Helping w/printing issues

Question

Hi,
I have some files that were recently sent to a professional printer.. I used Illustrator CS & InDesign CS to design my work... This is what the printer said (I have no idea what this means I've never had this issue before).
"We need you to set all the files that are printing 1 color as 1 color and shades / percentages of that 1 pms color . The reason I state all files because you will need to do this with upcoming files too . I just walked out of my pre press department and this is what they needed form you to make it work properly."
Any insight would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Answer 1

OK, here's what it sounds like is happening.
You want your work to be printed in one color ink only, probably some color from the Pantone swatchbook. For whatever reason you've built some or all of your files using either RGB colors or CMYK process colors.
The single pigment inks are like paint, and are called SPOT colors. One printing plate is generated for each spot color, and you can use that color either at 100% or at some lighter tint percentage. If you want to pay the extra cost for additional plates and setup you can use more than one spot color in a job, and they can be mixed using 'overprint' to create other colors, like a yellow mixed with a blue can produce shades of green.
Spot colors only work on printing presses. Desktop printers and color copiers use CMYK inks or toners to simulate the appearance of the solid color, and often not terribly well since many spot colors are outside the range that can be produced using CMYK.
There are two ways to approach a one-color job. The first is to simply do it all in black, then tell the printer what color to use. Because there is only one plate involved it doesn't matter what color it is named or what it looks like on your screen. The output is determined by the color of the ink the printer loads into the press, and the same file can be printed in blue one day, and orange the next without doing anything more than changing the ink.
The other method is to actually specify a spot color by making a new color swatch and choosing the color form one of the predefined spot color libraries. The advantage of this is that it will appear on your screen in color, though not necessarily accurate color again, and you can print a proof on your desktop printer that will also be in some simulation of the color. If you do this, you must not use any other color in a one-color file, but you can make tint swatches of that color if it's convenient. Remember, the only way to accurately choose a spot color is with a swatchbook.
To see what is going to happen when the printer processes your file turn on the separations preview (Window > Output > Separations Preview and select separations from the dropdown at the top of the panel). Click the little eyeball icons to turn off all the colors, then turn them back on with only one visible at a time. If you've use a spot color, those things should show on screen in black when that color is showing, and not when other colors are showing. All of the other colors should leave the screen blank when selected alone for a one-color job. If you used black instead off a spot color, everything should be on the black plate.
Hope that helps.
Peter