Spot color separation
If you do not have the bandwidth to learn more about separations, freelancers that specialize in separations can help you. YouTube is another great platform to learn more about the process. Facebook groups like Rogue Printers is a great place to ask experienced printers for help. With any new technique, a printer should thoroughly research the method and practice before implementing in their shop. It's the preferred separation printing method. Since the 90’s, Simulated Process has become more prominent and widely accepted because it's easier to separate, print, and achieve the best, completed garment compared to CMYK. Simulated Process is more stable during production, resulting less misprints. Designs that are too difficult to separate in a vector program, raster images, photographs, complex tonal illustrations - all doable with Simulated Process. Essentially, it's a way of taking an image that historically would have been printed via CMYK, but instead uses more opaque ink to create a more stable color and production friendly ink that can print almost any design for any garment. It does so by overlapping and blending colors in a method similar to CMYK through using halftones and spot colors and/or PMS colors. Simulated Process is a method used to reproduce almost any image on the market. Vector graphic programs like Illustrator or CorelDraw.
#Spot color separation manual
Manual user file preparation (under-basing, choking, spreading).Spot color does not reproduce every kind of print for example, it doesn't work for photographic designs. Traditionally limited to solid color with some halftones and vector illustrations.Spot colors (such as Pantone or custom mixed) can be printed as solid shapes at 100% tint or halftones by changing their tint value away from 100%. There are many programs that can create spot colors. Spot color designs are usually created through the use of vector graphics programs such as CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator. Logos, text, cartoons, line art, and more are all styles spot colors excel at reproducing. Knowledge of creating, applying and handling spot colors is essential to any screen printer. Spot color is the most common print technique in the industry, and has sometimes been called the screen printer's best friend. The Color Profile for inks you're using.Use Photoshop or Corel Photo Paint (part of CorelDraw) to separate colors.If a printer needs say, a vibrant red, they'll need a bump screen to print that color. Limited color spectrum - printers will not be able to reproduce certain colors.Requires a deeper understanding of mesh selection and reproduction of halftone values.Limited garment color selection (white or light-colored garments).