Faust Printing--Delivering the Impossible
At five-million dpi, which is 1,110.8-line screen, the Faust poster got noticed at Gutenberg—big time. Crowds actually formed around the poster, displayed under Beta Industries' magnification technology. At first, most passers-by thought they were viewing a continuous-tone image, but upon closer examination the exquisite artistry and top-quality craftsmanship of Faust Printing were revealed. Faust had pushed the envelope of high-resolution, high-quality printing.
The poster was a hit. It was such a hit, it was an oddity. Faust did what many said could not be done: reproduce an image at five-million dpi. The PIA award soon followed.
Chairman Rose Mary Faust and her top management team—sons Don, 43, president; Tom, 40, vice president; Greg, 39, vice president; and Brian, 42, treasurer—were (if for one moment, in this vastly competitive industry of giants) the very best of the very best.
So, how'd they do it?
Josh Felton, prepress manager, sheds some light on the five-million-dpi miracle. Here's how he recounts the digital prepress component:
How They Did It . . .
Faust Printing's prepress team started with an excellent 4x5˝ transparency. It was then digitized using Faust's Screen 7060 drum scanner at 447 dpi, which equated to a 485.5MB image.
The images for the dynamic poster were placed and PostScripted from QuarkXpress, and impositioned using Preps technology. The file was then RIPed using Creo's Allegro unit. (Faust technicians spent a great deal of time modifying and testing RIP settings to create the 1,110.8-line screen.)
To proof the poster, Faust imaged the job at a 676-line screen on Polaroid DryTech film and used its 3M Matchprint proofer to complete the proofing process. Its Creo Trendsetter was then recalibrated to optimize the sharpness of the dot. Then the poster was imaged using Kodak Polychrome Graphics' 2919 Series thermal plates.
Since the poster project, Felton notes, Faust has changed its overall digital workflow and prepress equipment. The company now uses the Scitex Brisque workflow, linking to a Scitex Lotem thermal platesetter for imaging Kodak Polychrome Graphics thermal plates. A Kodak XP4 digital halftone proofer is now also part of Faust's prepress equipment arsenal.
