Some sort of adventure, an experience, a tale to tell. The trip for a VersaCAMM installation in Maine this week was no exception

It started like most – an early morning airport flight with layovers and all the joy that comes with it (note heavy sarcasm here). On the last leg of my flight I was privileged to sit next to Lance Corporal Mitchell Jameson. This young man was on his way home after basic training and his MOS school. The fun part of it all was that none of his family knew he was on his way home. He was going to take a taxi from the airport the 10 or so miles to his house but this retired Navy Chief would not have it! I offered to give him a ride if he was willing to wait a few minutes to get the rental car. He readily agreed. I was looking forward to helping a shipmate out and being part of a special surprise. When I got the car and found the young Marine by the baggage claim, I was a little surprised to see he had with him his entire belongings. My offer to help carry one of the 2 sea-bags, 2 large duffel bags and a laptop bag was met with a sharp “I got it Chief” and a big grin. Should have guessed he would not back down from a challenge like that!

One of the many bags

Soon the small rental was packed to the window tops and we were off to the homecoming. Along the way he chatted me up pretty well – mostly about his training and how things had changed back home as we passed his high school and a couple of places he frequented as a kid. I could tell he was getting more excited the closer we got. He had been travelling since the night before with a few layovers from California and was ready to be back with family finally. We got to the house and I sent him up to meet the family as I unloaded the endless pile of bags for him. I would like to say the house was full of family all surprised to see him but the only one home was his older brother. Still, he was amazed that Mitchell was home and they immediately started plotting out how to surprise the rest of the family when they came home for the day. I got a quick handshake and a hearty thanks and was off to the northern tip of Maine for my install. Godspeed LCpl Jameson and thank you for letting me be a part of your day!

LCpl Mitchell Jameson

Next stop, Houlton Maine.

There really is not much to say about the drive up or the sights along the way. Mostly forest land on both sides and you really feel that you are heading into an isolated area. Houlton is about 20 miles from the Canadian border and is one of the larger cities in northern Maine. The one thing that hit me upon entering the town was a very large monument to George Washington. Being a Mason myself I know the significance of our first president not only as the historic figure, but also as the mason he was. The monument was a dedication to the town from the masonic organizations locally and was at the entrance of the town square. I love little home towns that have a main street and businesses that you can go door to door to and this one had that real hometown feeling. Add to it the monument and masonic ties, and I was feeling pretty welcome indeed!

Masonic monument to George Washington

The install was routine with a great customer that will do very well by having added a large format printer to his arsenal of equipment and services. I think that he will quickly be adding many products to the line he has and take real advantage of the versatility of the VersaCAMM. He also introduced me to Sandies bakery – they have home made doughnuts that were amazing! Pretty sure it violated my diet though. Thank you Blaine for having me up for the install and showing true northern Maine hospitality while I was there.

What trip to Maine would be complete without a moose sighting? I have been to Maine many times and have yet to see one. Well this was my lucky trip. On the road back to Bangor for my flight home today I spotted a few cars in the distance slowing down for something very large on the side of the road. I thought it might be a moose so I slowed as well and once I got closer, found myself staring at not only one, but two moose. It appeared like it was a mother and her calf who let me get about 20 feet from them. Once I got too close she cut in front of her calf and gave me a “don’t even think about getting closer” look. I was more than happy to oblige and actually never left the “safety” of my car. If you have ever seen one of these beautiful creatures up close, they are truly massive and quite beautiful. After a few minutes more I left them with a smile and quick call to Jen – “You will never guess what I just saw!!” Of course she guessed it.

Momma moose with calf behind her

All in all – not a bad trip although I am sitting in Reagan International airport writing this as the FAA furlough delayed my initial flight and stranded me here for almost 6 hours today. Frustrating but it allowed me to catch up on emails and finally write an article for the blog. Hopefully my next trip will have another great adventure.

One of these will sell for more – which one?

Having a regular decal with backing all around it is not very exciting. With a Roland VersaCAMM you can add a PerfCutContour and apply it in Versaworks to have the machine perforate a cut around the graphic. Now you can take your graphic from plain packaging to something that is store ready for resale!

correct blade extension is important!

The question that comes next would be – How do I do it? Well you are in luck as I have recently uploaded a video that walks you through the process step by step.  Check out the video here – Perfcut video. There are a few important items to take into consideration – you will have to adjust your cutting blade and holder, it will wear out blades and cutting strips quicker, and it does take a little bit of time and practice to get things setup right. Along with that – there are certain setup points that need to be done and tested to ensure that your job goes smoothly – things like ensuring the blade is extended properly to allow cutting through both the media and backing. Check out the video and see how you can add this great feature to your products today!

easily pop your finished graphic out!

Imagine this scenario – you just got on site after driving 30 minutes to install a graphic for the customer and find out one of the tools you need isn’t with you. A 60 minute round trip for the tool seems like a great waste of your day! I have run into it myself and recently when one of the girls in Jen’s shop grabbed the install bucket to do a job, they found that there was a tape measure missing from the kit we had. The bucket is great but it just seems like the tools get thrown in there with no real regard.
Jen stepped in and made it mandatory – we WILL have a good install kit, and it will have a checklist for the contents! So here it is, the new improved install kit (it works well for vehicle wrap installations too) along with pictures and a checklist. Let me know if you think I missed anything so we can update it. The bag we got has pockets for everything and allows for easy access to it all.

The kit covers all the tools – Squeegees, gloves, cleaner, tape measures, magnets, application tape, you name it, it’s here. We tested the new kit at the recent wrap class and found it was missing one item – a pair of shears. Simple to add. A few people have looked it over and so far, they have agreed with whats in here. The checklist is below so you can see everything that is in there. Let me know via the comments section or by email if you think there is anything that should be added!

Wrap kit bag

Installation Kit Checklist

• Squeegees
  • Felt
  • Teflon
  • Specialty – magnetic / wet edge /
  • Lil chisler (for removing graphics)
  • Razor scraper
  • Tape measure
  • Cloth tape measure
  • Flexible steel ruler
  • China pencils / grease pencils
  • Wrap gloves
  • Surgical gloves (keep the hands clean!)
  • Masking material / tape
  • Mints – Jen said we have to have fresh breath for talking to customers J
  • Knife disposal container
  • Extra knife blades
  • Trash bags (2)
  • Paper towel
  • Cleaning fluids – ammonia free window cleaner and rapid prep solution
  • Painters tape
  • Tool pouch – for easier carrying around of tools in use
  • Knives
    • Olfa XA-1
    • Olfa Chisel point knife
    • Olfa stainless breakaway knife
    • Olfa TS-1 backing paper cutter
    • Bubble popper tool
    • Pens
    • Magnet set for holding graphics
    • Leatherman multi tool
    • Heat gun
    • Torch
    • Hand sanitizer – you never know when you will need that!

DPI or Dot per Inch is the amount of dots laid down by a printer per square inch. For example: a Roland VersaCAMM has the ability to print at 1440x 1080 dots per inch (DPI). This is independent of PPI or pixels per inch. Pixels per Inch are a representation of how many pixels are in a square inch of a graphic as it resides on the computer. If you were to zoom into a particular graphic, you can see the individual pixels in any raster image. The higher the PPI, the more detail in the graphic and subsequently, the larger the file size of the graphic. For vector images this is not a concern as they are comprised of nodes and calculations to define the areas of the graphic and are independent of the actual physical size of the graphic.  This is all well and good until we look at how most graphic programs represent these two separate physical qualities.

In almost every graphic program I have worked with, it represents PPI as DPI – for example: if I bring a photograph into Corel Draw and take a look at its properties, it will tell me the DPI in that graphic. Possibly it is a large file that has a DPI of 300 x 300. The truth is that the DPI represented here is actually PPI – pixels, not drops. This can be confusing for many including most importantly, your customer. Here is a scenario demonstrating how this could be an issue.

Different PPI printed at the same DPI

Your favorite customer comes into the shop after hearing that you can make custom wall graphics out of photographs and he has a great picture of little Timmy making the game winning home run. He wants you to edit the photo so that it is just Timmy and print it onto wall graphic media so they can put it on Timmy’s bedroom wall. You are excited to get started and take the file from them to print. Upon bringing it into Corel Draw, you notice that the DPI (really PPI) of the photograph at full print size is only 32 x 32 – this will make for a very grainy picture at best and will not be acceptable. You tell your customer this and he exclaims “I don’t understand! I thought that wonderful printer of yours could print at 1440 x 1080 dpi. Why can’t you print a good picture from it?”

You see, the printer can output that 32×32 PPI photograph at a print resolution of 1440 x 1080 DPI but no matter what, it will still look like, well you know what it will look like. Trying to explain to the customer that same thing is hard to do sometimes though.  A great way to express this to them in a way they can understand is by having a graphic that can be shown that is printed at the higher DPI with several examples of the same picture at different PPI. You can download one to use here.  By having this or some other full size example available, you can show them very quickly how it will look when the picture they saved from Facebook is now printed to life size. In short – not pretty at all.

From here we can work with the customer to either get the original picture that may be at a higher resolution or maybe working with a different graphic that is better suited for what they want. A typical rule of thumb when trying to explain to the customer is – a 2MB file or larger where the subject to be printed is at least 70% of the image. This will work as a good starting point to get a graphic that will print well.

To see how a custom wall graphic is created using Corel Draw, check out the video here and make sure to subscribe to the channel for future videos that may be helpful for you.

It’s amazing how much we teach our children: right from wrong, how to behave, and the nuances of life. Truth be told, I have learned far more from you Brianna then I could ever have imagined. I didn’t get a chance to be there for everything in my daughter’s life, but she was always with me in my heart as I travelled in the Navy. I was privileged to be there for the graduation and couldn’t have been prouder.

Bri - the sock monkey monster

I can remember the little girl who I taught to ride a bike. She was like many kids and wanted to give up quickly. I encouraged her to keep trying and not let the falls she kept having discourage her. It didn’t take long and soon she was riding away without any help from me. It was one of the times I reflect back on that symbolizes a child learning but moving away from their parent as they gain independence. How do I get that little girl back?

There is also the little girl that danced with her Dad at his wedding. Smiling from ear to ear and becoming the center of attention at only eight years old, she was wearing a white dress and making her Dad think of the wedding that would be in her future. A little foreshadowing of things to come I am sure. We danced to “What a wonderful world” and I hope we will dance to the same song at her wedding. Hopefully not in the near future though kiddo!

Over the years she has always taught me how to look at the world around us from a different view. From the simple innocence of a child marveling at a bug or a pretty stone, to the young adult that is an avid photographer capturing slices of the world from points I would never have imagined. She seems to be able and capture not only a moment, but the feeling that it held for her and allow others to be a part of that vision. Try as I might, I have never been able to get close to what she does instinctively but have enjoyed seeing the ordinary from an all different perspective. She also sees the world as we all would hope our children do. She is not scared to hold her Grandmothers hand in public or make silly faces with her Dad while around her boyfriend and other friends.

Just this spring we went on a trip to Disney. It was particularly hot out and this big guy was not faring too well with walking all over the Animal Kingdom. Since we had passes to go from park to park, the decision was made to go over and stay late at the Magic Kingdom. Not a decision I would have made but hey, I was along for the ride so to say! When we got over to the park it was getting dark out and I took one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip. That is Brianna in the mouse ears (she kept them on the entire trip). No matter how old she is, my daughter is still a kid at heart who sees Disney as magical. Thanks for reminding me how to see it all again!

So now she is a high school graduate and will be going to Clemson in the fall – “Go Tigers!” She has a boyfriend and a car and is ready to venture out and try her wings. Very scary thoughts for any parent. I know she will go on to great things and can only hope that I have given her everything she needs to succeed. I know that she has taught me far more than I can ever teach her. So today as I think about how being a father has made me a better man, I hope that someday as a mother, she will be able and reflect back on all the wonderful times we have spent together and feel the same way I do. I am proud. Proud of values she has developed, the views she has on life, the goals she sets for herself, the accomplishments she has had and those yet to come. Proud to be her Dad. I will always be here for you kiddo, and I love you.

A great day!

With an update of Versaworks – the RIP software that runs the BN20 – you will now have some new additions to your profiles and different modes to ones that were already there. A profile is what I like to describe as a recipe. Just like baking a cake you will need a list of ingredients, a temperature to set the oven to, and a time for how long to have it in there – a profile is a recipe for the printer to know how, what speed, and what ingredients (ink) to put into the print. The better the profile, the better results we will get out of our prints.

I took some time this week to run some tests and see jut how the new modes would work. Here is a video of the printer showing the different modes of THT (Textile Heat Transfer profile) and how the speed and output was changed:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The profile broken down into specifics with the prints are as follows:

Print size: 4″ x 3.2″ repeated 5 times across

Profile:        Mode:               Resolution:                        Estimated time in Versaworks:            Actual print time:

THT              Standard         1440 x 1080 DPI            7 minutes                                                       8 minutes 7 seconds

THT              Draft                  1440 x 720 DPI              4 minutes                                                       4 minutes 48 seconds

THT              Dradft 2            720 x 720 DPI                3 minutes                                                       3 minutes 38 seconds

There is a significant difference in both the time it takes to print the image and the results generated from it. The standard mode had the best quality as i would suspect and was very smooth and even across the entire print. The Draft mode was very good as well but there was some spottiness in the print. I felt that it was an acceptable print and at the 3 foot mark viewing distance, there was little difference that could be discerned in between these two modes. The Draft 2 mode was a larger shift and there was noticeable graininess in the print. Personally I would not go with this mode as I also noticed a color shift between the first two modes and this last one. The color shift is not dependant on the speed and I would suspect that a proper color profile would yield consistant results regardless of the mode (speed) it is set to. I will hopefully do some further testing by tweaking the profile and seeing if I can get a better color match that way. I will update with another post once I have those results.

Let me know if this helps any of you!

Here is a composite picture of the 3 prints side by side going from the left (standard) to the right (draft 2).

Picture showing the 3 print modes in THT from standard on the right to draft 2 on the left

Here are the 3 pictures separately so you can evaluate each if you would like:

First we need a design to work with. I got ya covered – just watch the video and subscribe to the StevenJacksonIW YouTube channel and I will send you the file for free. Next you need some media to cut for the shirt. I got on that one too – make a comment on the video and subscribe to this blog and I will send you a yard of Imprintables white Eco film so you can make the design yourself. There is a limit – only the first 50 people will be eligible so act fast!

So, the workflow is pretty simple, Come up with a design, cut the film, weed the design, and then heat press to the garment. Seems easy right? It is!

Here is the video for you to check out. Let me know if you have any questions and what types of videos and projects you guys want to see.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jen helped me to see it one year and recognize what was going on. Many people get a bit of the winter blahs this time of year from dark days and cold weather. Mine is of a different sort. Today is the anniversary of the day my father passed away. Every year I get edgy and have to find a way to let out my feelings in some manner. These past few years I have written posts on Facebook or in my journal. This year, if you will indulge my catharsis, I would like to share a few memories of Mike Jackson and how he passed so many great things on to me.

Yup - that is me in the middle! 4 generations of Jacksons.

My father was a middle american farm boy that was raised with what you would expect for values at that time and place – treat others with respect, be good to all, work hard, and love with all your heart. His life reflected all of this with service as a Michigan state trooper, his love of family and friends, and his willingness to do anything to help someone in need. I can remember all of the times he would without question, do what had to be done to help out a friend in need. In the bitter cold winters, when someone had gone off the road into a ditch near where we lived in the country, he would simply jump on the tractor and go help pull them out of the snow. No need for payment, just a handshake and a few laughs while making sure they were ok. If a call came from a friend in the middle of the night, you could bet that he would be ready to go anywhere to help them out. He loved being a Trooper and being able to serve and help those in need. Much of that was my influence in deciding to join the Navy out of high school.

Dad with Mom as a Trooper recruit

When I was a young man, I got caught stealing something. I was out doing some chores when dad got home and saw him head into the house where he was undoubtedly filled in on what “his son” had done. I watched as he headed out to talk to me but could not look at him while we talked about what I had done. I heard his voice waver a bit and finally looked up at him. He said to me with tears in his eyes “I don’t know how I can go to work every day, knowing my son is nothing more than a common thief”. He turned and walked back up to the house. Getting hit in the head with a 2 x 4 would have hurt me much less than this did. I have never stolen anything since that day. Thank you dad for that.

During my senior year I decided to join the Navy. Many in my family questioned it but at a time when a teenage boy and his father were always arguing, dad seemed to respect my decision and gave me a bit more respect. He and I bonded during that last year of school and seemed to become best friends. I had many talks with him leading up to the days before boot camp and he gave me many bits of advice that I carry with me even today. Things like “CYA” or cover your a** seemed fairly straightforward. Others like “always be there for a friend” also seemed like second nature but I had been raised that way. I have a favorite out of all of them and it has guided me through many things. I shared it at my Navy retirement ceremony over a year ago and will share it here today also. “A man is only as good as the people he surrounds himself with”. I really did not see the full meaning of this for a long time. Today I cherish this life mantra and hold it dear. I have been blessed to be surrounded by an amazing family, have had been privileged to serve with some of the best this country has, and have been honored to have the group of people that are my friends who all make me who I am.

Always smiling!

Dad loved to laugh. He was always that guy who had a quick joke or limerick and could help make anyone who needed it smile. It was infectious how he would enter a room and bring smiles to all there. Even when he was sick with cancer, tired and I am sure not wanting to do much at all, he would smile at me when I came home to visit and somehow make me feel better instead of the other way around. Even towards the end he seemed more worried about those around him than himself. A true gentleman.

When dad passed away, I was devastated. I think of him almost everyday. I wanted to say something at his funeral, to stand up and yell about how much he meant to all of us, but was so overcome by my own grief that I could not. When the pastor had come over to talk to all of us and prepare his eulogy, he asked for memories and insights into dad’s life. I was mute except for one sentence that to me summed up what my father was. I simply said – “he was my hero”. I don’t even know if anyone heard me when I said it but it holds true to this day. A son never forgets.

You could say that through all of these memories dad passed on his legacy to me. Be a good man, do what is right, help those in need, love your family and friends, laugh often. Simple things really but there is so much more behind them. But today while it is the anniversary of his passing, I try to do what I have all these years since. I write a little, remember a lot, share some of what dad passed on to me that makes me the man that I am, and have a toast to Mike Jackson. I will raise a glass of scotch tonight – something he also passed on to me – and honor him. I would be pleased if you took a minute out and did the same with whatever you may be drinking. I am sure Dad would smile and join in with us.

Mike and his sisters

]]> http://thegarmentedge.com/dont-leave-just-memories-leave-behind-a-legacy/feed 1 http://thegarmentedge.com/print-and-cut-accuracy-like-a-sharpshooter http://thegarmentedge.com/print-and-cut-accuracy-like-a-sharpshooter#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:39:00 +0000 Steven Jackson http://thegarmentedge.com/?p=175 Tired of printing out decals and getting cuts that are slightly off? How would you feel if I could show you a way to not only increase the accuracy of your print and cut machine, but to also speed up production and leave you more time to do other things? This short video tutorial blog update shows you just how to do that. Using the custom cut feature in Versaworks and making a few adjustments, you can have Versaworks perform a print operation of a few rows, then go back and cut those same rows, then continue to the next set. This is accomplished by letting Versaworks know what the page length will be. Versaworks will automatically go into the cut function whenever it reaches the end of a page. By setting the page length of the job slightly larger then a row or two of prints, it will allow the Versacamm to perform its print and cut operations at a much higher accuracy.

Check out the video to learn more and see just how it is done:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Let me know what other Training Time Out videos you would like to see. They will be appearing on a weekly basis on many different topics and products so please subscribe to the blog to keep up to date!

Thanks for stopping by!

We have all been in an airport at some point and seen a soldier or sailor traveling in uniform. Most of the time no one pays any special attention to them. There was one of these soldiers on the plane with me headed to Indianapolis. I have flown in uniform several times before and can remember how it was. Most of the time people paid no special attention to me, but every once in a while there was someone who would go out of their way to tell me how terrible the war is or how they don’t like what the military does. I would allow them to speak their mind, thank them for their point of view, and move on. Every so often though, someone would go out of their way to let me know what I was doing was appreciated. It always made me feel great to have even the simple “thank you for your service” sent my way.  I decided to try and let this young soldier know how great it feels to be appreciated for his sacrifices.

When everyone had gotten settled in, I asked the stewardess to let the soldier know that he could have anything he wanted from the refreshment cart, and I would pay for it with my thanks for his service. A small gesture sure, but it was something I could do for him. Those small gestures can often times mean so much. For me, while I was active duty, it was the time that a Korean war veteran bought my wife and I dinner on her birthday just because he spotted me out in uniform and wanted to say thank you. Or the man in Boston that spotted me across the street and crossed over just to shake my hand and say “thank you for your service, and God bless”. I dislike big cities but he changed my mind on that particular city forever and reminded me what i was doing was appreciated.

Back to our soldier – I had the opportunity to talk to him for a few minutes before we landed. His name is Private Josh Kohl. He is currently stationed overseas and was on his way home for the holidays. I had offered to buy him dinner but after I learned that Indy was his final stop, well, family comes first and he had been away for a very long time. He thanked me over and over and was humble about his service and sacrifices.

It is interesting that this falls near the date of my cousins 5 year anniversary of alive day. For those that have served and sacrificed, an alive day is the day that you should have died, but did not. He was hit by a roadside bomb and lost one of his arms and part of his other hand. 5 years alive! Thank you for your sacrifices JR, you are a hero and appreciated by all of us. You can read more about my cousin Josie and JR here on her blog Simplicity Interrupted So many of these citizen soldiers have answered the call of our country and sacrificed so much for all of us.

Remember this holiday season that no matter what you celebrate, there is a soldier, sailor or airman out there giving up their family and home so that we all can be with our loved ones and observe our faith and freedoms however we chose to. They will protect our rights to do this without reservation or asking for anything in return.

A Soldiers Silent Night

When we left the plane, I held back a bit as I wanted to see the homecoming he was bound to have at the security checkpoint. I was not disappointed. I could see his mother, hands over her mouth, jumping up and down, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her son was home, safe and back with family. It was a wonderful thing to see and I am grateful for knowing the story behind his homecoming. Even a midst all of this, the young private took a second to say thank you to me as I passed by them.

Thank you private Kohl. God bless all of our servicemen and women, keep them safe and grant them all a speedy return home!