Must be ready to print, but no logo?
Posted February 20th, 2008 by Majken
I guess this is two issues, but they're intertwined.
First of all, why require SVG? Surely it's preferable to have someone help put the design in SVG than to miss some great ideas because people didn't have the right software, or didn't feel comfortable using it.
Secondly, what of people whose idea includes the logo? If it must be in SVG but no SVG version of the logo is provided, what are they supposed to do? Or is the logo specifically not to be included?
Screen Print Design 101
I am hoping my post can clarify something that seems to be getting everyone hung up. Screen print design is different than most print design in that you can print 4 color designs (CMYK workspace) however this is not usually the only elements of the design. A high quality screen print will usually use CMYK inks for the portion of a design that is photo realistic but needs to have additional spot colors added for more graphic elements. These inks are very different in nature. One must also realize that screen printing is a process of ink flowing through a screen mesh. For these two reasons it is more important than in any other type of design work that I can think of to make sure and use vectored graphics in a format that is widely accepted (SVG). This helps maintain the integrity of the design as ink flows through the screen and is cut off by a squeegee. It is fine to use CMYK images created in Photoshop or some other application but the addition of spot colors to really make the design work must be done in a scalable graphics application. Keep in mind screen printing is using fabric, it is flexible, it moves, it is not dense like paper in most cases and you are using some inks that are very thin through mesh that is very fine and other inks that are very thick through mesh that is much courser. In short screen printing is a different process for most graphic designers and until you have actually designed a few projects and stepped behind a squeegee and done some printing yourself it is a bit difficult to completely understand. The requirements from Mozilla are strict but not without merit, to create a first class screen print design it is absolutely necessary. Hope this is helpful and clarifies some of the "why can't I do it this way" questions. If you have any further questions please post a response and I would be glad to help anyone out with information on designing specifically for screen printing. :o)
Uploading (or converting) a SVG file so I can upload to Flickr
Hello,
Thank you for your concise and informative post. I am an artist, and wasn't familiar with SVG files until this contest. I downloaded Inkscape and found it fairly easy to work with, and after many hours, I have a design that I happy with. However, I cannot upload an SVG file to the contest. When I try to convert it to a jpeg or png file extension, I lose some important design elements. When I try to "export" from Inkscape, only some of the design comes over.
I am familiar with the enough graphics part to have a design that I would like to be considered for the contest, but I haven't figured out how to get my file uploaded to Flickr.
Any advice you can provide would be welcome.
Thanks,
Molly
This contest seems like more
This contest seems like more trouble than it's worth. It's too bad that a SVG is demanded because I downloaded Inkscape, but I am not familiar with it.. so although I have a good design idea, since I cannot use a program I am familiar with, like Adobe Photoshop, I guess I will have to forfeit. Good luck everyone else.
Print Ready
Are we limited to an amount of colors for screen print or will this be a stamp print?
Design Contest - SVG and Logo
Hey Majken
A print-ready SVG file format is required by the Mozilla Store in order to have the T-shirts printed. There are a wide array of SVG programs for the designers to choose from (not just Adobe but many free and open-source alternatives including Inkscape).
As mentioned in the Design Guidelines, you can certainly use the logo in your design, but its by no means mandatory. The logo will be included as part of a default design for the back, therefore your design for the front can be as creative and abstract as you wish.
There are very large JPG files of the firefox logo on the Materials page, and the resolution of those images will work just fine for the design submissions.
Thanks
~Tara
Vector of FireFox Logo?
Tara,
You mentioned that there are JPG's of the logo on the Materials page but this reply poses two problems...
1. There were no files at the location you specified.
2. Jpg's are not vector-based "SVG" art.
While you can certainly _place_ Jpg's into Illustrator or other vector based programs, they are STILL bit-mapped images that are defeating the purpose of requesting "press ready" SVG's to begin with. Jpg's have potential resolution issues as well as color space issues that may cause issues with the printing process.
Hate to be a nit-picker in my first post, but if you want press-ready submissions, we need the press-ready version of the Logo.
Where can we download the SVG, AI, or vector EPS graphics for the logo?
Sherry Baker
well first try to read other
well first try to read other post. there are 2 links there to what u need. second try the all powerfull google...it's magic :)
Right, it's required for the
Right, it's required for the store to print t-shirts, but it's not required to actually create the design. I just don't see why it can't be made print ready *after* it's won.
Making a bitmapped piece of
Making a bitmapped piece of art "print ready" into an SVG file the way they need it would require an artist to trace over your artwork completely and refill in and duplicate all the effects all over again.
To fully understand why someone would need to do that to your perfectly good photoshop file, you need to understand the difference between Vector and Raster art. Here are two links that may help to clear it up for you.
http://www.logodesignworks.com/blog/vector-graphics-and-raster-graphics-...
http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41
I hope this helps.
Sherry Baker
Not quite my point
It's a barrier. Sure it'll be work *if* the winning design were submitted in another format, but it's less work than the cumulative installing and learning a new program.
Also, what if someone weren't good with these programs at all, but were to hand draw a killer submission? If they can't find someone to help them get that into SVG themselves, then they can't submit the design? IMO that's wrong. Mozilla should have no problem finding someone who can help convert *one* design to the right format.
Obviously for everyone who's capable, SVG is preferred, I just don't like the idea of the barrier.
Firefox is free
Mozilla provides it's software for free. Similarly, they're providing the contest free too. Someone willing to copy your *entire* raster image into a SVG format is probably not going to do it "just for the fun of it" since they are two very different schools of thought. He (or she) will probably want a "small" fee. I'm assuming from your comment that you only want to submit a raster image and be done with it. That means that Mozilla, already giving away their most profitable product, is screwed with the burden of both finding and probably paying for someone who will copy *one* image from format to format. Does that make sense to you?
The Point
There are lots of contests I am not *qualified* to participate in due to my lack of knowledge or skill in certain areas. For example, I can't sing so it would be pretty pointless for me to compete to be American Idol.
This is also a contest. The specification is theirs. The requirements are theirs.
I'm sorry if this sounds mean, but you seem to be missing the *real* point and I don't know how else to say it but to be blunt...
If you don't meet the requirements, and are reluctant to adhere to the Rules, it's not their fault. Maybe this contest just isn't for *you*.
Sherry Baker
It is stated clearly:
It is stated clearly:
"
• All designs must be created using a scalable vector graphics (SVG) program such as Adobe illustrator or Inkscape (open source).
• Save your file as a JPG image and upload the photo to your Flickr account.
"
The jpeg is just for web viewing and judging, has nothing to do with your design process other than presentation.
An SVG file can embed images along with the vectors. It should not limit your work, only your software.
The only strange thing is that the template is a photoshop file and they want you to design in illustrator... meaning you will have to do some juggling to make this all come together.
Nicole Streuli I just spent
Nicole Streuli
I just spent the whole day designing my entry, but I'm not sure how to save my file as an SVG. I do all my designing in Adobe Photoshop, but there doesn't seem to be an SVG save option in that program. What can I do? I can't go buy software just to enter this contest - is there a free (and easy) way to save it?
Thanks!
Did you tried the new Adobe Photoshop CS3
I guess you too are using some older version of Adobe Photoshop like me. Adobe has done a lot of improvements in its Photoshop CS3 version.I expect Adobe Photoshop CS3 should be having the support to save the file in SVG format. Just check it out..You can purchase the new version or download its trial copy from Adobe's official website. Have a good time..
Thanks sdgillis -
Thanks sdgillis -
Thats correct, the jpeg is just for web viewing but the actual design should be in a print-ready format and created on an SVG program (which allows for scaling and high-quality printing). The T-Shirt templates are an optional step you can use to display your designs on a T-Shirt.
I've included both a Photoshop template for Adobe-based programs, and a jpeg template for all others. You can export/import fairly easily between the Adobe-based programs, and you can also upload the jpeg image into your illustrator program. There is also the option of simply copy and pasting your design onto the jpeg T-shirt template, or you can outline your own T-Shirt template if that is easier for you. So you have many options! The purpose is simply to help you display your design as it would appear in its final format-on a T-Shirt. But I can try to attach an illustrator template to the group as well.
Thanks,
~Tara
I can't convert SJG to JPG
Hi!
I made my t-shirt design on Inkscape and to uploaded it to Flickr I need it to be in JPG form. I was wondering how you can do this! You can't save it as a JPG... So please help me. Thank you!!
-Taylor
Hey
Go to File> Export as bitmap or do Shift+Ctrl+E In the filename field, go to the very end and put the extension you want to the file, either JPG or PNG, and then "Export".
God bless you.