Setup and Tools

for digital color separation

PhotoScreenPrint.com
http://www.photoscreenprint.com/
Brent Clark 2013

Adobe Photoshops Color Settings

To create a good color separation it is important to set up the program properly, and to have an
understanding of the tools available.
Dot Gain and Color Profiles
Making the eects of printing visible on a
computer screen is the key to creating
complex color separations. For CMYK
separations, information about the printing
conditions is handled by the Color Profile.
For Spot color channels, print information
is held in each channels Color, Opacity and
Dot Gain Settings.

Close up view of a screen printed halftone dot and dot

gain

Dot Gain.
Dot gain is a measurement of the increase in size when a dot is printed. e gain is caused by the
spread of the ink beyond the edges of the printing stencil. e amount of gain depends on the
type of printing and the materials used. A single Dot Gain number refers to the gain amount in
the 50% value range. For instance; 40% Dot Gain means a 50% dot is printing at 90%. (50%
dot + 40% gain = 90% total). e best approach to finding your specific dot gain is to measure
the actual dot gain from your print set up.
e Working Color Profile
e default color spaces used in Adobe Photoshop are determined by the working space color
profile. RGB and CMYK both have working space profiles, and combined with dot gain settings
and color management policies, can be set up to manage both the input and output color spaces.

e Color Settings dialog

e settings for handling Color Profiles
and Dot Gain are found in the Color
Settings menu. e Color Settings
determine the programs default profiles
and behaviors for the various color
modes.
To change the color settings select:
Edit / Color Settings.
In the color Settings menu :
More Options: Select to display
advanced settings.
Working Spaces: are the default profiles
and dot gain settings for the color modes.
RGB: A Color Profile Setting, use the
drop down to choose Adobe RGB
CMYK: Choose Web Coated SWOP, or
load a custom screen printing ink profile.
Spot: e spot setting is a dot gain
percentage applied to spot color channels.
Use the drop down menu to choose a
custom setting.

Color management Policies: choose

"Preserve embedded profiles" for all three modes.
Profile Mismatches and Missing Profiles: Check
"ask when opening" for all.
Conversion Options: set Adobe (ACE) for engine
and Perceptual for the intent. Leave Black Point and
Dither checked

e Spot setting
e spot setting controls the Dot Gain used for all Spot Color channels. Adjusting this setting
changes how spot color channels appear on screen, it does not change the actual pixel
information.
For screen printing, the Custom option is used to enter a Dot Gain setting. A custom Dot Gain
Curve can be entered representing actual
dot gain from a printed sample.
Be sure the More Options button is
clicked (in older versions look for the
Advanced Mode check box).
Select the Spot: drop down menu and
choose the Custom option.
Entering 85% in the 50% box will
display a 35% dot gain on screen.
Changing this setting will not change a
separation, but can help show how it
may look when printed on a manual or
automatic press.

In addition to the press type used, other factors that aect dot gain in screen printing include
stencil thickness, tension, mesh count and o contact, squeegee pressure, angle, durometer, and
edge shape, ink viscosity and sheering qualities.

Setting up the Channels

Four main factors aect the way screen printed inks appear on press. ree of these, Hue,
Saturation and Value are the qualities of color discussed in the last chapter. e forth factor,
Opacity, is a quality of the inks used in printing.
Opacity
An inks opacity aects the ability of
colors to blend with each other, as well
as how much substrate shows through
the print. e more opaque an ink is
the better it will cover a dark garment,
but the less it is able to blend to make
secondary colors.
Primary colors like CMYK use transparent inks. is allows for a large range of color blends, but
only over a solid white base.
e more a separation relies on primary colors, the more transparent the colors need to be. If we
increase an inks opacity to print over darker substrates our ability to blend colors on press is
diminished.
Translucent color channels
CMYK channels are always completely transparent and are assigned values based on their color
profile. Spot Color Channels, however, allow us to control their color and opacity directly. With
spot color channels an inks opacity can be changed to allow some or all of the inks below to show
through. is allows for a semi-opaque, or translucent color channel. Semi-opaque inks provide
better coverage over dark garments while still allowing for limited color blending.

Spot Color Options

By double clicking on a channel you can open the channels options dialog.
Options
e channels options dialog
displays inputs for the channels
Name, Color and Solidity. For
Alpha channels there are also the
options of converting to a spot
color channel and changing the
selection mode.
Opacity / Solidity
e option for adjusting a
spot color channels opacity
is called "solidity". is
setting is entered as a
percentage, and aects how
much the colors printed
beneath this color will
show through.
Opacifiers such as white ink mixed into a color can aect the solidity setting, as well as
transparent components such as extenders or reducers. Solidity settings can range from 0% for
process colors, 5% to 30% for spot colors with extenders, and 80% to 100% for under base
whites and opaque ink colors. Printing your inks and comparing them to the on-screen image can
help to determine a setting that reflects your print results.

Setting the Colors

Clicking on the Color box in the channel options dialog opens the color picker. e color picker
provides a way to choose colors using one of four color modes, a hexadecimal number, or with a
color library for Pantone spot colors. With the color picker we can find the Hue, Saturation and
Brightness for channels in a color separation and select the best spot colors to match.
On the lower right side of the color picker are settings for the color models HSB, RGB, Lab and
CMYK. On the left side is a color selector consisting of a slider bar and a field. For direct control
of the Hue, Saturation and Brightness, for instance, select one of the HSB radio buttons.
e button checked
determines the color
mode used and the
specific component
controlled by the
vertical slider bar.
e remaining
components of the
color mode are
displayed in the color
field.

Hue
Looking at the HSB buttons, select the H button. is changes the color bar to adjust the Hue of
the color. When blending colors, the specific hues used can have an eect on the colors available
by mixing on press.

Shifting a hue
towards the color it is
blending with will
improve the
transition between
the two colors.
A greenish blue, for
instance, will blend
nicely into a green or
yellow ink. is same
blue however, may not
work so well when blending into a red color. If a color needs to blend with opposing primaries, it
is best to find the purest hue for that color. If a blue, for instance, needs to mix with both red and
green, the blue's hue should be placed right in the middle.

Saturation
Looking at the HSB buttons again, choose S. is will set the bar to adjust saturation. As the
slider is moved down the saturation is decreased. As our colors become less saturated our ability to
mix pure colors becomes limited.
Reducing an inks
color saturation
reduces its ability to
blend secondary
colors, but can help
by increasing the
overall ink deposit.
e trade o here is in
print density, a fully
saturated color will
need to be printed as a
halftone for most
images. Reducing the
saturation to match a dominant color allows the ink to be printed with 100% coverage in the
brightest areas.
e closer to 100% coverage an ink is, in the the most color saturated areas, the cleaner the
resulting print will appear.

Brightness
Looking at the HSB buttons, choose b. is will change the vertical bar in the middle to represent
the brightness of the color chosen. As the slider on this bar is moved down the color becomes
darker. As our colors become darker our ability to blend bright colors becomes limited.
e brighter and more
saturated a color is the
more black may need
to be printed,
depending on the
image.
Printing too much
black tends to muddy
and an image, so it is
best to print as little as
possible. If we darken
our colors to match the
predominate values we
can reduce the amount
of black needed.

The Color Libraries

To convert colors to printable ink formulas, click on the Libraries button to display predefined
color sets including the Pantone color books. Most major ink manufacturers provide ink
formulas and mixing components for reproducing the Pantone solid coated color book. By
using a color Matching system for ink mixing, specific colors can be selected and mixed as
needed.

Tools for Color Separation

Adobe Photoshops tools for color separation are used for measuring, creating and adjusting
channels.
e basic tools are:
e Info Palette -Used to Measure
Color Sampler -Used to Measure
Levels - Used to Adjust/modify
Curves - Used to Adjust/modify
Calculations - Used to Create/modify
Color Range tool - Used to Create/modify
e Info palette
e info palette is an important tool for measuring channel information. Combined with the
color sampler, the info palette is useful for creating color separations.
At the top right corner of the info palette is the options menu button. e read out can be set to
several options including the color modes, grayscale and HSB.
e info palette can be opened from the window menu;
Window / Info
Click the options menu in the info palette and choose Palette Options.
In the first color readout menu choose HSB.
In the Second color readout menu choose Actual Color.
Click OK.
In the palette options again select Color Samplers.

Levels
e Levels tool is good for setting and correcting the values in a channel. To use Levels select:
Image / Adjustments / Levels
e position in the graph from left to right represents the value of the pixels from dark to light.
e height of the Input Levels graph represents the number of pixels in that value range.
e black arrow (slider) below the input levels graph sets the black point. e white slider sets
the white point. e gray slider sets the middle values.
Setting the black and white point
In the example shown there are no pixels
represented in the histogram that are
100% black (Far Left). By moving the
black slider over to the first set of pixels
in the histogram we can set them to
100% black. e same can be done for
white pixels
Black and White Eyedroppers
In addition to using the sliders, we can
also use the eye droppers to set the black
and white points in a channel. Eyedroppers work by clicking on the image, wherever is clicked
with the black eyedropper is set to black. First set the blacks value by double clicking the black
eyedropper to open the color chooser. Change the settings to 0R 0G 0B. Click OK. Next, with
the levels dialog open, click on the darkest part of your image with the black eye dropper.
Wherever is clicked will be set to black. Do the same with the white eye dropper, being sure to set
the values to 100R 100G 100B.

Curves
With curves, a graph represents the values in a channel. From left to right on the graph represents
the Input values. ese are the existing values of the channel. From top to bottom represents the
Output values, or the changes applied to the channel.
To use Curves select: Image / Adjustments / Curves
When the input value is equal to the output the result is a diagonal line, no values are changed.
Clicking on the diagonal line in the graph adds Control points that can be moved to change the
output. Control points display both Input (current) and Output (modified) numbers. Under the
Curve Display options
choose Pigment/Ink% to
display values in percentages.
Setting Points
In addition to setting points
directly in curves, points can
also be set by Command
(mac) Control (PC) clicking
in the image. Points can be
set in this way to make
adjustments as well as to
constrain areas of an image
that are not in need of
adjustment.
Black and white
As in levels, the black and white points can be set in curves. is can be done in the same manner
by moving the sliders or by using the eyedropper tool built into the curves dialog.

Color Sampler
Click the options menu in the info palette and choose Color Samplers
Click and hold on the eye dropper tool in the tools menu, choose the eye dropper tool with the
little target above it. is is the color sampler tool.
e Color Sampler tool allows up to 4 color sampler points
to be placed in the image. Measurements from these set
points are shown in the info palette.

Switching between
channels while viewing
the info palette allows us
to read the values of each
channel at the same
point.
Matching points with
Curves
Use the info palette with
the color sampler while applying levels or curves for before and after readings of an adjustment.
Set 4 color sampler points across a range of values before opening curves, or by shift clicking in
the image with the curves dialog open. With the curves dialog open, Command click (mac) /
Control click (PC) on the color sampler points. is will set adjustment points in curves with
corresponding before and after values in the info palette.

e Color Range tool

Selections based on the colors in an image can be created using the color range tool. ese
selections can be saved and used to create or modify spot color channels.
To create a color range
selection choose:
Select / Color Range
Color Range Options:
Under the Select: menu,
choose Sampled colors. Click
in the image with the Eye
dropper tool to select a color.
e Fuzziness slider
determines the range and
smoothness of the color
selection.
e Selection Preview can be set to show the color on a white or black background, as a grayscale
or mask. Choose the White Matte option or Grayscale with Invert to preview the color selection.
Select the + Eyedropper or hold the shift key to add colors to the selection.
Saving selections
Clicking OK processes the colors chosen into an active selection. is selection can be saved as an
Alpha channel using the Save Selection command:
Select / Save Selection
Under Channel choose New, give it a name and click OK.

Calculations and Apply Image.

Calculations are used to combine
image information from two
separate channels. e method
used to combine channels is based
on the Blending mode.
Combining two channels to make
a new channel is a common of
calculations.
To use Calculations select:
Image / Calculations

Choose channels for Source 1

And Source 2. Choose a
Blending mode and an Opacity
for the calculation. For result
choose New Channel.
e Apply image command
applies a calculation to the
selected channel. Some
calculations are not available in
the Apply Image options.
To use apply image, select the channel to be modified and choose:
Image / Apply image.
Choose a Source channel as well as a Blending mode and an Opacity for the calculation.

Working with Channels

Using Calculations
Using the blending modes available with Calculations, we can combine, clear and intersect
channels. Each Blending mode performs a specific set of calculations using pixel values from two
channels, creating a third channel or applying the changes to one of the original two. e diagram
below shows the results of merging two channels using a combination calculations and blending
modes.
Channel A Channel B Blend Mode Result
Multiply
To combine two channels into one channel
use the Multiply Blending mode.
Add w/Scale
To get the average of two channels use the
Add blending mode with a scale setting of 2.
Add w/Invert
To completely remove one channel from
another use the Add blending mode, a Scale
setting of 1, with Invert selected.
Screen
To get a third channel from two overlapping
channels, use the Screen blending mode.
Screen w/Invert.
To remove one channel from another, similar
to deleting a selection, use the Screen blending mode with Invert.

Combining Colors with Calculations

When combining two color channels into one use the apply image command with the Multiply
Blending mode. If the applied color is lighter then the destination color, a percentage can be used
to simulated the dierence in values. e percentage used to merge color channels depends on
both channels assigned color brightness and saturation.

A lt. blue merged with the Blue at 40%.

Consider a situation where we have created a light blue channel and a medium blue channel that
we wish to merge. To merge them into one blue channel, the light blue areas will need to be
merged in at the amount the light blue is lighter. In eect we are saying that the light blues
brightness is 40% of the Med Blues brightness. e greater the dierence the lower the opacity
used.
To do this open apply image, Under blending choose multiply, and under opacity choose a
percentage, Say 40%. is will apply the light blue to the medium blue at 40% opacity. You can
preview the eect by showing all the colors except the light blue when applying the channel.

Removing colors with Apply image.

For removing one color channel from another use calculations or the apply image command. e
blending mode used for direct removal of a channels values is Add with Invert.
To use Apply Image, start by selecting the channel you want to change, next apply the channel
you would like to have removed by selecting it in the source options. For Blending: choose Add,
Select Invert and set the Scale to 1.

Blue being knocked out of the under base using Add with Invert

Removing colors with Apply image and the Screen function.

Similar to Add with Invert, Using Screen with Invert removes one channels values from another.
While Add/Invert removes the exact proportions of a channels values, Screen/Invert removes
values to a lesser degree. Using Screen/Invert is the same as loading a selection from one channel
and using it with the Clear command on another. Screen/Invert can provide smoother knockouts
and edges and is preferable in some situations.

Using a Mask with Apply Image

e Mask option provides additional control over blending, allow the choice of a channel to mask
the eects of a calculation. A mask can be used to protect an area and control the eects of a
calculation.

Using a mask to exclude an area from a calculation.

In this example we are using Screen w/ Invert to remove the Blue channel from the Highlight
White, while protecting the overlapping Lt Blue areas with the Mask option.

Intersecting channels using the Screen blending mode.

To make a third channel from two overlapping colors use the Screen blending mode. When two
channels overlap their colors blend to make a third color. is third color can be extracted,
removed from the original two channels, and printed as a separate channel.

To intersect two channels start by opening the Calculations dialog. In Source 1: and Source 2:
choose the two overlapping colors, under Blending choose Screen, under result choose New
Channel. e resulting channel will contain the intersecting values from the original two
channels. To complete the process, set the black point for the new channel with levels, then use
the Screen command w/Invert to remove its values from the original two channels.