Illustrator
You can apply colour by:
1 - select, fill colour from box
2 - choose from preset colour swatches
3 - use cmyk sliders
Process Colours
* The quickest way to apply the same colour is using swatches
* Registration marks are printed on positives/separates to ensure all colours are printed at the right place during the print process. They need to be printed on every single printing plate, as it is 100% of c,m,y and k. So don't use this black for anything else.
* You can create a new swatch by clicking the menu on the cmyk colour slider
* Make colour decisions before producing artwork, then you can make a specific colour palette
* When colours are viewed in a list view, there is a square next to the colour to show it is cmyk
* You can edit a swatch by double clicking on it
* If you have been provided with artwork, click 'add used colours' in the menu and the colours will appear in the palette
* These added colours have a box next to them in the palette list. This means the colour is 'global'. Any change to this colour effects all of this colour on the page.
* Global colours are displayed differently on the cmyk sliders, so you can alter the tint, and create a new swatch of this colour.
* You can make a colour global by double clicking it and ticking the global box. This is useful as with global colours you can make changes to the same colour all at once.
Spot Colours
* A spot colour is applied using its own colour, not cmyk - for example, when you mix a colour to screen print with this is a spot colour
* A singular ink can be used if the colour is outside of the printable gamut for cmyk, such as for fluorescent or metallic colours
* If you are creating a 2 colour print job, it would be more economical/quicker to use a print plate for a spot colour rather than using 4 cmyk plates
* Spot colours are used in brand logos to ensure that the colours used are always exactly the same. These colours have a reference number (e.g. 4485c)
* In the colour palette menu, open swatch library, then colour books, and you can view pantone colour references
* Pantone solid colours are spot colours
* Coated and uncoated is to do with paper stock
* Open a pantone colour book, view as a list, and you can see the reference numbers. On this menu click 'show find field' and type in the reference number you are trying to find. Click once on the colour and it will be added to your swatch palette.
* Spot colours are labelled with reference numbers. At the side there is a square with a circle in to show its a spot colour. You can apply tints as you can with a global colour
* To save as a palette, click on the menu of the window, and save as .AI, so it is usable with illustrator
* To use this palette, open a new document, open the swatch library, and it will be under 'user defined'
* You could save the palette onto the desktop so it is easier to find
* Save as a .ASE to allow palette to be used in other adobe programmes
* To produce separations, go file-print-output- and change the mode to separations. This will print each page as the greyscale for the cmyk of that colour
