Table of Contents
Advertisement
Previewing separations, transparenc y, and overprints
Use the Separations Preview palette to evaluate on screen how a document will color-sepa-
rate on printed output. You can view individual spot and process color plates or any combi-
nation of plates. If you need to make adjustments, you can do so with immediate feedback by
editing while separations preview is in effect.
Adobe InDesign previews separations by displaying any combination of the inks defined in
the document, such as the cyan plate and the magenta plate. The results display to the moni-
tor using InDesign's high-resolution screen display engine, employing transparency where
necessary to represent conditions such as overprinting, RGB-to-CMYK conversion, and
spot color interactions with transparency. However, trapping is not simulated. The ability
to display overprints and ink limits for any combination of plates can make the separa-
tions preview capability more useful for evaluation than a laser-printed separations proof.
Separations preview is calculated using the ink characteristics for process and spot inks.
On a press, black ink is not 100% opaque. However, when color management is disabled for
an Adobe InDesign document, Black displays on screen as 100% opaque. This is not a useful
simulation when evaluating how Black interacts with other colors, such as in areas where a
rich black is applied. For a more accurate simulation of Black opacity, you can enable and
properly configure color management, or you can choose the Desaturate Black command
from the Separations Preview palette menu. Desaturate Black reduces the opacity of the
Black plate only. Desaturate Black is disabled and turned off when color management is on,
because simulating Black opacity is part of the function of color management.
Keep the following tips in mind as you use the Separations Preview palette:
•
CMYK plates are always listed even if the job uses only two spot colors. However, CMYK
plates are not output if no colors need to be printed on them.
•
The Separations Preview palette lists all inks defined in a document, whether or not they
are actually used in the document. If you suspect that unused inks are being displayed,
choose Select All Unused from the Swatches palette menu and examine the selected swatches
(remember that swatch icons can indicate what kind of color it is, such as a spot). If you want
to reduce the number of inks in use, you have two alternatives. You can use the Ink Manager
to alias any ink to another ink, or you can delete swatches in the Swatches palette, such as
those that the Select All Unused command selects. However, the Ink Manager method has
the advantage of not altering the customer's file. After using either method you can evaluate
the results using the Separations Preview palette.
•
You can view the effect of converting spot colors to process and the effect of aliasing a spot
ink. Both of these options are available in the Ink Manager on the Separations Preview
palette menu. For example, if a customer used three green spot colors where the job specified
only one, and you use the Ink Manager to assign the extra green spot colors to a single spot
46
Advertisement
Table of Contents
