Printing > Setting PostScript prepress options > Setting separations options |
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Setting separations options
To print four-color documents with CMYK process color, you must create a color separation, in which you separate the art into the colors used in the printing process-cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and spot colors, if used.
When printing artwork, you can designate how to print a separation by converting the color to either a spot or process color. You can set screen rulings for each ink, and choose overprinting and halftone settings. (For more information on overprinting, see Overprinting.) To set separations options, use the Separations panel.
For information on converting between RGB and CMYK color modes, or converting process colors to spot colors and vice versa, see Converting between RGB and CMYK and Specifying colors as process or spot.
Note: You must select a PostScript printer in the Print dialog box in order to use this procedure.
To set separations options:
1 |
Choose File > Print or click the Print button in the Main toolbar and select a PostScript printer from the Printer pop-up menu. |
2 |
On the Macintosh, select FreeHand from the pop-up menu. |
3 |
In Windows or on the Macintosh, click Setup. |
4 |
In the Print Setup dialog box, click the Separations panel.
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5 |
Choose whether to print each ink on one page or separate pages: |
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Select Composite to print all of the inks on one page. |
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Select Separations to print each spot and process color ink on a separate page. |
Note: You can also choose the options in step 5 in the Print dialog box (see Setting up to print). |
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6 |
Select Print Spot Colors as Process to convert all spot colors to their closest CMYK equivalent at print time. This option affects only printed output, not the colors in the document file. |
7 |
In the Separations Colors window, click to create a check mark in the P column for an ink color to print the color as a separation (the default setting). Click in the column again to create a dash to prevent the ink color from printing as a separation. |
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Click in the O column to view the Overprint Ink dialog box and do one of the following: |
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Select On to turn on overprinting (to print the color over an underlying color when colors overlap in the artwork). A check mark in the O column indicates that overprinting is on. |
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Select Off to turn off overprinting and knock out colors (delete the underlying color in the overlapping area and print the specified color on blank paper). A dash in the O column indicates that overprinting is off. |
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Select Threshold and enter a percent value to control the shade of ink to overprint. For example, a Threshold of 90% overprints the specified ink color when it is at a tint of 90% or higher. A black diamond in the O column indicates that a Threshold level for overprinting has been set. |
Note: If you have specified overprinting options for selected objects, these object-level overrides are not indicated in the Separations Colors window. For more information, see Overprinting. |
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9 |
In the Angle column, click to display the Screen Angle dialog box and enter an angle value in degrees, then click OK. |
10 |
For Halftone Screen, choose an option from the pop-up menu to display optimized screen ruling (lpi) and resolution (dpi) settings from the selected PPD file. If the selected PPD supports custom screen settings, choose Other and enter custom lpi and dpi settings, then click OK. |
Note: You can also apply halftone settings to selected objects. For more information, see Applying halftone settings to selected objects. |
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Select Override Objects to override halftone screen settings you have applied to selected objects, for the current print session only (the object-level settings are preserved in the document and can be used for future printing sessions). |
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For Transfer Function, choose an option for modifying the way gray levels are interpreted by the PPD: |
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Choose Unadjusted to make no change to gray levels. |
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Choose Normalize to print gray levels that transition smoothly from 0% to 100% black. This option is intended for use with a PPD that includes its own Normalize function. |
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Choose Posterize to print four levels of gray. This option is intended for use with black-and-white printers. |
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For Spread Size, choose an option from the pop-up menu or enter a value in points for controlling the amount that basic strokes and fills can expand during printing. Use Spread Size to compensate for misregistration. |
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Enter other options in the Print Setup dialog box, or click OK. |
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