Welcome to Film Direct! Your one stop shop for all your pre-press needs. We specialize in film output. color separations and inkjet supplies especially for screen printers. Everything you see on the site have been 'FD Approved'. That means we not only sell it but we use it in our day to day operations. Whether it be film, inks, printers, or software we've put it through it's paces and were 100% confident that you'll be happy with the products performance and value.

Ordering and Pricing info:

Film Output and Color Separation Services:

We offer both a color separations and film output service. We'll take your existing art file separate it to your specifications and either e-mail you a RIP ready post script file or a pdf file with each color on it's own page for easy output. Or we can print the film and mail it to you. This is great for designs that have a lot of halftone or if you don't have a RIP.

Separations: We offer three types of separations, 'The Basic Separation', 'Halftone Separation' and a 'Photo-Real Separation'. The Basic Separation is just that, any basic spot color separation that doesn't have any halftones or fading. The Halftone Separation is a little more complex. This is a spot color design with some fades and halftone work. The Photo-Real Separation is for complex files that have a lot of shading or that need to be separated into a process, simulated process or even an index separation. If you're not sure which technique will work best with your design e-mail it to us and we can analyze the design and recommend a separation technique for any given application.

Film Output: We can print film from your separations or ours. Our film is on a roll so we can print any size film up to 44"x 100'. We've listed the most popular sizes on the site, but if you need a special size let us know and we can get you a quote on it. All the film we output is printed on our own FD BLACK media with our UV enhanced dye black ink. It's a 4mil water-proof film. It has an average dMax rating of 3.6, ( a dMax rating is how they rate the density of film- Image setters rate at 4.0, Laser printers come in at 1.8-2.2 and most ink jet film printed with proper ink saturation is anywhere from 3.0 to 3.8). The film is dimensionally stable so it will hold tight registration even on larger film. We ship it in a double boxed container to prevent it from getting damaged from our good friends at UPS.

How To Order Online:

For separations and film service navigate to the product you're interested in, add the quantity you need to the shopping cart and check out as you normally would. After you check out you'll need to email us or upload the file to our server.

File types:

1. Vector Format
   
   • Illustrator (.eps, .ai, .pdf)
   • InDesign (.eps, .indd, .pdf)
   • Freehand ( .eps, no .fh files)
   • Corel (eps, .tiff, NO.cdr files)
   • The design must be sized to the final output size
   • All fonts must be outlined or the font included with the file.
   • Please discard any layers or design elements that are not to be printed. (Even if they are invisible)
   • If you only need film please make sure the file is 'RIP ready'. This means that each color is assigned a spot color and ready for output. If you have any questions on how to prep the file please contact us.
2. Raster Artwork
   
   • Photoshop (.psd, dcs 2.0, .tiff, .eps, .pdf)
   • Corel (eps, .tiff, NO.cdr files)
   • Design must be sized to the final output size
   • Please discard any layers or design elements that are not to be printed. (Even if they are turned off or invisible)
   • If you only need film please make sure the file is 'output ready'. This means that each color is saved to a channel in photoshop.

We Accept Mac and PC Files via:

• CD/DVD
• E-mail
• FTP

Email is probably the most convenient way to send us your file. Please send a single compressed file (.sit / .zip / .gz) containing your job's files and a text file with a short description of your job. Name your compressed file using your company name and job name like so: MyGraphicsCompany_MyJobName.sit to ensure prompt processing of your files. Folders and uncompressed images, files and fonts will become corrupt and can not be uploaded without being compressed. You can email your art files to info@filmdirectonline.com

Please upload a single compressed file (.sit / .zip / .gz) containing your job's files and a text file with a short description of your job. Name your compressed file using your company name and job name like so: MyGraphicsCompany_MyJobName-.sit to ensure prompt processing of your files. Folders and uncompressed images, files and fonts will become corrupt and can not be uploaded without being compressed. If you do not have an FTP client we recommend Transmit for the Mac and WSFTP for the PC. The FTP login information is as follows:

• host/server: ftp.oversizedfilm.com
• user: webuser
• password: public
• directory (folder): /incoming

Payment is due is at the time you order. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover Card. Net terms may be established upon approved credit.

Turnaround

Turnaround is approximately one business day on most orders. Depending on the complexity of the design and our current work load. Custom separations that include any photo-real, simulated process, or specialty separation will require more time. We will give you an ETA at the time we quote the job.