutting Mark Interval

The control for setting a maximum cutting mark interval is displayed when
one selects a cutting device that can read more than the standard four regis-
tration marks. The registration marks will be printed at regular intervals down
the edges of any print layout. To enable this feature choose an applicable
device from the Cutting Registration Marks menu in Wasatch SoftRIP. (This
feature only works with layouts and with the print spooler, never with immedi-
ate print of a single page.) Illustration C8: Cutting Mark Interval Controls

When you make this selection, you’ll be presented with the controls shown in
Illustration C8.

The interval choice sets the maximum interval value. If the length of the print
is close to or greater than the maximum cutting mark interval, subdivisions
of cutting mark spacing start there. This means that the interval should never
exceed that maximum, and may be half of the maximum, as would happen if
you had a 24 inch interval, as shown above, and were printing 24.1 inches.

For example:

• printing an image that is 24 inches long with the maximum cutting mark
interval set at 24 inches will place two marks on each edge at the corners on
a 24 inch interval

• printing an image that is 25 inches long with the maximum cutting mark
interval set at 24 inches will place three marks on each edge at a 12-1/2 inch
interval

• printing an image that is 25 inches long with the maximum cutting mark
interval set at 12 inches will place four marks on each edge at a 8-1/3 inch
interval

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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Textiles

Textile and Surface Design

Revision: October 15, 2003

You’ll want to be generally familiar with

the operation of Wasatch SoftRIP before
reading this document.
The Special Colors, Color Database, and
Spot Color Capture features of Wasatch
SoftRIP are particularly useful for the
printing of textiles and surface designs.
In addition to the standard tools, optional
Textiles feature, available at extra cost,
make Wasatch SoftRIP into a powerful and
specialized solution for digital textile and
fabric printing.

Activation of Textile Options

A Special Registration Code is necessary
to enable the special textile-oriented
capabilities of Wasatch SoftRIP. This
code may be purchased from Wasatch or Repeats tab and Textile Separations
through your Wasatch reseller. The code will be sent along with instructions selection on main window when the
for its installation.Once this is done, exit and re-run Wasatch SoftRIP. Two new Textile feature is enabled.
controls will be available.
The Repeats tab will now appear any time an image is open. The Textile
Separations selection on the main File menu is used for reconstruction of
color images from the Tiff-based separations that are common in textile printing
workflows.

Repeats Controls
This optional feature is part of the Textiles extensions for Wasatch
SoftRIP.
Production of a pattern can begin with the opening of a single Repeat
image in Wasatch SoftRIP. When this image is duplicated according
to your settings, it will become the basis of the Repeats pattern.
All of Wasatch’s normal tools for cropping, sizing, and rotation, may
be used prior to transforming the orignal repeat image into a pattern.
Selection of the Repeats tab automatically produces the pattern.
If a crop box exists when the Repeats tab is selected, the system
will zoom into that box, meaning that the image inside that box
will generate the pattern. The effects of new control settings are
immediately and automatically reflected in the preview screen.
Scrolling the Width to print control is an effective way to zoom in and Opening a single Repeat Image
out on the print.
The horizontal ruler reflects the value that you enter into Width to print. Also enter
required length into the Length to print control. The vertical ruler does not reflect
the value of Length to print because the display is designed to show an equal
number of repeats both horizontally and vertically. The screen shown here is
set to print 44 inches wide by 100 inches long. The scroll bar on the right edge
will scroll the ruler to indicate the currently selected Length to print value.
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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Textiles

Adding a job to the RIP and/or Print queues while the Repeats tab
is active will cause the setup of a repeat job. When selecting such a
job from the queues, you’ll see a special modification of the display.
The Print Width X Height windows will reflect the dimensions of a
single repeat, while the actual size to be printed will be displayed on
a new line titled Repeat to Fill, as shown below.
When this job is printed, the output will be the size shown by Repeat
to Fill, (44 by 100 inches in this illustration).

Drops and Slides

The Drop and Slide controls allow for a variety of repeat configurations,
such as shown in the examples below:

Pattern repeated when the Repeats tab

No Drop or Slide 50% Horizontal Drop

Special Repeats Queue edit screen

50% Vertical Drop 20% Horizontal Drop

20% Horizontal Slide 20% Vertical Slide

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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Textiles

Repeats Issues
The following are special issues to bear in mind when using
Repeats.

Making Seamless Repeats

The specialized halftoning and resampling in Wasatch SoftRIP can
produce flawlessly seamless patterns, but only if there are no “edge
problems” with the file that is being repeated. An inconspicuous
single row of pixels that are faintly off-color at the edge of a Tiff file
can become a very visible seam when that file is turned into a pattern
of repeats. Textile Separations screen
Additional uncertainty arises when printing from PostScript files, due to the
unpredictable behavior of “resolution independent” graphics when rendered at
the edge of the page. With PostScript (or PDF or EPS) input, it is important to
print test swatches and to make adjustments to cropping where needed.
The cropping tools and the viewing of the low-resolution previews in Wasatch
SoftRIP are not sufficient by themselves to ensure seamless repeats. Test
swatches are important, particularly when printing directly from PostScript No color assignment prompt screen
files.

Issues with Late Halftoning

Seamless output of repeats involves some special processing
techniques. Unlike other types of jobs produced with Wasatch
SoftRIP, repeat jobs are not screened during PostScript rasterization.
Screening is performed “late”, on a continuous basis as the repeat
pattern is physically output to the printer.
This makes the screening itself “perfectly seamless” across repeat
boundaries. It enables “endless” output to be generated from a
reasonably small file, one that contains a single repeat. It also
introduces some special considerations and limitations for these Random palette of colors
jobs:
• Repeat jobs may be auto-nested, or arranged with using Manual Print Layout, in
combination with each other, but not in combination with other types of jobs.
• Repeat jobs should be printed with ‘Digital’ Mezzotint or ‘Advanced Screens’
halftoning. Other choices may produce various problems.
• Repeat jobs cannot be printed using ‘Immediate Print’ mode
• Because “computationally expensive” screening is performed simultaneously
with output of data to the printer, it is especially important to use a fast
computer

Textile Separations
This optional feature is part of the Textiles extensions for Wasatch SoftRIP.
This software takes digital engraving data and adapts it for direct digital color
printing. Use it to recombine separations that you receive in the form of multiple
grayscale Tiff files. You can assign CIE Lab colors, and maintain and print View of a single separation
multiple sets of these assignments, also known as multiple “colorways”. You
can then use the other features of Wasatch SoftRIP to print these colorways.
This tool only works with the 8-bit (continous tone) Grayscale TIFF files, such
as are commonly found in textile printing workflows. Before using this tool, you

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 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Textiles

must place the Tiff files that make up your separation by themselves
in a dedicated folder, from which you’ll open them. This is also where
your colorways will be stored (in the form of ‘.csf’ files).
When the Textile extensions are active in Wasatch SoftRIP, you’ll
find Textile Separations on the main File menu. After you click on
the Textile Separations, the main Textile Separations screen will
appear.
Color editing
Click on File to select the folder that contains the Tiff files which make up the
separation. The first time you open the folder, there will be no color assignment,
and you’ll be prompted with.
If you choose ‘No’, all colors other than the substrate will be assigned
black, and if you choose ‘Yes’, a random pallete of colors, as is
illustrated below, will be displayed.
Click on any separation file in the above list, and press the View
Separation button, to see the individual separation, as shown
below.
Entering Data: By double-clicking on any separation, or pressing
the Color button, you can launch the following window for editing
that color.
A new color can be mixed specified with any of these controls, or
directly imported by measurement with your colorimeter by using the Save-as screen
Spot Color Capture button.
It is also possible to import colors from color databases by using the Database
button. After pressing that button, use the color database tools as described
in the main manual for Wasatch SoftRIP. Press the Add to database button if
you’d like to add a color from your colorway to a color database.
After you’ve created a pleasing colorway, you can select ‘Save’ or ‘Save As’
from the File menu. Pressing ‘Save As’ will provide a window such as that
shown below, in which the new colorway is being named “newColorwayName”.
If multiple colorways are available in the folder, they can quickly be loaded by
selecting Open Color Assignment from the main File menu.
If several different ‘.csf’ files are in your folder the next time you open it with
this Textile Separations tool, you’ll be presented with the option of selecting
the one you want.
You can open your colorways in Wasatch SoftRIP by opening ‘.csf’ file from the
folder where the separated files are contained. Simply RIP and print your csf file
just as you would with any other file type supported by Wasatch SoftRIP.

Managing Spot and Indexed Color

Most users of Repeats have a related interest in the management of spot colors,
such as those found in indexed Tiff files. Wasatch SoftRIP provides powerful
tools that can be used for color correction and management, and even for
production of multiple colorways right on the RIP. A Color Database feature is
included which allows you to maintain your own “color kitchen” of dozens or
hundreds of named colors. for more on managing Spot Colors, see Special
Color Replacement in the Users Manual.

PAGE - 13
 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Precision Rosettes

Wasatch Precision Rosette Screens Note: your final results also depend
These screen sets are an optional add-on for Wasatch SoftRIP, available at on the accuracy of registration of your
printer and film, and on additional moire
extra cost. The following discussion is supplemental to the SoftRIP SP for
that may be introduced by the mechan-
Screen Printing package (also available as an upgrade. This information spe-
ics of your printer.
cific to Wasatch Precision Rosette Screens and is based on the assumption
that you are familiar with the operation of SoftRIP and the basics of color
separations for screen printing. It will also be helpful to study the Quickstart for
SoftRIP SP document and the Color Separations section of the Appendices
document.

When using wide format inkjet printers to produce color separations, simple
PostScript screens are often enough. If, however, your printing process is suf-
ficiently precise to reproduce classic rosette halftones, you’ll find that simple
PostScript screens are not good enough to get you there.

Wasatch Precision Rosette Screens are screen sets that will produce center-
filled rosettes across the full width of your wide format digital printer.
Wasatch Rosettes are distributed as a set of precalculated data, with values
of lpi and dpi that are suited to the production of screen separations on a
variety of popular inkjet printers. A large number of screen sets are currently
available, and we invite you to contact our customer service department with
suggestions for more.

The list of currently available screen sets can be viewed online under Wasatch
Precision Rosette Screens.

Dot shapes currently available in

Wasatch Precision Rosette Screens

Ellipse 70/30

Round

Ellipse 60/40

PAGE - 14
 WASATCH SOFTRIP 5.1 Optional Features Precision Rosettes

Using Wasatch Precision Rosette

Screens

Before you can use these screens, you

must purchase the distribution CD-ROM’s
and install some screen sets from those CD-
ROM’s. You must also install an enabling
code in accordance with the instructions
that come along with these disks.

After installing your screen sets from the

distribution CD-ROM for Wasatch Precision
Rosette Screens, you can select them by Selecting Precision Rosettes from the
going to the Color Transforms screen, selecting Advanced Screens as your Advanced Properties screen.
halftone method, and then clicking on the Halftone Properties button. This will
launch the Advanced Screens Properties window.

You will then find your selections on the Screens list. Wasatch Precision Rosette
Screens will appear on this list beginning with the word “rosette”, as shown in
the illustratio. This information is followed by the horizontal and vertical device
dpi for which the screen was created.

Ensure that the dpi for which the screen was created matches the “addressable
dpi” shown in the field just below the list of screens. Failure to match this up
will result in screens that are the wrong lpi, or that are “squashed” or otherwise
incorrect. Note that the “addressable dpi” shown here may differ from the dpi
indicated on the main Wasatch list of printers, which is the “equivalent”, or
“effective” dpi advertised by the printer manufacturer. In the illustration above,
a dpi of 720X1440 has been correctly selected.

In the description of the rosette screen, the target device dpi is followed by
the screen’s LPI, and finally by a code for the dot shape. See the currently
available dot shapes at the bottom of this page.

The Dot Size controls are primarily intended for use with various stochastic
screens, as discussed in the Other Screens section of Appendices. If used
with rosette screens, they’ll simply increase the screen lpi, while producing a
slightly more jagged dot.

The Swap Screens control is discussed in the next section.

Moire with Traditional Rosette Screens

Any pattern which results from the combination of two or more ordered
“periodic” patterns, is called a “moire”. Moire can be produced any time two or
more color separations are combined. With traditional screening, moire in the
Cyan, Magenta, and Black separations is minimized by placing these three
screens at angles that are exact multiples of 30 degrees. This produces the
“CMK rosette” pattern shown above.

This traditional pattern is an “unstable” moire-free arrangement. Any slight

deviation in the angles or lpi of the separations can produce a pattern like that
shown in the Failed CMK Rosette on the next page. (These patterns are better
viewed onscreen in the online help sections.)

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CMK Rosette Failed CMK Rosette

This failure of the CMK rosette structure can result from ordinary digital
screening. It can be avoided at the digital halftoning step by using Wasatch
Precision Rosette Screens, a high precision digital screening method. The
traditional rosette structure can also fail due to misalignment of film, or of
screens or plates during the printing process. It’s a “weakest link” situation,
and the production of perfect traditional rosette color is demanding.

15 Degree Yellow Moire Final Result in CMYK Color

Only three screens can be placed at 30 degree angles, so one of your CMYK
separations must be placed in a way that does allow moire to occur. It is
traditional to make this the yellow separation, and to place it at 15 degrees
from the cyan and magenta separations. Simple mathematics shows that this
will produce a moire with “squares” that are 3.83 times the size of the halftone
dots. This yellow moire, which is shown above, will look familiar to all prepress
workers who work with film separations.

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Yellow is chosen because it is the faintest of the four colors in a CMYK

separation. The above “Final Result in CMYK Color” shows the same
separations as the “15 Degree Yellow Moire”, but the rosette structure is much
more pleasing, because the CMK separations are visually stronger than the
yellow separation.

More about 15 degree “Yellow” Moire

Two Screens at 15 degrees Two Screens at 45 degrees

In the traditional set of screens, Black, Cyan, and Magenta are all positioned
at angles of 30 degrees to each other. Yellow is positioned at the “orphaned”
angle, at 15 degrees from Cyan and Magenta, and 45 degrees from Black.

Both angles produce moire, but the 15 degree moire with a size of 3.83 times
that of the halftone screen is the most visible by far. When a red is mixed
from halftoned quantities of magenta and yellow ink, or a green from halftoned
quantities of cyan and yellow ink, the 15 degree moire can become quite
visible.

When printing images that are dominated by colors that exhibit this problem,
prepress experts sometimes swap the angle of the black separation with that
for magenta or cyan. This replaces the 15 degree moire with the less-offensive
45 degree moire.

Wasatch SoftRIP provides ways of doing this with Wasatch Precision Rosette
Screens, as well as with PostScript screens.

In the illustration at the top of page 15, the Swap Screens control has been
set to exchange the Black and Magenta screen angles, a very common choice
to reduce moire in reddish images and flesh tones. To use this control, simply
click and drag the screen you wish to exchange.

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Self Moire

Print Head Banding Rotated Screen

Produces Self Moire

Banding

Sometimes “banding”, or other undesired

patterns will appear in a single separation. This
is typically caused by regular “periodic” variations in the size or placement of
dots produced by the printer. In the above illustration, slight horizontal bands
are interacting with the rotated screen to produce moire bands at an entirely
new angle. This illustration shows what can result from “print head banding” or
media advance problems that are commonly seen in inkjet printers.

With their complex assemblies of stepping motors and encoding strips, inkjet
printers are very prone to this kind of problem, which is impossible to anticipate
or correct in software. This means that adjustment of your printer is critical for
the production of color separations.

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Stochastic Hybrid Screens

A Method For Elimination of ‘15 Degree Moire’

CMK CMK PLus Yellow

The best-known of all printing moire problems arises because of the need to
add a fourth screen at a 15 degree angle after all possible 30 degree angles
have been used by the CMK separations, as shown above. This moire, which
is familiar to all press people, is shown even more clearly by isolating two
screens at 15 degrees to each other here.

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Since the invention of FM halftoning, it has become common in many high-end

print shops to simply substitute an FM screen for the offending yellow plate,
as shown in the margin.

Setup in Wasatch SoftRIP SP Black

The Advanced Screens window displays a Scale Factor, which is the factor
by which the size of all dots is multiplied by the Minimum Dot Size control.
The minimum dot size in microns is also displayed. For normal stochastic
screens, this is the size of all dots. When a Wasatch Precision Rosette Screen Cyan
is selected, and the Scale Factor is greater than one, the new ‘Halftone LPI’
is also displayed.

When you select a Wasatch Precision Rosette Screen from the Advanced
Screens window in Wasatch SoftRIP SP, a new button will appear, with the
label Rosette/Stochastic Hybrid. Magenta

Pressing this button launches the following window labels Swap Screen
Controls in the margin.

Simply select Use Stochastic Screen... to choose the hybrid screening Yellow (FM Screen)
method. Use the slider switch to specify a dot size for the stochastic screen.
The ‘Equivalent Tonal Percent’ display is intended as an aid for choosing this
dot size. Set it to the lowest tonal percent you can reliably hold on press. Most
printers will want to set ‘Equivalent Tonal Percent’ somewhere between 5%
and 25%.

Equivalent Tonal Percent is the tonal percent which, for the current rosette
screen, has a dot size roughly equal to that of the current setting of Minimum
Dot Size for the stochastic screen. Minimum dot size in this window is actually
determined by the multiple of the Scale Factor chosen here and the Scale
Factor shown on the parent window. Both are displayed. Swap screen controls

The selected stochastic screen will be substituted for the 15-degree

separation, and displayed as shown below.

Selecting the substitute screen

Stochastic screen substituted

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