Using the Color Separations Preview in Adobe InDesign In this image, for example, the interaction of just the cyan and yellow inks are being previewed. You can also toggle inks one by one to see different combinations of interaction. To restore the visibility of all the inks, simply Alt- or Option-click again next to any ink swatch. Here, we’re previewing the black plate only: You’ll then see a preview of all of the places in your document where that ink will be printed (where that color plate will be used). In order to preview any one ink by itself, use the keyboard shortcut Alt + click (PC) or Option + click (Mac) while clicking the eye on the left side of the color indicator. Note that nothing that you change in the panel will affect the actual print job turning any of these checkboxes on or off simply allows you to see what will visually happen as the various colors interact. If the latter, check the “Show Used Spot Colors Only” box at the bottom of the Separations Preview Panel. To activate the actual separations preview, you’ll need to check the box next to “Overprint Preview.” Overprinting relates to how the inks interact because they’re translucent, when each ink is printed on top of the others, you’ll a deeper visual range.Īfter that, you can decide whether you still want to see all the spot colors that have been defined, or only the spot colors actively in use. Spot colors are premixed inks which don’t separate into the process components. What you should see, once your document is in CMYK color mode, is a list of the four process color inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) along with any spot colors which exist in your swatches panel. It’s your choice just be aware of the pros and cons of each! In fact, if you have a document that only uses spot colors and no process color plates, some designers believe they can see the spot colors better if they leave the document in RGB. Make sure there’s a check next to “CMYK Color.” If “RGB Color” is checked instead, then change it to CMYK.īe aware that the saturation of the colors on your screen will become more muted if you make the change to CMYK, since RGB is considered a more “lively” color space than the printed page allows. You can check your color mode by going to File → Document Color Mode. While you don’t have to work in CMYK just because you’re printing a document commercially (especially when using spot colors, which exist independently of the CMYK plates), you won’t be able to use the Separations Preview unless you are. If the panel seems to be empty, check to make sure your document is in CMYK color mode. Go to Window → Separations Preview to launch the Separations Preview Panel. Here’s how to launch Separations Preview in Illustrator. Launch Separations Preview in Illustrator This way, you’ll be prepared for how the various process colors will interact with each other when you commercially reproduce an Adobe document. Since both Adobe Illustrator CC and Adobe InDesign CC are popular print layout powerhouses, we’ll focus on the Separations Preview in these applications. The Color Separations Preview will help you prep your files when you’re sending your job to a professional print house. You’ll only need this panel if you’re going to be doing any commercial printing if you’re sticking to your home printer (laserjet, inkjet, and the like), you won’t need to bother with separations. The Separations Preview tool provides you with a visual display of how the various color inks in your document will interact with each other on the printed page. It’s wise to check the settings for the actual inks and make sure they’re going to interact in a predictable and satisfying way, for both you and your client. And one way to prevent any unexpected color results is to preview the print output before we send our files out the door (or email box). The outcome? We can get results we’re not expecting when we send our files to the printer. And there’s a difference between on-screen color and in-print color, which is most important to remember (and troubleshoot) if you’re going to print.Īs graphic designers working between multiple platforms and applications, we can sometimes forget which mode we’re working in, or which colors have been applied where.
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