Photoshop CS3 for Screen Printers- P12: The toolbox is the heart of Photoshop CS3, and where you’ll find the tools you need to create your artwork and perform editing tasks. From the toolbox you can access the selection tools, shape tools, type tools, Crop tool, and eraser tools. These are basic tools that any screen printer or graphic artist needs. | 306 Part III Working with Client Files Caution Images that are screen printed get darker and softer during the print process. At each step sharpness is lost. Therefore be generous and aggressive when sharpening an image or increasing saturation. To use Unsharp Mask 1. Open the file Fish Final from the Chapter 16 folder on the companion CD-ROM. This file is indicative of what a client might give you for a sign shirt or other substrate in that first it s a JPEG and second it needs to be sharpened. 2. Choose Filter Sharpen Unsharp Mask. 3. In the Unsharp Mask dialog box make sure the Preview box is checked. Then move the sliders as follows Change Amount to 150 percent Change Radius to 1 Change Threshold to 5 See Figure 16-6. Figure 16-6 Using Unsharp Mask 307 Chapter 16 Working with Photos and Making Selections 4. Look at the picture while unchecking and rechecking the Preview box to see the difference. The additional sharpness enhances the picture. Click OK when done. When you get to the point in sharpening when the image looks grainy or too sharp step back a level or two. Try not to get a halo effect on the image if you do reduce the levels a little. You ll use this command on almost all images for screen printing. The Curves Tool Revisited As I mentioned earlier the Curves tool is my favorite and is great for working with photos. Curves can be used to perform all of the adjustments mentioned earlier including adjusting highlights midtones and shadows increasing brightness and contrast and correcting color. By combining this tool and the options from the Image Adjustments menu with practice you can correct almost any photograph. Project 16-3 The Basics Readying an Image for Color Separation and Screening In order to get a photograph ready for screening you need to prepare it by using and applying Unsharp Mask adjusting tone curves and adjusting the brightness contrast hue and saturation. Although each photo or image is different here are some basic steps to
