I work as a graphic designer in a screen printing shop, and one of my tasks is to print artwork to transparencies so the production team can burn it to screens.
However, lately the artwork hasn't been lining up exactly as it should when I print each color as its own separation. I've made sure to copy and paste into place on a new artboard just to make sure, and everything lines up on-screen.
Correct. And I think I've just learned it's not Adobe Illustrator. My printer prints on rolls of transparency, and it seems the last 10 or so feet of the roll physically stretches the print. Makes no sense.
If you'd been wrapped around a tube with under 100lb of material on you, you be stretched. Unfortunately the material closest to the tube, especially if it's attached with tape, takes a lot of torque stress when being moved, and yours probably came from China, so it's seen a few fork lift operators. Put a brand new roll on and test it.
Yup, that was the issue. The last 10 feet of the roll was getting stretched. Which is a huge waste unfortunately, but as soon as I switched to a new roll it corrected itself.
Do you have manual register marks on your page? Are you printing one document as separations, or multiple documents with a single color on each page? We need more to go by. If you do not know how or what info to provide in such a question, do a screenshot, and we will get you to a soluiton quicker.
I have a template of registration marks that is always the same. I am printing one document as separations, NOT multiple documents with a single color on each page.
I figured it out though. Turns out the last 10 feet of my 100 foot transparency rolls gets stretched. Unfortunately that's a material issue, not a software issue.
Why do you have to create separate docs for each plate? Do you need to print the usual CMYK separations? Does your printer allow you to print the plates separately? If you need to print the final colors (e.g. red, violet, etc.), did you try to set each color as Spot (e.g. Pantone Solid Coated)? These colors create their own plates and you can just print each plate separately, not create the new doc for each color.
And yes, the last 10 feet of the roll may be phisically stretched during printing (and paper also but paper sheets are generally not so big and we don't notice the deformation).
Nowhere did I say I am creating separate documents for each separation. It is all on the same artboard, and they are all Pantones. Under the Output section in the Print dialog, it allows me to print each pantone as its own separation.
However, I found out that it is the last 10 feet of the transparency rolls I am using. Unfortunately that is a material issue and nothing to do with the software. I am going to email the manufacturer of the roll to see if they have any suggestions.
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