Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Color Separation
If your multicolored image is intended for com-
mercial output (printing on a large press), it will
need color separation. This process allows for a
master plate to be created for each color. Gener-
ally, the plates created are for cyan, magenta,
yellow, and black—also called key—(CMYK) inks.
These plates can be created in several ways. Usu-
ally, the process is handled by a printing profes-
sional. However, let's take a quick look at how
these separations can be created in Photoshop.
1.
Open the file Ch16_Color.
tif from the Chapter 16
folder.
2.
Check to make sure that
your document is in CMYK
Color or Multichannel
mode.
3.
Choose File > Print.
4.
Choose Separations from
the Color Handling menu.
5.
Click Print. Your printer
will print separations for
each color in the image.
Halftoning
To s i mu la t e cont i nuou s t ones i in i ma ges , com merc ia l pr i nt er s
break down images into dots. For those images printed on a press,
this process is referred to as
halftoning
. By varying the size of the
dots, the halftone screen creates the optical illusion of variations
in tone.
NoTe
Separations in Multiple
Locations
Depending on the printer you are
using, the separation options may
also appear in the Print dialog box.
Under the Mac OS, use the pop-up
menu in the second Print dialog box
that appears. With Windows, click
the Print Settings button to access
additional printer driver options.
An inkjet printer also uses dots, but it's not the same. An inkjet
printer's dots are very small and uniform in size.
