Printing color separations

When preparing your image for prepress and working with CMYK images or images with spot colors, you can print each color channel as a separate page.


Each color channel printed as a separate page

Note: If you are printing an image from another application and want to print spot channels to spot color plates, you must first save the file in DCS 2.0 format. DCS 2.0 preserves spot channels and is supported by applications such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe PageMaker, and QuarkXPress®. (See Saving files in Photoshop EPS format (Photoshop).)

To print separations from Photoshop:

1. Make sure your document is in CMYK Color or Multichannel mode, and then choose File > Print with Preview.
2. Select Show More Options, and choose Color Management from the pop-up menu.
3. Choose Separations from the Profile pop-up menu.

Note: Depending on the designated printer and print drivers on your computer, these options may also appear in the Print dialog box (for setting printer options). On Windows, click the Properties button to access the printer driver options. On Mac OS, use the pop-up menu to access the printer driver options.

4. Click Print. Separations are printed for each of the colors in the image.

To prepare an image with spot channels for printing from another application:

1. If the image is a duotone, convert to Multichannel color mode.
2. Save the image in DCS 2.0 format.
3. In the DCS 2.0 Format dialog box, be sure to deselect the Include Halftone Screen and the Include Transfer Function options. (See Saving files in Photoshop EPS format (Photoshop).)
4. Open or import the image in the application you will be printing from, and set your screen angles. Make sure that you've communicated to the printer the spot color you want for each of the color plates.

Note: You can place a PSD file containing spot colors directly in InDesign CS without special preparation.