User Guide

CHAPTER 10
246
Using Channels and Masks
• Spot colors are overprinted on top of the fully
composited image.
• If you print an image that includes spot color
channels to a composite printer, the spot colors
print out as extra pages.
• You can merge spot channels with color
channels, splitting the spot color into its color
channel components. Merging spot channels lets
you print a single-page proof of your spot color
image on a desktop printer.
• The names of the spot colors print on the
separations.
• Each spot channel is overprinted in the order in
which it appears in the Channels palette.
• You cannot move spot colors above a default
channel in the Channels palette except in Multi-
channel mode.
To move spot color channels in the
Channels palette so that they print
before other plates, convert the image to
Multichannel mode.
To create a spot channel:
1 Choose Window > Show Channels to display
the Channels palette.
2 To fill a selected area with a spot color, make or
load a selection.
3 Do one of the following:
• Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click
(Mac OS) the New Channel button ( ) in the
Channels palette.
• Choose New Spot Channel from the Channels
palette menu.
If you made a selection, that area is filled with the
currently specified spot color.
4 Click the color box and choose a color, as
described in “Using the Adobe Photoshop Color
Picker” on page 218. By selecting a custom color,
your print service can more easily provide the
proper ink to reproduce the image. (For more
information, see “Choosing custom colors” on
page 219.)
5 For Solidity, enter a value between 0%
and 100%.
This option lets you simulate on-screen the
solidity of the printed spot color. A value of 100%
simulates an ink that completely covers the inks
beneath (such as a metallic ink); 0% simulates a
transparent ink that completely reveals the inks
beneath (such as a clear varnish). You can also use
this option to see where an otherwise transparent
spot color (such as a varnish) will appear.
Important: The Solidity option only affects the on-
screen preview. It has no effect on the printed output.
Solidity 100% and solidity 50%