10 Tips to Better Image Editing with FlexiSIGN By Mark A. Rugen, Certified FlexiSIGN Instructor SA International,

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1 Image editing seems overly complicated, but it's actually quite easy if you have good software. This month I'll offer 10 image-editing tips for FlexiSIGN users. I'm listing them in order of importance. First, let me say that while I am using FlexiSIGN as my software for editing, you can apply similar techniques in any good sign making software package. 1. Adjust your monitor for better color viewing. You finally did it... popped for a 21 inch high end monitor. But once you got it home and plugged it in, something isn't right. The screen looks funny. The display is skewed at the side. There are waves in the view, and it's not a sharp picture. The manual tells you how to adjust your new monitor but it's confusing, and attempts to adjust your screen only make things worse. Relax, you don't need to take it back you just need Nokia Test. Check your computer monitor and adjust it if you're not getting a good picture. Most Windows PCs are set up wrong. I d suggest a free (I know you sign folks like the sound of that!) program to help adjust your monitor. It can be downloaded form Nokia Test is a freeware utility by Nokia that will guide you through testing and adjusting any monitor for an optimum display. There are test patterns for Geometry, Convergence, Resolution, Moiré, Brightness, Contrast, Focus, Readability, Color and Screen Regulation. You put up the test pattern and then make the adjustments to your monitor. You may also want to check out another free program like the Monitor Calibration Wizard, again free ( Just remember, however, that you are relying on your eye sight and judgment for these free monitor adjustment programs. Of course a better method would be to use a hardware device like the GretagMacbeth Eye1 Display (available for about $250 USD), or some other device. You ll get great accuracy and since the monitor is the first and last device used to judge good color, it would seem a logical investment. 1

2 2. Edit your images logical fashion. First, save a copy. Keep that copy safe by moving it to a separate folder. Next, crop the image if needed. Crop the picture, then adjust the levels, also called "curves." Your software might do this automatically or it can be done manually. In FlexiSIGN, select the image then go to the Bitmap Menu and choose Filter>Level. An adjustable preview box is placed on the image. Notice in my example how the colors are more intense after adjusting levels. Experiment with each image for the best result. Next, adjust the Color Balance, Brightness & Contrast, found in the Bitmap>Filter menu. Do all these adjustments in RGB Color mode. Now, to be safe, save the image... TWICE. Put one copy in a different folder, out of the way. You might want to call this folder Work in Progress. Files in this folder can be deleted if the final product prints to your satisfaction. 2

3 3. Learn to sharpen or blur an image if needed, where needed. You'll notice that I did not tell you to sharpen or blur, (yes I said blur!), the image in the list of things to do above. Why? Because whether to sharpen or blur an image is a very judgmental thing to decide. EVERY image is different and if you can avoid using sharpen or blur you ll be better off. However, occasionally we need to soften an image, for instance perhaps when we will be using a low resolution image on a vehicle wrap. We can use the blur to soften the jagged edges. Or perhaps we are given an image that is already softened by the customer, and we desire more clarity of the image, thus we may need to sharpen it. In either case, this is something that should be used with caution as you are purposely altering the image in a pretty dramatic way. In this example you can see that blurring the image did provide some relief from the jagged edges, just make sure you use only enough to get the result you are looking for and review the entire image to make sure that nothing else has been ruined. Sometimes you can even select a small area using the marquee tools to limit the softening or sharpening to a defined area. 3

4 4. Get a second opinion. ALWAYS ask someone else to review your changes. Ask them to be honest! If they don t like something, then likely your customer may not either. If needed delete the current copy and start over. Believe me; it will be worth the effort. Remember; make small changes, large changes are hard to reverse! 5. Don t over compress your files! JPEG or JPG files are probably the most commonly found formats for digital images. Why? They can save lots of space, but remember space is NOT the issue here, good digital images is! So if space is an issue I say get a bigger hard drive or fine other method of providing storage for your images. Save them as TIF files if you can, but if you must use the JPG format, keep a few things in mind. a. Use only the HIGHEST quality settings. In FlexiSIGN, this means turning off a suppress option switch and then setting the compression to 0, zero. It will still compress, but the final result will be a decent file when reopened to print again. b. If you save a file as a JPG, remember that editing that file and then saving as a JPG again will compress and compressed file. It s like looking at yourself in the mirror using a mirror. The further back you reflection goes, the less you see. 6. Resample or Rescan. Much graphic editing software allows you to scan an image right into the software. FlexiSIGN is not exception. However, remember that scanning uses the TWAIN face, a program that is not designed by SA International, the makers of FlexiSIGN. So learn to adjust your resolution when scanning to print to the final size. How much resolution is enough? Well, my recommendation is based on viewing distances and image print size. If you want things simple just use 240 ppi at final print size, that is, when you make the image its final print size, it must have 240 ppi. If you want to save space and file size, then follow these guidelines: Image Print Size Typical Viewing Distance Resolution at Final Size 0 to 12 inches 6 to 24 inches ppi 24 to 48 inches 3 to 6 ft ppi 5 ft to 20+ ft 10 to 50 ft ppi 4

5 If you are in control of the image, that is you are creating it from a scanner, then simply adjust your scanner to increase the resolution as needed. However, if you do not have the original image and you still need more resolution for the final size you may need to resample. BE CAREFUL! Don t over do this, resampling 2 or 3 times the original pixels is by far enough. In this example, I resampled the image by three times the original pixels. Do this with images for vehicle wraps to get softer edges for up close viewing. 5

6 7. Setup your customer s expectations. Explain clearly what your customer can expect from the image they have provided. Use DesignCentral to do a needs & expectations analysis on the image BEFORE you even begin to spend time editing. Open the image and then select it. Now go right to DesignCentral and note the image attributes: a. Image Size What size are you starting with and what size does the customer want? b. Image Resolution What are you beginning with and how much will be needed at the final size? Can you get the original hard copy image? c. Embedded Profile- Check to see if the image already has an embedded profile (this effects color ranges), if not assign an appropriate one. Show your customer some examples, a portfolio if you will, helping them understand, more or less, what will happen. Just like your dentist, explain everything BEFORE you begin working! Show them poor artwork and how it prints when enlarged, and examples of how you are going to try to fix the image. You might consider printing a few images on a banner in various resolutions, then putting the banner up and about 10 or more feet from the customer. Then have them take a look at the images and comment on their clarity, smoothness, jaggedness etc. A happy customer simply gets what they expect! 6

7 8. Preview your final image BEFORE printing at full scale. Your image editor should have a menu choice for "Actual Size," "Actual Pixels" or "1:1." In FlexiSIGN, when you switch the workspace to emulate CorelDraw, there is an icon to set the image to 1:1 view. This resizes the image on your monitor to actual print size and then allows you to see the pixels in true size. Step back a few feet and take a look. 7

8 9. Soft Proof the Print. Before trying to print a final copy of your image, soft proof it on your monitor and print a small proof. Now, we are assuming that you ve taken the time to make or use an ICC profile with your monitor, and that you have the same for your printer and media/ink combinations. We ll talk more about ICC profiles in another article, but here is the reason for using profiles they save money! In FlexiSIGN, select your image. Now, go to the Edit menu and choose Color Settings. Set your Display Profile to your Monitor ICC. If you don t have one use the srgb setting. Change the Printer to your device and select the output profile that matches your media and ink. Click the Input tab, and choose an input profile for your image. Use your monitor profile if you edited the image, use your scanner or digital camera profile if your image came from there. If you don t have these choose either Adobe 1998 or srgb. Now, click OK and go to the View menu and turn on Soft Proof. You image will shift in color to reflect what it will look like when printed. In all likelihood, you will see the color get a bit muted. This is normal for many medias, especially when using solvent based inks. Make any final image enhancements in Soft Proof view. Remember, what you are seeing is only as accurate as your profiles, but it s better than nothing. You can select the image and use the fourth tab in DesignCentral to change the input profile and rendering intent. This will adjust the soft proof. When you get what you like, it s time to print it. 8

9 10. Hard proof then final print. One last step before you print your final copy; print a partial proof copy at full size. Now, I am not talking about printing the entire image, just a portion of it so you can proof the colors, resolution etc. In FlexiSIGN, this is easily done using panels. Send the image to the Rip & Print menu and choose the Advanced Tab and set your options. Be sure that the output profile matches the linearization table. Just click linearization to make sure. Now, go to the Panel Tab and shrink the panel down over an appropriate part of the image, full width, but narrow, like the example. Send the file to your printer, and examine the partial print. If everything is good, you can send the full file and expect a great print! 9

10 About The Author Mark Rugen is owner of Givemehelp, Inc, and webmaster of He has been associated with SA International for over 15 years and has for those years dedicated himself to teaching users of CASmate, Inspire, and now FlexiSIGN and PhotoPrint. He has authored and produced manuals, video and training CD s for SAi products such as FlexiSIGN. On occasion, you may see Mark performing demonstrations of FlexiSIGN at various tradeshows. He also conducts training seminars throughout the USA and occasionally in other parts of the world. Mark can be contacted at mrugen@givemehelp.com. 10