Color Separate an Image

C
Posted By
CNM
May 25, 2005
Views
349
Replies
3
Status
Closed
To save money, the printer suggested that I color separate my 4-color image. My PhotoShop skills are basic but I took the suggestion as a new learning and challenge.

I followed the steps in PhotoShop but the separated results print out grey (which is probably supposed to happen but I’m not sure). Also when I printed out the separated image it doesn’t look quite as crisp.

Before giving the printer my grey pieces of paper images, I wanted to find out if I was doing it right. I also read about color spotting but after step 2 I was bumbling along. Am I supposed to do a color spot?

Thank you in advance for any insight.

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BL
Bob Levine
May 25, 2005
What kind of printer is this? This one is certainly doing you no favors. Find someone who can print an electronic file.

Bob
C
CNM
May 25, 2005
I’m usually pretty good at figuring things out but after reading about color separating and then trying to do it, I could tell this one was a little over my head.

Thanks!
SW
Stan_Wetherald
May 26, 2005
I work in a print shop. You need to find another printer pronto. Any print shop that cannot take electronic files and color separate them will be out of business within five years and sooner rather than later.

First of all, you are probably printing your color separations on a laser printer. Lasers cannot give you high enough resolution to get good line screens. Also their paper handling ability will cause registration issues, which will cause the final printed piece to look fuzzy. Toner scatter will also add unwanted "dots" to the separations. Then your printer has to make plates from your output. If the printshop cannot take electronic files that suggests they are using film to plate methods. They have to take a picture of your output to make a negative, then strip the negatives into position to register with the each of the other negatives. Then they burn a plate. That creates 3 opportunities for problems (your output, their stripping, their burning), whereas taking an electronic file and creating plates directly from that only creates one opportunity for problems and those problems are fewer because the plates are done without human intervention. Find another printer that can do what they should do best and color separate your file.

Stan Wetherald
Quality Quickprint
DeLand, Florida

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Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

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