Logo Reproduction

Black & White Camera-Ready Artwork For Computer Cut Vinyl Graphics

Finding the Original File Depending on the type of sign that your customer will require you will need to operate with resources you have got. It is worth to ask before you start the actual job, whether it would be possible to find the logo creator and the original file. It might be the graphic design studio, the printer who printed the business cards or the marketing agency. Explain it to the customer that the logo reproduction from a business card or a brochure will never be 100% correct due to the printing process used, the size of the logo on the material and the colour shifted by printing. After explaining this situation, you will most likely gain the customer's trust that you are competent enough to make their sign and most importantly, if you are lucky you may get hold of the original file. Note that some agencies and designers charge a fee for sending you the original file. If you are unable to find the original file, the printer should be able to provide you with what is known as a camera-ready Photostat of your logo. This artwork can then be scanned into your computer, creating a bitmap image of your logo.
Scanning and Vectorising The second option you have is to scan the business card into your computer @ 300DPI black and white mode. This should provide you with the beginning for your work. Depending on the sign design software, then you have to vectorize the image by reading the bitmap and trying to outline the pixels with lines and arcs connected by editing points. This is a very time consuming process. Many of today's design packages offer an automatic tool for vectorisation. You are able to select a number of colours, a detail level and accuracy. Remember that your auto trace tool results will be as good as is the original scan. It always pays off to do a brush-up of the scan before proceeding with the vectorisation. You should make sure that you deleted all dust and scratch on the scan, adjusted contrasts and levels and even for one colour scanning changed the image to black and white line art. Note that you can select the level of adjustments and you may possibly loose some of the artwork. Always check with the original. This way you can pick up losses on the way and not at the end.
Cleaning When this is done, a considerable amount of time is required to clean the image by manually editing the individual lines and points in order to correct and clean the image making it useable by our vinyl cutting equipment. You should measure the time it takes you to clean the logo to the original state. In addition, after completion, charge a one-time logo reproduction fee, depending on the complexity of the graphic and the quality of the artwork provided and the time spent. I know many sign businesses that are afraid to charge this fee so they may loose the business. This is so wrong! If you do not charge your customer for a logo reproduction, you are paying for it from your profit. Most successful businesses in the trade charge this fee and are never short of customers. Show your customer this article and explain how much work is involved in this. I am sure they will understand.
Adding Colour and Finishing Next step is to select original colours to the artwork. Once again, the best way to do that is to use original business card. There is nothing worse than to match the colour to the monitor screen. Note that scanner did the first colour change. Of course, you may have your scanner calibrated with right input profile but still there will be a change in colour. Secondly, every monitor shows different colours. A monitor can be calibrated as well but your software may not be. Did you ever have a problem with the same file showing different colours on the same monitor using different software? There you go. I am not mentioning that all of us can percieve colours slightly differently under a different light. I do not want to go into colour details I will post a specific article about colours soon. The best way to match a colour is to use Pantone Colour Chart PMS - select the closest colour and use this colour from the library stored in the software package. When the logo has been scanned and cleaned up and saved in original colour, keep all files on a disk so you can reuse your graphic on additional signage with no extra charge in the future. In addition, now that you have a very clean image of your logo, you can convert it to many PC formats for you to use on your own computer in your own programs.