Software Workshop 2

SPOT COLOURS (cheaper and more efficient)

Photoshop:
Colour Picker: Colour Libraries: Book: Pantone solid coated: type in number to get that particular swatch.

Reference number is really important.

Image: Mode:

Layers Palette: Channels:

Channels not layers!
Greyscale image - only one channel (ink) - black
Menu (upper right on channels) : new spot channel:
Can select etc with channels like you can layers.
Foreground and background colours: when working with channels it shows just as black,grey or white.
D restores foreground and background to black and white.
If you paint with black its full colour: where its black there is ink.
Only when you look at more than one channels at once do you get a representation of the ink on screen.
Whites like an eraser.
When you overlap two channels they don't work like layers covering up the other layer-
Double click on spot colour channel thumbnail: you can always change/edit the colour.

Over printing: When the colours overlap
Printing ink is transparent: allows us to get a mix of colour when overlapped. - mixing on the paper.
Solidity Value: When you double click of swatch colour.
Producing something commercially: talk to whoever will print it: 'Im going to use photoshop, 2 spot colours, 2 inks but overprint to produce another colour during the printing process, is this going to work?'

The channel can be a grey scale image itself: tints: can choose a shade of grey which will give you a tint of your selected ink. Or adjust opacity which will give you varying tints.

Reference numbers: when you save: save as… Photoshop or Tiff file. Check box 'spot colours' must be checked. JPeg file won't contain the spot colour information.

Colour separation - separating into the individual inks that will be needed to print.

Adobe Illustrator: File Place image
Window: separations preview dialogue box: Turn on overprint preview

Print: Output: Mode Menu: Seperations
Emulsion: exposing the printing plates
Positive or Negative image.

Tints:
Half Tones: the way that tints of a colour can be printed with just one ink.

255 different shades of grey

During the separation process a half tone screen is applied. A grid of dots: all the same spacing but the size of the dot changes: changing the perceived tint of colour.

We use image resolution that will be twice the lines per inch on the half tones.
Can't have the grids of dots line up together.
Moire Patterns: when two geometrically repeating patterns line up together. - optical interference.

Preview - you often won't see the spot colours; don't worry

When printing turn off any unnecessary ink colours

If you don't want visible dots you can use a full colour thats lighter rather than just a tint.

If colours go under the black its good for screen printing.

50-65 lines per inch… lower= more visible lines per dot

Next week bring a line image or colour image on psd to work on