Datasheet

661
Book IX
Chapter 1
Prepping Graphics
for Print
Creating Spot Color Separations
apply metallic inks or varnishes to your print job. Spot colors can be used
rather than, or in addition to, the four process CMYK colors.
If you’re delving into the world of spot colors, I highly recommend that
you choose your color from a printed Pantone swatch book, available from
www.pantone.com. Because your screen is an RGB device and you’re set-
ting up your file for a CMYK output device, the colors you see onscreen
don’t match the colors that are ultimately on paper — at best, they’re a
ballpark match. For accuracy, you must select the colors from the printed
swatch book. For more on working with color, see Book II, Chapter 3.
Creating a spot channel
Follow these steps to create a spot channel:
1. On a separate layer, create the graphic or type to which you want to
apply the spot color.
2. Ctrl-click (Ô-click on the Mac) the thumbnail of the layer to select the
graphic and then choose Edit➪Fill to fill it with any solid color at an
opacity of 100 percent.
3. With your selection active, choose
Window➪Channels and then
select New Spot Channel from the
Channels panel pop-up menu.
You can apply a spot color only to
an active selection. It can’t be
applied to just a layer.
The New Spot Channel dialog box
appears, as shown in Figure 1-3.
4. In the Name text box, enter a name for your spot color. In the Ink
Characteristics area, click the color swatch.
I recommend naming your
spot color according to the spot
color you want to use, such as
Pantone 7417C.
When you click the color swatch,
the Color Picker appears.
5. Click the Color Libraries button in
the Color Picker and select your
Pantone color from the Color
Libraries dialog box that appears
(see Figure1-4), and then click OK.
Figure 1-3: Adding an additional color
separation in Photoshop requires creating a
spot color channel first.
Figure 1-4: Select an appropriate color from
the Color Libraries dialog box.
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