Mac Suite Workshop

Design Software for Commercial Print


Illustrator

Appropriate Colour Systems:


Colour Models

CMYK= Process Colours

Requires 4 printing plates C M Y K

Toolbar of file...

Applying colour

Colour Picker:

Swatches:
(Consistent use of colour; simple, quick and easy to use also)

CMYK sliders:

Build and create own swatch palette:

Delete swatch palettes

Palette Specific Menu

Select all unused swatches and delete:

Only 4 Swatches left:

Registration swatch:

Purer richer black

Used for text

Used for print marks 

To register colours on the commercial print process

Appear on every single positive output (CMYK separations)

Never use in artwork

Ink limits can be applied

Add New Swatches:

Modify ink percentages 

Create swatch directly from swatch palette 

Change view:

Gives more info.

Ensure in CMYK

To put colour from illustrator artwork into swatch palette:

The ones added in this way have a grey box next to it whereas the others do not

Global box is checked

This is because when a global colour's ink mix (or any value) is changed, it affects the whole document. 

If it is a non-global colour which has it's ink mix changed, there is not link between each piece of artwork and the swatch properties. 

The ink mix is displayed differently. The global ink mix allows you to produce different tints of the colour (using the same ink mixture)

You can add this as a new tint

Gives more variation if restricted to 2 colours. 

Spot Colour

A single colour (C M Y or K) that is applied using its own printing plate. A ready mixed ink. 

Advantages: 

• to print a colour which is not possible to produce using a mixture (florescent, metallic), 
• cost; a 1 colour print job is cheaper to produce as you only need to prepare 1 plate rather than 4 for CMYK (same as with 2 colour print job)
• Corporate or brand identity colour (exactly the same colour printed anywhere in the world)

Disadvantages:

• CMYK plus 3 spot colours would require 7 plates = more expensive

Work with spot colours via pantone swatch booklets. Each colour has its own unique reference number.

Accessing spot colour libraries:

  

Colour Books:

PANTONE

Coated/Uncoated: refers to the stock printing on.

If using spot colour system, ask printers the appropriate book to use.

To find a swatch:

list view provides pantone codes

'Show find field' allows you to find pantone colour swatches using the reference number.

Click on swatch to add to the default swatch palette. 

DO NOT change name of spot colour. Printers use this to reference colour.

Circular symbol indicate spot colour.

Create library of tints in the same way as previous.

How to check a spot colour before going to print:

Printers Proof... can ask for this at printer (may cost a lot!)

Saving a palette: 

Can then be accessed from other Illustrator files

Can be accessed through using a college computer.

To open swatch again:

Open Swatch Library ... User Defined

Save as 'Adobe Swatch Exchange' ..allows you to use in across adobe software.

However, cannot access spot colours and tints between softwares in this way. 

To Print....

'Output'

'Separations'

Separated plates:

This is how choice of colour affects what you print and pricing for plates.