Datasheet

654
Creating Spot Color Separations
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 to
only 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), then click OK.
6. In the New Spot Channel dialog box, select a Solidity value between 0
percent and 100
percent.
A value of 100 percent represents an ink that’s completely opaque, such
as a metallic ink, which completely covers the inks beneath it. A value
of 0 percent represents a transparent ink, such as a clear varnish. But
the solidity value affects only the screen view and composite prints; it
doesn’t affect the separations. It can help you see where a “clear” var-
nish will print.
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.