Backwards compatibility of .psd files with spot channels

Over the years Adobe Photoshop has done a really excellent job of keeping image files backwards compatible. Unfortunately it is still possible to save files may not be opened by previous versions of the software. This happens when a spot color is specified in a color book that is not available in earlier versions of the software (for example the "Pantone+ Solid Coated" book that appears to be the new default).
Photoshop CS6 seems to be able to open files that contain spot colors from unavailable color books.
Photoshop CS4, CS5, and CS5.1 all give the error message:
"Could not complete your request because the specified color book cannot be found."
when trying to read a file with a Pantone+ spot color.
I know that there is probably nothing that CS6 can do to fix this situation, but it would be great if there were an update for the older software that turned this error message into a warning.

Yeah, that used to be a problem, and it's not the file format but the color book resolution code that is broken.
No, there's not much we can do since it affects every previous version of Photoshop.

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CS5 Misinterprets Layered PSDs with Spot Channels

I haven't seen this mentioned yet; if you routinely use layered Photoshop files with spot channels, and might be opening older files into CS5 be warned that CS5 appears to misinterpret the tonal values in the spot channels of these documents.
Steps to reproduce:
Create a layered CMYK PSD file with one or more spot channels, and make sure that this file contains halftones on the spot channel(s), not all solid coverage.
Flatten the image and save a copy.
Place both images into Illustrator CS5. Notice that the spot channel(s) in the layered version appears much lighter than the flattened version (which matches the original image), and will output lighter as well.The CMYK channels display and output correctly.
Repeat the test with CS4. Both versions of the image will place and output identically from Illustrator.
Not sure what's going on here, but the only workaround I can find is to flatten the image. This could prove very dangerous when opening CS4 files that were set up this way into CS5, especially if the user is not familiar with how the file is supposed to look (prepress operators, etc.).
[Tested using CS5 and CS4, Mac OS X 10.6.x and Windows Vista.]
Additional info 3:39pm: if you start with a flattened image and add layers, retaining the Background layer, this issue does not occur. It is only if the PSD is "fully layered" with no flattened Background layer.

I don't actually see this but you
mention this happens with older files and I do not have any older files
like this so I really can't say.
No, this is with new documents created in CS5 as well. I referred to older files as they are my biggest concern -- if an older file was set up like this, with layered images containing spot channels, they are going to open and output different from CS5. And the likelihood of this going through to production without being caught is not insignificant. (These could be older files we have on backup that we're processing for a reorder, or from a customer who is using an older version of Illustrator...)
But I do like the idea that when you import a
photoshop with spot channels in CS 5 the spot channels are treated as
separate objects in the layers panel, rather than one collective object
like in CS 4. And that the spot color is properly set to multiply.
That is actually pretty neat, I hadn't noticed that (since we always link our images, rarely do we embed them). I'm not sure that Multiply mode shouled change the image data like this, and I'm also not sure how the file is handled by AI when it's linked... so I grabbed our film exposure bar and brought it into CS5 four ways (embedded / layered, embedded / flat, linked / layered and linked / flat) to test all variations.
The results are the same no matter how the file is placed; the spot content in the layered file is lighter across the board than the file, and the flattened version is correct.
(The forum resricts the size of attached images, and the resized image of the full test is a little difficult to see. I posted a second one below that, which is a close-up of a layered and flattened image showing the differences in the spot color data -- the lighter one is from the layered file, and is significantly altered from the original file.)

Layered Photoshop files with alpha channels

I wondered if anyone had a work around for the problem of layered PSD files with alpha channels not previewing properly in Aperture 3.1.1. I know it's been an issue in previous versions of Aperture but I thought Apple would have sorted this by now, or am I asking too much?

I tested a file last night as follows:
Sent file via 'Edit with Photoshop CS5' (as PSD 8-bit, sRGB color space) > changed background to normal layer > created circular selection around subject and inverted to remove most of image leaving transparent area (about 70% of image) > saved file > closed Photoshop > file updated in Aperture with black filling in the transparent area.
Resent the PSD back to Photoshop (which opened correctly with transparent area) > created two new layers and sent one to background > filled new background layer with White and left top new layer transparent > saved again and closed Photoshop > file updated in Aperture with white showing in transparent areas (no black).
AFAIK, this is how it is designed to work.
My only other suggestion would be for you to create a new empty library (press Option while launching Aperture > Create New..) and then import one RAW or JPEG file and test.
Note - you can reset Photoshop by holding down 'Command + Option + Shift' immediately after launching Photoshop and clicking 'Yes', then set the 'Maximize Compatibility...' to 'Always' again. Doing this prior to sending the file from new library would probably be best.
Apologies in advance if you have already tried this and for outlining procedures that you are already familiar with (just not sure what level Photoshop user you are).

Photoshop images with spot channels in Indesign CS6 (layout question)

I've got an Indesign CS6 layout that will have a spot varnish when it goes to press. Right now I've got a layout with psd files that have spot channels in them that will be used for the spot varnish.
My question is, in Indesign when I'm laying this out should I have one layer with all the psd artwork (with no spot channels) and then a layer on top of that with the psd files with the psd layers turned off with the spot channel showing? I want to make this easy to print in the office so by doing it this way I could just turn the spot layer off and print.
Will this work for the printer?
layer 1 psd files with no spot channels
layer 2 psd files with photoshop layers turned off with the spot channel showing

Besides the obvious extra work of tracking 2 images, there would be potential problems if the images needs to be scaled and moved, and you would have to assume people downstream would know what's going on—should the layer be on or off?
I would double check with the current printer—they should know the only way to view a spot is via Sep or Output preview by turning CMYK off—magenta could just as easily be process as spot.
Take a closer look at the Alias method. Here it is with your magenta defined SPOT VARNISH.
With SPOT VARNISH set as No Alias in Ink Manager and with Overprint turned on:
And with an additional spot color defined as white named CLEAR VARNISH. When you need to print in house alias SPOT VARNISH to CLEAR VARNISH and check Simulate Overprint in the Print dialog. You can get to Ink Manger via the Print>Output dialog or Swatches panel:
All you have to do is delete the CLEAR VARNISH before sending the job to the printer or exporting

Photoshop CS3 shuts down after opening a PSD file with layers

Hello, I have met a problem with Photoshop CS3 (Windows XP SP2, no network printer) - after opening a PSD file with layers (saved with CS2) Photoshop shuts down. No error message.
Can some of you help me? (The only software that I have installed after Creative Suite CS3 is Corel X4. I have installed no upgrades of CS3.)

> I have installed no upgrades of CS3
You should!
Even if it doesn't help here you should.

I place a psd file with transparent background on another layer in my InDesign document. The layer b

I placed a psd file with transparent background on another layer in my InDesign document. The layer below has a color (RGB). When the psd file is placed it changes the color on the layer below. I've tried other psd files thinking something is wrong with my file, but get the same result. I have tried for days to figure this out. Can anyone help me?

Wow, thank you! That was fast. I googled that question to death and even bought (another) book on CS5 and never saw that answer. Thank you so much. You made a very good ending to my day! I'd buy you a beer if I could!!

Flash Player for FLV files with alpha channel encoded

My goal is to play the the transparent background flash video on the bottom right hand corner similar to the video on this website : http://www.dropshipblueprint.com/
I already have the FLV file with alpha channel encoded. I was made to understand I will need a special flash player that can read alpha channel in the flv file to make the background transparent? Is this correct? If yes, then how to accomplish this or where do I get that player, maybe opensourece player? If the player is not a solution then how do I accomplish my end objective taking into consideration I have the FLV file with the alpha channel encoded. Thanks for your help. Sam

Sam,
Welcome to the forum.
Where do you need to play this "sprite" (the name for such a Flash video)?
If you need to add that to a Video, then there could be a few challenges in PrE.
If you need to add it to a Web site, then Flash Player (free from Adobe) should be able to display that.
Can you please give us just a bit more info, on how you wish to use the sprite?
Good luck,
Hunt

Automator or Applescript using png files with alpha channel

I have hundred of png files with alpha channel.
I want to suppress alpha channel.
How can i do it using Automator or Applescript ?
Thank you very much.

You can use the free command line image processing tool ImageMagick in your Applescripts or Automator workflows, as well as from a Terminal shell.
You can download ImageMagick from http://www.imagemagick.org, but Cactuslab has simplified installation by putting together an installer package. It’s available at http://cactuslab.com/imagemagick/. Download the package and double-click on it. Follow the instructions to install. It will install ImageMagick into /opt/ImageMagick and add it to your $PATH by creating a file in /etc/paths.d/. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
The two ImageMagick commands we’re concerned with are “convert” and “mogrify”. Convert is more efficient for multiple and piped operations on the same image file, and mogrify is more efficient for batch processing. Generally speaking, convert will output a file separate from the input file. Unless a path is specified, mogrify will overwrite the input file with the output file. An important distinction.
You can perform various operations on the alpha channel using arguments after either the convert or mogrify command. Two of the available arguments are:
-alpha off - Disables the image's transparency channel. Does not delete or change the existing data, just turns off the use of that data.
-alpha remove - Composite the image over the background color.
Also of use are the -flatten and -background options:
-flatten - overlay all the image layers into a final image and may be used to underlay an opaque color to remove transparency from an image.
-background - sets the background color.
Start off using the convert command with a single image to see the effect and adjust to your liking. Once you’ve achieved the desired outcome, then use the mogrify command to batch process the chosen images.
Before getting into how to use Automator or Applescript in your workflow, use Terminal and the command line to see the effect on a single image. Copy one image to your ~/Desktop. In Terminal change the directory to ~/Desktop by typing the following command and pressing the Enter key:
cd ~/Desktop
Then choose the option you are looking for, -alpha remove for instance, type the following command and press the Enter key:
convert input-photo.png -alpha remove output-photo.png
You can check the alpha channel (transparency) and background in the Preview app, go View > Show Image Background from the menu bar.
Once you’re ready to batch proces, place all the photos you want to convert with the same command into one folder. Copy the folder to your ~/Desktop. Let’s assume you’ve labeled the folder “InPhotos”. It’s prudent to manipulate copies in case something goes amiss. In that event you can copy the folder with the originals again and start over. Create a new empty folder on your ~/Desktop and call it “OutPhotos”. Let’s also assume your home directory is called “Me”. The following command will process the photos from the InPhotos folder and put them in the OutPhotos folder:
mogrify -alpha remove -path /Users/me/Desktop/OutPhotos/ /Users/me/Desktop/InPhotos/*png
According to Apple Technical Note TN2065:
"when you use just a command name instead of a complete path, the shell uses a list of directories (known as your PATH) to try and find the complete path to the command. For security and portability reasons, do shell script ignores the configuration files that an interactive shell would read"
So, you need to use the full path to to ImageMagick commands, unlike in the shell where you can just use the command name.
To batch process using Automator, use the “Run Shell Script” action (note: retain the single space at the beginning of the last line):
/opt/ImageMagick/bin/mogrify \
-alpha remove \
-path /Users/Me/Desktop/OutPhotos/ \
/Users/Me/Desktop/InPhotos/*png
To batch process using Script Editor (Applescript), use the “do shell script” command:
do shell script "/opt/ImageMagick/bin/mogrify -alpha remove -path /Users/pd/Desktop/OutPhotos/ /Users/pd/Desktop/InPhotos/*png"
Further info on ImageMagick:
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/command-line-options.php#alpha
http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/masking/#remove
http://www.imagemagick.org/index.php
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/command-line-tools.php
http://www.imagemagick.org/script/command-line-options.php
Examples:
The original PNG image:
-alpha off:
-alpha remove:
-background black -flatten:
-background blue -flatten:
-channel alpha -evaluate Divide 2:
-channel alpha -evaluate Divide 2 -background black -flatten:

How can I open a psd file with layers in touch?

I want to edit a psd file with layers in photoshop touch. Is this possible?

No. (Kind of, sort of.) You can export PS Touch projects for import into desktop Photoshop and have the layers intact for further editing but you cannot do the reverse; any imported PSD will be automatically flattened. (I'm guessing this was done to prevent crashing. PS Touch supports 12 layers max vs. the potential thousands available in desktop Photoshop.)

When round tripping with photoshop cc, i get a saved psd file with my original raw,the problem is these are high file sizes and taking a lot of space,can i stop this?

when round tripping with photoshop cc, i get a saved psd file with my original raw,the problem is these are high file sizes and taking a lot of space,can i stop this?

That's not the workflow that I use. I have my Lightroom preferences set to create TIF images when going to Photoshop. I keep the original raw file and the TIF image (usually reduced to an 8-bit image) and only export JPEG's when they are needed to send to a lab or to send to someone over the Internet. JPEG files are highly compressed. I only create them when they are needed, and they are discarded as soon as they have been used for their intended purpose. I keep the raw file and the Photoshop-created TIF in my library. This requires extra disk space. But I always have the highest quality files available.

Importing .psd file with transparency in Premiere Pro CS4 titler

I am trying to import a psd file with transparency into the Premiere Pro CS4 titler and the transparency will not come in. I've tried psd, png, jpeg, gif, targa and none will preserve the transparency. What I'm trying to do is create a custom lower third using a image without having to build it inside the titler or drop the PSD directly onto my timeline. This seems like an easy task, but I'm not having any luck. Please help!

Boy you guys are quick. I did not find this thread until after you'd sorted it out. You know how much I like to work on PS to PrPro problems!
Jeff,
You might want to move this thread to the PrPro sub-forum, as it will likely help others with PSD Transparency issues, and might never get seen back here.
Like you haven't been busy doing the housekeeping already. You moved one post WHILE I was replying to it. Imagine my surprise, when I replied and ended up in the other sub-forum - as if by magic!
Hunt

Bring in another .psd file with the clipping path

Okay, this client has a very odd request. They want a collage of images put together in one file and they want the clipping paths to be attached. Then it's to be saved as an eps file. I'd like to do this in InDesign and am going to be posting this same question there as well. I like that in InDesign, the clipping path stays attached to the image when you move it. However, is there a way to do this in Photoshop? I don't know how to bring .psd files into Photoshop along with their clipping paths. If there is a way to do this, is there a way to link the clipping path to the layer so that when I move the individual layers, the clipping path moves with it?
Help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

In Photoshop "Clipping Path" is a special kind of Path and limited to one per image and not linked to one Layer.
A work-around to combine multiple images with individual Clipping Paths into one psd file with a combined Clipping Path could be
• applying the Clipping Paths as Vector Masks to the images (flattened to one Layer or converted to a Smart Object each),
• combining them and after positioning/transforming/…
• copy/pasting the individual Vector Masks into one new Clipping Path.

Windows AVI hd files with 4 channels of audio with quicktime PRO ?????

I wish to convert Windows AVI hd files with 4 channels of adio to Quicktime mov, retaining the four tracks of audio, will quicktime pro do this

It depends on what the audio and video codecs used in the video. AVI is just a container format and make use any number of codecs, some of which QuickTime for Windows can support but many it cannot. If you can post information on the codecs, someone here can probably give more direct advice.
Regards.

How to export "gif" animation frames as individual .psd files with layers intact?

Hi, after creating an extended 25 frame animation (as if building a .gif) I would like to export each frame to individual .psd files with all the layers showing in each respective frame intact as separate editable layers (rather than each frame as a flattened one layer image/psd)...how can this be done? thanks

maybe it would be easiest if there were just a script which would delete all the layers not visible in a frame but leave the visible layers unflattened, then the file could be saved with a new_name_001 etc., then the deletions could be undone manually via option+command z, the animation advanced by a frame...repeat
is there a script which deletes all but the visible layers in a frame -- but leaves those which are visible unflattened/editable?
thanks

Problem with spot channels when importing PSD into AI CS3

tried the Windows forum, and adobe tech support in The Netherlands. Hopefully someone here can help.
b Problem description:
I make spot colour separations of full colour artwork by using the index separation method in Photoshop. This creates several spot color channels in my PSD file.
Normally I just place this PSD file in Illustrator CS2, and when I embed the file Illustrator makes objects of the spot channels. I can change the colors of these objects and delete them etc.
Now with Illustrator CS3 when I import and embed a PSD file it just creates one object called "Spot Color Image". I can no longer adjust or delete separate spot channels.
Maybe there is another way to achieving this but I cannot find it myself. Without this method Illustrator CS3 has become useless for me.

Hi again, I did the same, and I see what you mean. The original image is an image, the channels are separate objects for me, but the original image isn't different channels.
I found this in the Help file:
Spot colors (up to 31 spot channels per file) import as a single N‑Channel raster image, which is placed over the process color image. The spot colors are added to the swatches panel as custom colors with the same name as in Photoshop. Imported spot colors separate correctly.
Will think some more. Not sure what to suggest. Someone must have an answer to help you.

Backwards compatibility of .psd files with spot channels

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