In this article, you will learn
- what prerequisites must be met for this Fixup,
- how to apply this Fixup.
1. Introduction
In $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW, the Fixup Create Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage is available. The purpose of this Fixup is to create a separation with varying opacity depending on the calculated total 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 generate a total-ink-coverage-dependent white channel – 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, since little or no white ink is required in the background if the ink coverage (and thus the opacity) is already high in certain areas.
- Reduction of drying time by limiting the white separation to areas in the PDF file that exceed a defined total ink coverage threshold.
- Reduction of primer coverage in specific areas of the print file.
- Creation of a gloss effect in specific areas of the print file by applying varnish to lighter or darker areas.
The Fixup can be found in the tab Data Preparation of an Article, Order or Production Job by:
- entering the name of the Fixup in the area Filter,
- enabling the option Object in the area Category,
- enabling the option Create in the area Action,
- enabling the option Spot Color in the area Property.
3. Description
With this Fixup, a separation of a selected system-wide defined Spot Color is generated based on the total ink coverage of the page content. The higher the total ink coverage, the lower the percentage value of the resulting Spot Color Separation.
Templates for Permeo
When one of the predefined templates "Permeo Agent for Flags K1" or "Permeo Agent for Flags K2" is selected, Spot Colors are handled slightly differently. In this case, Spot Colors are duplicated and converted to CMYK – using PSO Coated v3 – in order to determine the total ink coverage of the respective Spot Color. Once the separation has been generated, the duplicate is removed and the original Spot Colors are used again.
3.1. Prerequisites and Functionality
No special prerequisites are required for the Fixup to work as intended.
To generate a Spot Color Separation based on total ink coverage, the following option can be used:
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.
Figure 1: The tab Basic Settings of the Fixup Create Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage
Basic Settings
- Spot Color [2] – select the system-wide defined Spot Color for which you want to generate a new Spot Color Separation from the dropdown menu.
- Render Resolution [3] – enter the desired resolution in dpi to be used for generating the separation. Higher resolutions allow outlines to be traced more accurately, but also increase processing time. 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 displays the curve applied to generate the opacity of the Spot Color Separation depending on the percentage of the total ink coverage. Clicking on the curve creates a curve point. By dragging the curve point to the desired position, you can adjust the curve. To define the input and output values precisely, select the corresponding point and enter the required values in the input fields.
- Input [8] – enter the percentage value of the total ink coverage. For example, if 50% is entered in the input field, the selected Spot Color will be generated with the opacity specified in the output field for image pixels whose total ink coverage is between 0% and 50%.
- Output [7] – enter the opacity value for the Spot Color Separation. For example, if 100% is entered in the output field, a Spot Color Separation with a tone value of 100% will be applied to image pixels whose total ink coverage is below the value specified in the input field.
- Interpolation Method [6] – define how values between known data points are interpolated. You can choose between Linear and Catmull-ROM (Bezier curve) interpolation.
Interpretation of the Graph in Figure 1
A Spot Color Separation named "White" is generated. The Spot Color "White":
- is generated with 100% opacity for all areas whose total ink coverage is less than or equal to 50%,
- starting from a total ink coverage of 51%, the opacity of the Spot Color is reduced linearly, until
- it reaches an opacity of 0% at a total ink coverage of 200%,
- for all areas with a total ink coverage greater than 201%, no Spot Color Separation is generated.
The tab Advanced contains options that can be configured for special conditions.
Figure 2: The tab Advanced of the Fixup Create Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage
- Protect transparent areas [9] – when this option is enabled, all transparent areas in the Print Item remain transparent. As a result, no Spot Color is generated for these areas, even if the total ink coverage is 0%.
- Protect transparent and white areas [10] – when this option is enabled, all transparent and white areas in the Print Item – CMYK 0/0/0/0, RGB 255/255/255, and grayscale 100% – remain transparent or unprinted. Consequently, no Spot Color is generated for these pixels, even if the total ink coverage is 0%.
- Exclude Spot Colors that are defined as "Output as Separation" [11] – when this option is enabled, all system-defined Spot Colors configured as "Output as Separation" are excluded from the Fixup and are therefore not included in the calculation of total ink coverage.
- Create an additional area on the outer edge [12] – when this option is enabled, the separation is extended by the specified size of the additional area at the outer edge. This creates an additional penetration area, which can prevent "bleeding" of penetration agents.
- Size of the additional area [13] – enter the desired size of the penetration area here. This option is only available when Create additional area on outer edge is enabled. For Variable Content [14], select the desired placeholder – Database Field or User-defined Field – from which the value for the penetration area should be retrieved.
3.2. Before / After
To experiment with this function, you can use the sample file "Sample Spot Color Separation depending on Total Ink Coverage.pdf". The file is 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, in which the Spot Color "White" is applied depending on the total ink coverage. Note that the separation is set to overprint.
Figure 3: Left: Original file; Center: Edited file in which the Spot Color Separation has been generated; Right: The resulting Spot Color Separation
Article Update: $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW 2.0.0 – 05/2026