For the Fixup to perform as intended, the following requirements must be met:

• Print Items should contain objects that are white or transparent.
• Technical Colors can be included, these are excluded from the Fixup.

Figure 1: Left: The tab Basic Settings of the Fixup Create White Only Separation; Right: Values in the selected field for the option Apply to

To create a white only Separation select from the following options:

• Templates [1] – settings selected in the dialog can be saved as a template and applied to other Articles/Print Items, as well as used within Fixup Chains and in the Operations Apply Fixups and Check Print Item and Apply Fixups.

Basic Settings

• Origin [2] – select the area for which a white Separation is to be created in the selection menu. The following options are available:
  • ImageBox – all contents of the ImageBox are affected by the Fixup. Therefore, pay attention on which box the ImageBox was placed.
  • ImageBox + Bleed – all contents of the ImageBox + Bleed are affected by the Fixup.
• Apply to [3] – select the objects to which the Fixup should be applied in the selection menu. The following options are available:
  • Printed Objects – all printing objects are included in the white Separation, all other image content becomes transparent.
  • Non-printing Objects – all white or transparent objects in the file are included in the white Separation, and the other image content – vectors, texts, and images – becomes transparent.
  • Variable Content [8] – for Variable Content [8], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the selection should be retrieved. The following values must be found in the selected field to make the selection:
    • Printed_Areas
    • Transparent_Areas
• Create Spot Color [4] – select the Spot Color that should be used for the white Separation from the drop-down menu. Spot Colors that have the entry Separation in the Create Spot Color Definition system-wide in Output as are available for selection.
• Tonal Value [5] – the tone value of the Spot Color Separation can be reduced by changing the slider or by entering the percentage values.
• Extract Spot Colors from DeviceN [6] – by activating this option, all Spot Color DeviceN constructs are separated. This means that Technical Spot Colors can also be extracted from the DeviceN construct and thus excluded from the conversion to a white-only Separation.
• Spot Color [7] – if objects are created in a Spot Color – e.g., Dieline, Varnish, etc. – these can be excluded from the conversion. To do this, select the respective Spot Color in the selection menu.

Figure 2: The tab Advanced of the Fixup Create White Only Separation

Advanced

• Tracing Mode [9] – in the selection menu, select how precisely the individual objects of the Print Item should be traced to create the white Separation. The more ornate the Print Items are, the more precisely they should be traced. Please note, however, that more precise tracing also takes considerably more time. The following options are available:
  • Inaccurate (fastest) – the objects are traced less precisely – with a resolution of 800 dpi – but faster.
  • Standard (fast) – the objects are traced accurately – with a resolution of 1200 dpi – but still fast.
  • Accurate (slow) – the objects are traced with high precision at at resolution of 1200 dpi, but the process is correspondingly slower,
  • Variable Content [12] – for Variable Content [12], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the dpi value for the tracing mode should be retrieved. The following values must be found in the selected field so that the mode can be used:
    • 800
    • 1200
    • 2400
• Layer Name [10] – enter the name of the layer on which the white Separation is to be created. If you do not want to create a separate layer, you must remove the name from the input field. For Variable Content [13], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the layer name should be retrieved.
• Conformity of Processing Steps according to ISO 19593-1 [11] – a white Separation should be created by default according to ISO 19593-1 on the layer White in the group White of the type White. Further information on the ISO standard can be found in the description Processing Steps ISO 15931-1.

Figure 3: Values in the selected field for the option Tracing Mode

To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file "Sample_White only Separation.pdf". The file contains the Venus symbol, created using CMYK black, and the Mars symbol, created using the Spot Color "Spot Black".

After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample_White only Separation_End.pdf" is generated. All printing objects within the ImageBox have been created as a white Separation.

Figure 4: Left: Original file; Right: Edited file in which a Spot Color-White-Separation has been created for all printing objects

Article update: Workflow 1.20.0 – 03/2025