SignLab & Gerber Devices

All existing Gerber jobs can be processed or edited in SignLab

Key Benefits

  • SignLab 8 can drive all Gerber printers and cutters directly
  • Corel, Quark, PhotoShop™, Illustrator™ and other graphic applications, on PCs or MACs, can drive Gerber devices (including the Edge 1&2) directly through SignLab 8's RIP
  • SignLab 8 can open native GA and Omega 1 & 2 files accurately, so all existing Gerber jobs can be processed or edited in SignLab
  • SignLab supports most non-Gerber printers and cutters-sign shops don't need different workflows to output to Gerber equipment or non-Gerber devices
  • SignLab is easy for Gerber customers to learn because they receive free factory training
  • SignLab's design capabilities far exceed those found in Omega, including spot color design features for creating and printing graphics on the Edge

Download a copy of our SignLab feature list (scan to the bottom to see the list of Spot Color Printing features PDF 993Kb)

SignLab & Working With Spot Color

Powerful design tool

File Linking

tailor sign

Example of a linked Illustrator EPS file, using just two spot colours. The black was output as spot black and the other spot colour was output using a duotone colour made up with a metallic foil on top of a green foil.

Omega cannot import this file and print with spot foils. Printing complex PhotoShop™ files, that contain special custom colors (i.e. Pantone) and special fills, can be easily done in SignLab using the Link feature.

file linking GUI

In a linked Ai or EPS file, you can substitute your own spot foils or duotones (2 foils overprinted), such that solid fills and gradients will print with the substituted colors.

Gradient and Bitmap Fills

steel demonstration

Multi color gradients and special fills can be printed in process or spot colors

The word HAZARD has been filled using a duotone, spot "square filled" gradient, so it will print using two spot colours (Kumquat and Bright Red).

The word STEEL was created by applying SignLab's Chisel Effect feature to the text. Then a bevelled shading effect was created by applying different gradients to the text fill and chisel pieces.

Spot Color Design

2 color sign

The beauty of spot color designing can be taken to the limit with SignLab's large assortment of unique spot color design tools.

In this design that uses tints of a single spot color, the "Metamorphosis" tool was used to create the elliptical blend in the background (100% to a 5% tint), with the 5% end colour offset from the centre (up and right) to give the effect of lower left lighting.

More Great Features

Prime by Object, by Tint, or as Global

Prime objects color by color or object by object, and control the priming color, primer shrinkage and prime tints with tints of primer color, making prints on colored vinyl something to look forward to.

horse prime When printing long gradients (see grad on right of image) you can make use of Signlab's trapping capabilities at the halftone level. To take advantage of this, the user can specify an amount to reduce the size of the priming layer ink dots ( say 5% i.e. reduce the tint by around 5%), which causes the prime colour to be put down at a 5 percent smaller dot than the main foil.

Multitone Spot Color Bitmaps

A powerful design tool that saves time and makes spectacular graphics.

In this design, the text "Reptile House" is composed of three spot colors. spot color bitmaps A full-color photographic image of an Iguana was then added to the design. Rather than print the iguana using a 4-color process (making for a total of seven spots), the SignLab multitone bitmap feature was used to colourize the Iguana image using the same three spot colours that were used for the text.

Bobbie Rochow
Jamestown, PA
White Chevy sign

“After switching from Design Art™ to SignLab™ I was amazed at how much easier it was to work with. Being able to import work from Corel™ into my SignLab™ is a bonus! I use it not only for my vinyl graphics, but my sign patterns and to design layouts for the rock sandblasting that we do. ”