RGB image coloured to spot colour

We have supplied images (jpeg, tiff, wmf) that are RGB Black & White. I want to be able to place the image in a box and set the colour to a spot colour ie PMS 280.
I can colour them up using Transparency>Lighten having set the background colour of the box. This only works for process colours, not for PMS colours. As soon as you change to a PMS colour the image "disappears". Am I doing something wrong? Is it possible??
I work with Overprint Preview ON to get a view of how it will output.
Due to how the customer supplies the files to us and automation involved it has to be done via Indesign.

Not going to happen.
You'll either need to make clear to users of the template that they need to supply the correct form of art or do the conversion yourself. I expect it could be scripted to find these images open them in photoshop, run an action, and return them to ID as grayscale. It probably could be set to run on file open.
http://forums.adobe.com/community/indesign/indesign_scripting

Similar Messages

Converting greyscale images to single spot colour

Hi there.
I’m trying to convert a greyscale image into a single spot colour image. The spot colour is PMS425C, a grey version but as I’m only printing 2 colours I need to convert these images into one spot colour.
Can somebody please assist?
Thanks

Did you see the monotone separated into cmyk? If so, you may not be making the PDF correctly and the spot is being converted. It can still have cmyk channels but they are empty and will not end up as plates. Check your output to PDF settings and make sure in the ink manager that spots are retained. Also, there is more than one way to view in output preview which can be confusing at first.
You should be exporting as PDF X/1a and if your settings are correct, when you view in output preview (separations) in Acrobat, you should see the spot as spot.
Try saving your monotone as .psd too many other formats will not support the monotone. If you view separations in ID, you will be able to see if your file actually supports spot colour.

Halo on Sherpa proof when transparency image lies over spot colour

While using CS2
I had a slight problem with a halo when sending a 4 colour process with a masthead in a Special.
As typical with magazine covers, the subjects head (in Photoshop) popped over the 5th Colour masthead(Indesign) and where we had successfully made the hair edge to fade to transparent, there was still a white halo on the final sherpa proof where it never blended into the 5 th colour correctly.
On the contrary, when we ran the whole cover as CMYK only, the transparency affect worked perfectly.
Not yet seen final press result. PDF looked fine visually, so maybe(hoping here!) that this is sherpa proof not doing its job.
Any suggestions as to why this would happen?

Poor transparency flattening.
I did see your post on ID Secrets but I'll address it here with two more ID Secrets posts:
http://indesignsecrets.com/eliminating-the-white-box-effect.php
http://indesignsecrets.com/eliminating-ydb-yucky-discolored-box-syndrome.php
Bob

Acrobat 8.1.2 crashes when checking/unchecking spot colour channels

Hi there, just wondering if this situation is a bug with Acrobat or an issue with my machine/OSX?
I have created PDFs by distilling and exporting. If I open the resulting PDFs in Acrobat 8.1.2 and open the colour seps panel and turn off colours - particularly spot colours, Acrobat unexpectedly quits. Everytime.
My system is:
24" intel iMac 4Gb Ram large HDD
OSX.5.2
Is anyone else having similar issues?
I'm just off to create a new account to see if it still dioes it.
Many thanks.
Kind Regards
Piers Le Sueur

Thanks Jon,
I've tried both.. trashing pref AND used IDCS3 - created a standard page added some items with spot colours and exported to PDF/X-1a:2001 as you suggested.
I'm still getting the same issue.
Incidentally - when you check seps - overprint automatically comes on by default. I'm not sure if you can view seps AND have overprint off...
Anything else to try?
Kind Regards
Piers Le Sueur

How do I use mono and 1 spot colour for print, where the spot colour applies to an element, rather than the whole image?

I am struggling to work with spot colours, using scanned images edited in Photoshop for use in InDesign to then go to print.
We print to two plates to save money for our publication. In this case magenta and black.
I could use the spot colour mode but that works with curves and I only want a certain part magenta. Imagine a business card with a gloss finish where I only want to apply it to certain part ie the name of the employee, using a curve would match a certain shade therefore this method would be unsuitable.
I have also tried using channels, one grayscale and one magenta, but using the file types either InDesign bugs or it comes out in mono.
It isn't possible to recreate the logo in InDesign, if only it was this easy...
If someones already discussed this, I can't find it, but if someone could point me in the right direction—I'd be very grateful!
Using Photoshop CS4, InDesign CS4. Access to Adobe Cloud at home...

I'm assuming at least some people on here must have experience of the Scintilla control for creating a Notepad++ type application. I'd like to use this control, unfortunately there is very little in the way of documentation or working examples
around
>unfortunately there is very little in the way of documentation
Have you read all of this?
Scintilla Documentation
http://www.scintilla.org/ScintillaDoc.html
>or working examples around
Have you examined this project in detail?
SciTE is a SCIntilla based Text Editor.
http://www.scintilla.org/SciTE.html
SciTE Documentation
http://www.scintilla.org/SciTEDoc.html
- Wayne

Making a PDF with an image that has both spot colour channel and alpha channel

Hi I have a logo that was supplied to us as a PSD it has a transparent background, it also has a pantone colour channel. I have made a alpha channel from the transparent background as well.
The graphic looks fine in InDesign (alpha channel selected in the import options), ie the background is transparent.
But when we try to make a Hi Res PDF the result is that the graphic is on a solid white background.
If I go back to the PSD and merge the spot channel with so that it is just CMYK and try again the PDF is fine, but we obviously loose the spot colour.
How do you make a PDF with a transparent PSD that has a spot colour?

You know that annoying response from support staff? "We cannot replicate your issue". Well....
I created a PSD in CS5, with a bunch of process stuff, then loaded a spot color channel and painted in some pawprints using Pantone 172C:
Saved this as a PSD file, default settings (maximize compatibility on, but it doesn't make any difference in this situation).
Created a new InDesign document in CS5, added a gradient and some text, then placed the PSD. ID understands the PSD has an inbuilt background so there's no need to bother with a dedicated alpha mask:
Exported from ID using the High Quality Print option (PDF/1.4, which keeps the live transparency):
Re-exported to PDF/X-1a (based on PDF/1.3 which flattens transparency) - looks exactly the same. In all cases the spot channel is intact and the see-through regions of the PSD are maintained.

Colour management of spot colour channels

Hello
I have some single layer images using cmyk (black only) + Pantone Process Blue U that will eventually be printed on a sheetfed offset press. A ballpark estimate would suffice for this low budget book, so I thought I'd give soft proofing a try. I'm therefore interested in understanding Photoshop's implementation of colour management for spot colour channels so as to have a less vague idea of the approximations this workflow involves.
Moreover, I'm stuck on exporting to pdf to let the client evaluate my conversions of the original rgb scans. Photoshop seems to layer an Euroscale Uncoated v2 overprinting image on top of a spot coloured image whose alternate colour space is "Calibrated RGB". What baffles me is that the pdfs display consistently in Acrobat 8 and 9 but rather differently from the Photoshop document.
Here come my questions:
1) Am I right in saying that these programs still don't support colour profiles involving spots? If so, are Adobe people willing to comment on the relevant intricacies?
2) Which colour profiles and colour conversions do Photoshop and Acrobat use to display such documents?
3) Which software tools will allow me to convert the Photoshop documents to an output profile for hard proofing?
4) Short of alternatives, when only K is needed and as long as each spot colour bears a decent resemblance to a cmy primary, how well will the profiling software deal with a cmyk target printed substituting the inks on press?
Thank you very much for your help.
Giordano

As far as I know …
1) Photoshop uses the Spot setting from your Color Settings (Edit – Color Settings) to display spot channels (and one can use gray-profiles or the K-channel of CMYK-profiles for that); the Solidity one can set manually, but one should bear in mind that even a 100% solid spot channel does not knock out the process channels.
As for the actual physical properties of the color and its mixing with the other colors I’m afraid Photoshop produces a pretty rough simulation – profiles for more than four colors are considerably more complicated and would, if I’m not mistaken, preclude much of Photoshop’s functionality.
2) If you pass unprofiled Files between programs they will be displayed using the programs’ respective Color Settings.
And your screen profile will be employed in the process naturally … but you might want to read up on color management if you want to know more about all that.
As to why the display differs between Acrobat and Photoshop it would appear that Acrobat use the RGB-setting for displaying spots and not an extra setting like Photoshop.
3) Photoshop is capable of separating files – but I may not understand what you’re driving at.
4) Epson-proofers using the latest generation of inks for example have a fairly wide gamut and should be able to simulate a lot of Pantone colors, so you might want to contact your provider to make sure if such a workaround is necessary at all.

2 spot colour pictures for print

I have CS2 on a pc and can only seem to make pictures in RGB or CMYK (4 colour) this means the printers have to print in 4 colour. I want to print in 2 spot colour. How do I produce the appropriate artwork?
Many thanks

You either want a duotone image, or you want a grayscale or CMYK image with spot channels.
More about duotones here:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Photoshop/11.0/WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-778ea.html
More about spot channels here:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Photoshop/11.0/WS9FD745D8-B3A1-4f3f-B6EA-15AF41749D34a.html

How to correctly use spot colours in Photoshop?

Hi,
Using CS2, I've created one of those swooshy Macintosh Panther wallpaper images, with various layers of sweeping lines and tinted gradient arcs.
Now I want to create the image using just tints of pantone 519 but I'm unsure of how to work with pantone colours in photoshop. I've pulled up the solid coated pantone library and located the swatch, but how do I specify various tints of this colour?
I've searched the forum and come across spot channels, and have read the photoshop help entry on this, but still can't understand how to do it. From what I've read, I make a selection, then create a spot channel of the colour and set the solidity to 100%. If I want an 80% tint, I just adjust the solidity to 80%. Is this correct, or is the solidity more like transparency than tint?
In addition, how do I create a gradient between these two colours?
Final question - I have an element I want to import from Illustrator that uses the same spot colour. Do I have to deal with this any differently to the normal copy and paste as a smart object?
Sorry, I'm sure this is really quite easy.
Thanks for any help.
Steven

Why not just mode grayscale (or better yet a black and white adjustment layer, then mode grayscale), adjust levels, new spot channel, move dot from gray channel to spot channel? If it was made in RGB 519, your green channel is probably best to make the move to grayscale. If you're working in CMYK, then the magenta channel (unless of course you're using pictures with UCR/GCR).
 
 I guess I don't understand how you can say "I'll set it up best in CMYK" but can't get it to one color.
 
 Here's the tut version using the green channel only. If you do some channel mixing, I'm sure you could get something a little nicer.
 
 
<a href="http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1jaDKpRgglatQZJhuknYJ4TLhAUUq1" /></a>
<img alt="Picture hosted by Pixentral" src="http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1jaDKpRgglatQZJhuknYJ4TLhAUUq1_thumb.jpg" border="0" />

InDesign CS3 and Fluorescent Spot Colours

I am having a problem with importing Photoshop files into InDesign CS3 and laying them over a fluorescent spot colour.
The PS file is Greyscale with a transparent background, this is being inported into a picture box in InDesign which in turn is sitting on top of a square with a fluorescent spot colour in it. (Pantone 804c). The problem is that the spot colour is being affected by the photoshop box that contains the greyscale image. Outside of the box the spot colour represents normally, but underneath the photoshop box the fluorescent spot is changing colour to a lighter shade. Has anyone seen this and figured out how to fix it. This occurance has happened only through my local printer and has not yet been printed Litho.
Thanks.

If your Transparency Blend Space is CMYK, make sure you check Use Standard Lab Values for Spots and turn on View>Overprint Preview (or turn on Separations in the Separations Preview panel).
If your output will be offset separations, you'll need to keep the blend space as CMYK in order to keep the grayscale on the black plate (the change in color with Overprint turned off is only a preview problem and will not effect separations). If you are always printing to a composite printer you could also set your blend space to RGB, but in that case the preview won't change and you will not get a correct spot/black separation.
http://www.zenodesign.com/scripts/Pantone806.png

RGB CMYK PDF EXPORT.(colour conversion) Keeping your colours vibrant and your blacks black.

Ive been tearing my hair out for the best part of 14 hours trying to figure out how to keep the closest possible conversion for working with images(rgb in photoshop) right the way through a work flow until exporting to print (having used the image in Indesign). Here is the process I have been trying to get right.
1) working with RGB photo images in photoshop and converting them to CMYK (whilst holding on to as much colour as poss)
2) Importing them to Indesign and retaining the correct colours while working with them)
3) Exporting to high quality print and having all your colours stay 100% the same as you saw them within indesign.
I believe I have the solution so I posted my settings below to see if its the best way of doing things and to help others who might be having the same problems.
The problem
The problem is that there are many different colour models/profiles (both in RGB and CMYK) and each program can effect how the next one handles and stores colour. It can become frustrating knowing where to go in order to set the settings correctly as the combination of things to consider can make it confusing.
I understand many other people have similar problems and finding RGB blacks come out as grey. CMYK spaces get converted from one type to another either from one program to the next or even as things move around one program (causing all sorts of wonderful,colour errors) Plus you have imported colour profiles, working colour profiles and export profiles. All of which can interact and effect each other) So getting it all consistent is key other wise colours change and get washed out.   Especially vibrant colours like greens and blues. they fade etc.
Through sheer trial and error and perciverance I found a combination of settings that worked well for me.
Since I am not an expert I wanted to post up my settings to:
1) see if this is the best way of doing things.
2) Other people may find them useful if they had the same problems I had,
The Solution
In photoshop
Save the photoshop image in CMYK by selecting:
Edit > Convert to prfile.
(in destination space)
select: Euroscale Coated v2   (I think this holds the colours the truest of all CMYK colour formats.)
(in conversion options)
- Engine: Adobe ACE
- Intent: Perceptual.
- Check Use black point Compensation.
(leave all else unchecked)
Save the image ready to place in indesign (place rather than copy and paste.).
In Indesign
edit > colour settings   (make sure you click on the advanced tick box to open more options)
- Working space: =
- RGB: sRGB IEC....
- CMYK Euroscale coated v2
- RGB & CMYK convert to working space.
- Engine Adobe ACE
- Perceptual
- Use black point compensation
edit > Assign profiles
- RGB profile. > Assign current workspace: sRGB IE
- CMYK > Assign current work space Euroscale Coated V2
- Solid colour intent : preceptual
- Default image intent
- After blending intent: Perceptual.
edit > convert to profile. (use similar as above).
edit > Preferences > Apprearance of black
- on screen / export : Display all blacks as enriched black
- Priniting and export : Display all blacks as enriched black
Overprint: (not checked)
------ when exporting to PDF ----------
File > Export
in GENERAL TAB
- Adobe PDF preset: High quality print.
- Standard (drop down menu): PDF/X-42008
- Compatability: Acrobat 5 PDF1:4
in OUTPUT
- COlour conversion: Convert to destination
- Destination: Working CMYK Euroscale Coated v2
in PDF/X
- Output intent profile name: Working CMYK - Euroscale Coated v2
also:
If you are having problems with fill blacks not coming out as proper black then use registration instead of black from the swatch panel.
The above may seem either obvious to most of you or possibly not the best way of doing things but since the results worked for me and I found them tough to arrive at, it may be of use to others hence my post.
I would like your feedback on this process, have I done something wrong / could do better? If so please let me know. I am keen to improve.

I would copy and paste into InDesign forum. Text should stay 100% black. Any other black (like solid boxes or thick lines), I usually use a rich black swatch I created at 40/40/40/100. Looks 10 times better than just 100% black.

Save spot colours in Photoshop for import to Indesign

I'm having problems in Indesign due to using drop shadows in some graphics which are over an image with transparencies. What I think would solve the problem is to remove the transparencies in the image using photoshop and then use that. However, the image has spot colours which is giving me headaches. I haven't found a way of importing the spot colours directly into photoshop from illustrator or whatever - they always seem to get converted to CMYK. However, I have managed to recreate the spot colour in Photoshop as a channel - so the file is CYMK+1spot channel. However, when I try to import the psd file into Indesign I get an error message "The file uses an unsupported colour space...". I have tried exporting as eps but that didn't work either. I have seen various help messages which seem to imply that you can import spot colours from photoshop - can someone suggest what I am doing wrong ? I use CS5.

Besides saclint the image up, which reduces the "effective" resolution, do you have your display performance in ID set to High Quality Display? You are not looking at actual pixels in ID, just a jpeg preview, and that will also make a difference, and any edges which are not truly horizontal or vertical will always have some sort of stair-stepping in a pixel-based of the pixels to approximate the line, and this can become more noticeable whn you zoom in or when you scale upwards.

PDFing Spot Colour Transparencies from Indesign CS2

Hello!,
I think this is a common question, but I can't find a definitive answer. I am trying to PDF a file which has an image and then a spot colour transparency over part of it. When I PDF the file at Press Quality the spot colour transparency is white. When I PDF the file at a lower resolution (Standard size PDF) the transparency is fine.
Is there some way I can resolve this? I need to prepare a Press Quality File. I seem to recall reading or hearing somewhere that Indesign does not deal with spot colour transparency very well. I am currently working in CS2, and am wondering if the issue has been resolved in newer versions of Indesign.
Many thanks for your help, all,
Pepi

> that Indesign does not deal with spot colour transparency very well
Nonsense.
Just turn on Overprint Preview in Acrobat.

Acrobat CC doesn't show or print spot colours in a Photoshop PDF

When I open a Photoshop PDF, with a spot colour channel, in Acrobat CC 11.0.04, the spot colour doesn't show. But it shows when I click Output Preview (in Print Production). The colour doesn't print either. It also disappears when I convert it into CMYK (by checking the "Convert All Spots to Process" box in Ink Manager). I'm running Acrobat on OSX Mavericks.
Has anyone had similar problems?
Any help is appreciated.

Thank you for your reply.
Indeed, I tried saving a PDF that had the "default appearance", it shows exactly the same. So it looks like it "can't" show the image.
However, of course, I do want the image to be shown. How can I achieve this? How can I tell Adobe Reader (and other PDF viewers) I really really realllyyyyy want to see that image there? I believe I'm not doing anything really exotic, right? There must have been tons of other people that wanted to do the same thing, I guess?
                    var annotation = new PDFLinkAnnotation
                                Action = new PDFUriAction(this.GetCodeUrl(code)),
                                Contents = AnnotationIdentifier,
                                Appearance = new PDFImageAppearance(bitmapImage),
                                DisplayRectangle =
                                    new DisplayRectangle(
                                    barcodeLocationInfo.X,
                                    barcodeLocationInfo.Y,
                                    barcodeLocationInfo.Tsw,
                                    barcodeLocationInfo.Tsh),
                                Flags = Flags
                    pdfPage.Annotations.Add(annotation);

Having problems with Spot Colour gradients

Hello All,
I have little experience in dealing with spot colours. I'm trying to blend two spot colours for a print job. Unfortunately the spot colour gradient (left image) does not blend like the process colour gradient (right image). Instead they fade to a lighter colour in the center where they meet. I'm sure someone out there can help as I think this is more of a technical issue that I am simply unfamiliar with. Thank you in advance to all comments!
Hugues

Hello, i run into this all the time.
What you can do is actually make one spot color overprint (or darken, or multiply) on top of another one.
that will work,
What I see you have is one spot color at one end and another spot color at the other, where they meet you get the "grey".
The 4/c gradient is a blend of the C<M<Y<K, inks.
I usually rant over the fact that Illustrator does not have an Ink Manager, to make a swatch of 2 (or more ) spotcolors.
As far as color gamut goes, 4/c color printing is so passe, right.
Till Adobe recognizes that printers print with more than the 4/c color space, hexacolor, opaltone, optimized 7, and 8 we just have to improvise.

RGB image coloured to spot colour

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