In this article, you will learn
- which prerequisites are required for this Fixup, and
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
The Fixup Create Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage is available in the Workflow. The purpose of this Fixup is to create a separation with different opacity depending on the overall ink coverage of the page content.
2. General
The Fixup Create Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage can be used, for example, to create a white channel that depends on the overall ink coverage – or any other system-wide defined Spot Color. The separation is created as an image.
Use this Fixup in the following scenarios:
- Reduction of ink consumption for white ink, as no to little white ink is required in the background if the ink coverage is high in certain areas anyway.
- Reduction of drying time by limiting the white separation to areas in the PDF file that exceed the total ink coverage.
- Reduction of primer coverage for areas in the print file.
- Creating of gloss effect for certain areas in the print file by adding varnish to lighter or darker areas.
You can find this Fixup on the tab Data Preparation of an Article, Order or Production Job by:
- entering the name of the Fixup in the area Filter,
- activating the option Object in the area Category,
- activating the option Create in the area Action,
- activating the option Spot Color in the area Property.
3. Description
This Fixup creates a separation of a selected system-wide defined Spot Color, which is generated depending on the total color application of the page content. The higher the Total Ink Coverage, the lower the percentage value of the Spot Color Separation that should be applied.
3.1. Prerequisits and Functionality
For the Fixup to perform as intended, no special requirements must be met.
Figure 1: The tab Basic Settings as well as the tab Advanced of the Fixup Create Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage
Select from the following options to create the Spot Color Separation depending on the Total Ink Coverage:
- 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
- Spot Color [2] – select the system-wide defined Spot Color for which a new Spot Color Separation will be created from the selection menu.
- Render Resolution [3] – enter the desired resolution in dpi for the separation that should be created. The higher the resolution, the more accurately outlines will be traced, but the longer the execution will take. For Variable Content [5], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the render resolution should be retrieved.
- Tonal Value Curve [4] – the diagram shows the curve that should be applied. This curve is used to create the opacity for the Spot Color Separation depending on the percentage of the Total Ink Coverage.
- Input [6] – enter the percentage of the total coverage here. If, for example, 50 is entered in the input field, the selected Spot Color is created with the opacity specified in the Output field for the pixels for which the Total Ink Coverage amounts from 0 % up to 50 %.
- Output [7] – enter the value for the opacity of the Spot Color Separation here. If, for example, 100 is entered in the output field, a Spot Color Separation with a tone value of 100% is applied to pixels where the Total Ink Coverage is less than the value in the input field.
- Add [8] – add a new point that allows you to change the steepness of the ramp in the curve as required.
- Catmull Rom [9]– determine whether the curve should only consist of corner points or whether the curve should be made up of Bezier curves.
Interpretation of the Graph in Figure 1
A Spot Color Separation "White" is generated. The Spot Color "White"
- is created with 100% opacity for all areas whose Total Ink Coverage is less than or equal to 50%,
- from a Total Ink Coverage of 51 %, the opacity of the Spot Color is reduced linearly until
- the Total Ink Coverage is 200 %.
- no Spot Color Separation is created for all areas with a Total Ink Coverage greater than 201 %.
- Protect transparent areas [10]– by activating this option, all transparent areas in the Print Item remain transparent. This means that although the total coverage for this area is 0%, no Spot Color is created for these areas.
- Protect transparent and white areas [11]– by activating this option, all transparent and white areas - CMYK 0/0/0/0, RGB 255/255/255 and grayscale 100 % - in the Print Item remain transparent or not printed. This means that although the total coverage for this area is 0 %, no Spot Color is created for this pixel.
- Exclude Spot Colors which has benn defined as "Output as Separation" [12]– by activating this option, all system-wide defined Spot Colors that are created as "Output as Separation" are excluded by the Fixup. Thus, the colors are not considered when determining the Total Ink Coverage.
- Create an additional area on the outer edge [13] – activating this option extends the separation by the size of the additional area at the outer edge. This creates an additional penetration area that can prevent penetrant from "Bleeding".
- Size of the additional area [14] – enter the desired size of the penetration area. This option is available only if the option Create additional area at outer edge is enabled. For Variable Content [17], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the area of penetration will be taken.
- Layer Name[15] – enter the name of the layer on which the Spot Color Separation should be created. When no separate layer should be created, you must remove the name from the input field. For Variable Content [18], 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 [16] – all objects that are printed with white 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.
3.2. Before/After
To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file "Sample Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage.pdf". The file was created in CMYK and contains vectors and text.
After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage_End.pdf" is generated, where the Spot Color "White" was applied depending on the Total Ink Coverage. Please note that the separation is set to overprinting.
Figure 2: Left: Original file; Center: Edited file in which the Spot Color Separation was created; Right: The created Spot Color Separation
Article update: Workflow 1.20.1 – 04/2025