This section explains how to prepare images that include spot data with raster-based image editing applications such as Adobe Photoshop®. In order to print with white ink or varnish, you must have an ONYX profile (media model) properly configured for the use of spot data. To add spot color data to your image in PhotoShop, you need to create a layer within the image as a new spot channel. It is possible to have more than one spot element in an image, but each element must be on the same spot channel, and therefore have the same opacity level, or else ProductionHouse will treat the saved document as a separation file. Since the Arizona printers with white ink or varnish support two spot channels, you can create one spot channel for Spot 1 data and another for Spot 2 data. CMYK is the preferred image mode as the actions required for spot data creation are simpler than those for RGB.
NOTE
You can use raster-based image editing applications other than Photoshop as long as it has the ability to create spot channels.
When you have a raster-based image and need to have select areas of that image show up as white when the media is non-white or clear or translucent, you can prepare a spot channel for the white data in Photoshop.
The first step in the white ink or varnish workflow is to prepare your source image to use a spot ink channel. The spot data must be designed entirely on a separate channel (either as a spot channel layer or a custom spot color) to be recognized by the Onyx RIP. The name you assign to this spot channel layer or custom spot color must be Spot 1 or Spot 2 and is the most important part of preparing the file. This named channel allows RIP-Queue to determine that the data in the source image needs to be output to the spot channel. In preparing your file, only you can define what you want to print with "white ink" or "varnish" as part of your design and assign the color as described in this document. Using your graphic application program, the spot data can be simple or complex and can range from vector shapes and text to halftone bitmap images.
Use the following steps to create a new spot channel layer:
NOTE
The image file used in this example is for illustration purposes only. For best results when working with text, we recommend that you use a vector-based program such as Adobe Illustrator.
Add Spot Channel |
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Name – Enter the name “Spot 1” or "Spot 2". This name is specifically reserved in RIP-Queue for this type of workflow, using any other name requires more steps to make spot information addressed by the Rip software.
Note: For instructions on how to use a naming convention other than Spot 1 or Spot 2, refer to the sub-section at the end of this section "How to Name Your Spot Data".
Opacity – Set the opacity to 10%
Edit the channel COLOR by double-clicking on the swatch. Set the spot color in PhotoShop to a color similar to the spot ink in your printer. Since white can be hard to distinguish, this COLOR can be any value that will help you see the design better.
Select Spot Color |
Change Spot Color |
Flood 50 PSD |
Flood 100 PSD |
Select |
Select Inverse |
Save with Spot OptionIf you intend to use this file in a vector-based program such as Illustrator, save it as a .PSD file in order for all channel information to be carried over. The white spot color is printed in the order it appears in the Channels palette, with the spot channel printing underneath CMYK data. However, when exported as a .PSD to Illustrator, this data will appear above the image data. This is the correct format protocol for Illustrator.
Save as TIFF and ensure that the spot colors option is enabled if you plan to bring this image directly into ProductionHouse.
It is also possible and sometimes preferable to print directly from PhotoShop to Rip-Queue. For instructions on how to do this, see document provided on the Onyx web site "Printing From a Mac", which also contains information on printing from Windows-based systems.