color separations

3565 Views 16 Replies 7 Participants Last post by shady09, Jul 8, 2010

shady09

Discussion Starter · Jun 29, 2010

hey guys...im new here...is there anyone can help me with my color separations?im using photoshop cs2..i want to know the steps by step process on how to separate cmyk?i really have no idea...pls helpme...thank u very much in advance...jah bless!!!..

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

red514

· #2 · Jun 29, 2010

here's a good youtube vid posted by ScreenersChoice
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg7Dp6LnUSM[/media]

GraphicsFactory

· #3 · Jun 29, 2010

Hey Shady09,

Simple question...not so simple answer. Here are the steps to physically to output CMYK separations:

1. Convert to CMYK
2. Print with Preview
3. Choose "Color Management"
4. Profile - Separations
5. Output - Screens (choose settings)
6. Print

That may be good enough, but, it just isn't that simple to output CMYK separations, especially for screen printing t-shirts. First, if you explore "Edit - Color Settings", you'll see many settings you can change. Photoshop uses these settings when converting an image from RGB to CMYK (this is where the real work is done). Out of the box, Photoshop is set-up for offset printing using the US Prepress Defaults. These will give you results, but not adequate for screen printing. Photoshop has no settings related to screen printing. However, Union Ink (and other ink manufacturers) have information available, or files that you can download to make the appropriate changes. Even then, making a good screen printing separation can be really difficult. There are books and courses available...but there just isn't enough space here to give you an in-depth answer. However, there are some good articles online that give good foundational info. If you do a lot of separations consider using plugins like Fast Films or Quick Seps (and others).

Hope this helps some.

Mike

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shady09

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 30, 2010

thank u so much pixel pimp!!!!

shady09

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 30, 2010

thank u so much mike....peace..and jah bless!!!

MentinkiZM

· #6 · Jun 30, 2010

I made this video for t-shirtforums about a year and a half ago (wow, its been that long Lol). I try to explain the best, easiest way to separate your colors. Let me know if this helps.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmspWZqbc2Q[/media]

Reactions: 1

shady09

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 30, 2010

thank u so much mike...is there any site that i can download this plug ins?...i having a hard time searching these plugins...any suggestions where i can get it for free

0r at least in a cheaper price?

...what about u, what software you are using?....thanx again in advance....

red514

· #8 · Jun 30, 2010

shady09 said:
thank u so much mike...is there any site that i can download this plug ins?...i having a hard time searching these plugins...any suggestions where i can get it for free 0r at least in a cheaper price?...what about u, what software you are using?....thanx again in advance....

i believe he is not using any plugins for this, just Adobe Photoshop. He talks about the software you can get, like Fastfilms ect.. but he explains using that software wasn't beneficial for him, he spent some time learning to do it all himself in photoshop.

I do not think you will find any free versions of the plugins but maybe you can find some on sale for a couple hundred.

If you are some what experienced with photoshop, you should be able to learn basic seps in an afternoon with the videos in this thread.

MentinkiZM

· #9 · Jun 30, 2010

^^^Exactly^^^

GraphicsFactory

· #10 · Jun 30, 2010

shady09 said:
thank u so much mike...is there any site that i can download this plug ins?...i having a hard time searching these plugins...any suggestions where i can get it for free 0r at least in a cheaper price?...what about u, what software you are using?....thanx again in advance....

Fast Films is still available, but the company was bought-out by someone else (not this company though). However, the original author of the software now publishes T-Seps. I use Quick Seps. Both are EXCELENT for producing ALL kinds of separations including Index, Simulated, and CMYK.

Again, yes you can do it yourself. But, it is complex. These plugins automate the steps for you. There is information out there. Usually, not concentrated in one place. I have reams of articles and books, that I have collected over the years. Unfortunately, most are no longer available. But, there is plenty more out there.

Mike

Bike Mad Alex

· #11 · Jun 30, 2010

Hi Tim
I had to post a quick thanks to you matey. I only joined the forum today, but I watched that video on youtube last week, and have separated my colours perfectly for my first design. Very easy to follow, and if i can do it anyone can.

thanks Tim.

MentinkiZM

· #12 · Jun 30, 2010

Alex,

I almost forgot I had that video on youtube until today when I was checking up on tshirtforums and saw all these color separation questions. Good to see people still watch it and that it is still a usefull video.

Glad to see it helped you... Anymore questions, dont hesitate to ask.

-Tim

foot print

· #13 · Jun 30, 2010

MentinkiZM said:
Alex,

I almost forgot I had that video on youtube until today when I was checking up on tshirtforums and saw all these color separation questions. Good to see people still watch it and that it is still a usefull video.

Glad to see it helped you... Anymore questions, dont hesitate to ask.

-Tim

your video is awesome...i learned alot from that video...thank you..

shady09

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jul 4, 2010

great video..uhmmm..what mesh count you usually use doing the cmyk process?...thank you...

rayven00

· #15 · Jul 4, 2010

ei..im working in a tshirt printing business..im an artist also and we do cmyk prints..we use photoshop too..

red514

· #16 · Jul 5, 2010

shady09 said:
great video..uhmmm..what mesh count you usually use doing the cmyk process?...thank you...

this depends on your halftone lpi. If you're doing manual prints i'd suggest 55lpi using a 280mesh. For an automatic you can use 65lpi with 300+ mesh counts.
You can use lower mesh but you will need larger halftones, the larger the dots, the more visible they are in the print. :/

shady09

Discussion Starter · #17 · Jul 8, 2010

whre you from sir rayven?

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