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The wolf photo in Figure 1 needed some adjustments before it could be used for an index separation. Let’s review the crunching method in the context of prepping an image for index, rather than simulated color, separations. The easiest way to accomplish this is by crunching colors. Unless there is a necessity for specific color matches on multiple areas of a design, you should simplify any colors that are similar in hue and try to combine these colors into a smaller palette before you start separating. A design on a screen-printed shirt has the primary job of looking good and hopefully making the person wearing it look good as well. Last is the integration of the separated index file into a vector program like CorelDRAW, where it can be customized, proofed, and then separated.Īrtwork modification for index separationĪrtwork modification is the most overlooked area of the square-dot-based separation method and typically one of the reasons that it has obtained such a poor reputation for needing too many colors to reproduce designs. The second part is the actual separation method using index color, which is deceptively simple at first glance but still requires some serious finesse to do well. The technique is worthy of review in this context because of the nature of how index color splits a design.

SEPARATION STUDIO PROOF IS BLACK HOW TO

28) explained how to do this in greater detail. My previous column about color crunching (Dec. The first step is artwork modification to minimize the number of colors in the design. This can call into question a lot of previous processes and why they were used in the first place.įollowing three simple steps will enable you to properly use an index proofing and separating system and get everything running smoothly. Printers often find it difficult to imagine separating a high-end graphic in fewer than 15 min, placing it in CorelDRAW or Adobe Illustrator, customizing the type, and then printing out an accurate proof and final separations from the same file. This means saving the entire step of creating a separation file, importing graphics, and double checking each separation plate for proper placement and accuracy. The biggest advantage to putting an index separation process in place at your shop is not necessarily the printing advantages, but the ability to lay out a design, customize it in vector software, and then print out color proofs and final separations from the same file. It is true that some art will never look very good as an index print, but with proper modification, the majority of artwork works fantastic as index dots and uses surprisingly fewer colors than what printers typically assume. Index separations do come with headaches, but the printers who really explore index dots and test them thoroughly most likely will regret not using them on a regular basis from the beginning.

When index separations are brought up in conversation, most screen printers immediately talk about how they make grainy looking prints or how an index job always takes 12 colors to work right.

If this sounds too good to be true, that’s because of all of the assumptions that are alive and well in the majority of screen-printing shops. An experienced separator who uses index well can separate most designs in less than 15 min, and the final set of files can be proofed and then printed with very close approximation because of the opacity and predictability of the inks.

SEPARATION STUDIO PROOF IS BLACK SOFTWARE

The benefits of index separations are numerous, but one of the biggest advantages to the index model is how simple it is to set up a job in vector software and then proof it and print it with an accurate result from the same file. The index separation can be the fastest and truest proof-toprint system for screen printing.

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