User's Manual

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ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS2
User Guide
3 ForMode, choose thecolor mode youwanttocreate. Thenumberofchannelsappropriate forthe mode appears
in the Channels text box.
4 If necessary, enter a number in the Channels text box.
If you enter a number that is incompatible with the selected mode, Multichannel mode is automatically selected. This
cr
eates a multichannel image with two or more channels.
5 Click OK.
6 For each channel, make sure the image you want is open. If you change your mind about the image type, click
Mode to return to the Merge Channels dialog box.
7 If you are merging channels into a multichannel image, click Next, and select the remaining channels.
Note: A
ll channels of a multichannel image are alpha channels or spot channels.
8 When you are finished selecting channels, click OK.
The selected channels are merged into a new image of the specified type, and the original images are closed without
a
ny changes. The new image appears in an untitled window.
Note: Y
ou cannot split and recombine (merge) an image with spot color channels. The spot color channel will be added
as an alpha channel.
To delete a channel
Youmay want to delete spot or alphachannelsyou no longerneedbeforesavinganimage.Complex alphachannels
can substantially increase the disk space required for an image.
1 In Photoshop, select the channel in the Channels palette and do one of the following:
• Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Delete icon .
• Drag the channel name in the palette to the Delete icon.
• Choose Delete Channel from the Channels palette menu.
• Click the Delete icon at the bottom of the palette, and then click Yes.
2 In ImageReady, choose Select > Delete Channel, and choose the channel from the submenu.
Note: W
hen you delete a color channel from a file with layers, visible layers are flattened and hidden layers are discarded.
This is done because removing a color channel converts the image to Multichannel mode, which does not support layers.
An image isn’t flattened when you delete an alpha channel, a spot channel, or a quick mask.
Adding spot colors
About spot colors
Spot colors are special premixed inks used instead of, or in addition to, the process color (CMYK) inks. Each spot
color requires its own plate on the press. (Because a varnish requires a separate plate, it is considered a spot color,
too.)
If you are planning to print an image with spot colors, you need to create spot channels to store the colors. To export
spot channels, save the file in DCS 2.0 format or PDF.
Note: I
mageReady supports Photoshop spot color channels as alpha channels.