Tayda UV Printing without using Adobe Illustrator?

[Drew Hallenbeck]

Haha, bowl of petunias!! I should read that one again too, it's been a few years.

And yes, I ended up doing all of the work in Inkscape.

[Willybomb]

Agreed, they both look great. Thanks for posting the results, I've been curious to see how their printing looks.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I think they do a pretty good job.  You loose a bit of fine detail when converting to a vector image though. Maybe you don't have to, but I couldn't work out a way to do it better.

[rockola]

You loose a bit of fine detail when converting to a vector image though.

I've redrawn a few images by hand when I haven't been happy with the conversion results (which has been the case almost every time I've tried it).

To illustrate (see what I did there?), here's the original:



And here's the vector image, redrawn by moi in Inkscape:



It's not exactly the same image after it's been redrawn (in part by deliberate choice), but fine details are not a problem.

[TFZ]

Thanks everyone for posting the results. Will try out soon too I guess.

@Willybomb: did you use Inkscape too? If so how did you deal with the three layers? Tayda is asking in their instructions for "RDG_WHITE", but I haven't been able to import their color template file.

[JackSkellington]

I still never tried it, but I would. And if I can, without to use Illustrator. Maybe just on not coloured box or a light color like white, or yellow...
One of my question is: is there any important difference in the color between the graphic file and the print on the box?
For example: a dark blue printed slightly lighter, or a brilliant yellow printed too pale...

[Willybomb]

Thanks everyone for posting the results. Will try out soon too I guess.

@Willybomb: did you use Inkscape too? If so how did you deal with the three layers? Tayda is asking in their instructions for "RDG_WHITE", but I haven't been able to import their color template file.

I did mine in Illustrator, sorry, back when they were doing the trial offer.  All I did was send them the EPS files after vectorising the graphics.  The instructions on their page look a lot more complex now than what they were then, and I can't remember doing anything in regards to colour separation beyond sending it as a YMBK file.

One of my question is: is there any important difference in the color between the graphic file and the print on the box?

I didn't notice any real colour difference.  There was a bit of banding in the solid red on Godzilla.

FWIW, I'd use them again if I was doing a standard pedalpcb drilled box probably.  Not sure I'd bother with it on a DD, but it would be worth trying.  The price is great, so... maybe when I start building again I will.