Designing Multi-color Silkscreen in Seeed Fusion: Tips and Best Practices

Designing Multi-color Silkscreen in Seeed Fusion: Tips and Best Practices


Silkscreen printing is an essential part of printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing, as it helps to label and indicate components' placement on the board. While silkscreen printing is typically done in one or two colors, more and more designers are now looking to add multiple colors to their PCBs' silkscreen. 

If you are interested in designing multi-color silkscreen in Fusion, there are some important factors to consider. In this post, we'll go over the tips and best practices for designing multi-color silkscreen in Fusion. 

Conditions for Placing an Order  


Before you start designing your multi-color silkscreen, it's important to note the conditions for placing an order. The maximum size of a single piece cannot exceed 270*470mm, and it is recommended to choose a different color for solder mask compared to the silkscreen color. 

Specifications for Gerber Data Design


When designing colorful characters for silkscreen printing in Fusion, there are some important specifications to keep in mind: 
 - Avoid placing colorful characters over SMD pads and through-holes to avoid any interference with the component placement or through-hole drilling.
 - If you provide actual images of characters for printing, we can print them onto the PCB silkscreen layer. Please make sure to put these images into a folder and upload them together with the Gerber files. It's best to specify the color for each layer of characters if they are designed in the Gerber file.
 - Supported image formats include PDF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, etc. 

Color Difference


While Fusion will always strive for color accuracy in the silkscreen printing process, it's important to note that there may be some color variation between the images you provide and the final printed result. This is because of the differences in screen display, ink, and other factors. We cannot guarantee 100% color accuracy, but we will try our best to match the colors as closely as possible. You can also provide us with RGB color numbers.

Best Practices for Designing Multi-color Silkscreen in Fusion


Here are some additional tips to keep in mind when designing multi-color silkscreen in Fusion:
 - Use high-quality images: When providing actual images for silkscreen printing, make sure they are high-quality images that are easy to read and reproduce onto the board.
 - Use contrasting colors: To make sure your silkscreen is easy to read, use high-contrast colors that stand out from the board's background color.
 - Be mindful of spacing: Make sure that the colorful characters are spaced out enough to be readable and won't interfere with any other components or traces on the board. 

Conclusion


Designing multi-color silkscreen in Fusion can add an extra level of customization and visual interest to your PCBs. By following the tips and best practices outlined in this post, you can create colorful, readable silkscreen designs that are accurately reproduced onto your board. You can click on the link to make your own multi-color silkscreen PCBs!

There is a picture of the colorful silkscreen on the PCB with white solder mask oil coverage.



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