Adobe Photoshop
One-click colour separation of images for flexo. The plug-in divides the image into zones and gives each zone only the inks it needs, with no stray dots. The colour stays as close to the original as possible.
Photoshop's separation
FlexoSplit
FlexoSplit found the objects, gave each a selection and separated the inks itself. In the panel only the inks and the contrast were chosen: Pantone for the raspberries, black for the bowl and SAMBA for the shadow.
Colour separation done entirely without Photoshop tools. The table lies in one PANTONE 403 C instead of three inks, the shadow under the saucer and the coffee stains on SAMBA channels.
Colour separation done entirely without Photoshop tools. Cyan left the almonds and stays only in the shadows between them, on its own SAMBA channel.
Nothing is fixed: the selections, inks, traps and volume are set to suit the job and your taste. The separation comes out clean and needs no special knowledge, so a beginner can do it too.
Dot control by the parameters you set runs automatically: the minimum dot held or cut off, with no dirt at the edges.
PrintCyanMagentaCyan + MagentaWhere CMYK objects meet, the inks overlap slightly, so the print has no gaps and the plates carry no dirt. The minimum dot is kept in every ink.
The mini trap is smooth and even, and its width depends on the photo's resolution. In the animation it is the thin dark line where cyan and magenta overlap.
Pick an object, the background for example, and press Use Pantone: the program lists the closest Pantones with their difference from the original. After Apply the background lies on one channel instead of several, and the colour stays as it was. The other objects stay in CMYK.
Pantone runs under the neighbouring inks by the width you set in pixels, in the direction you choose for the object: Auto, spread, choke or no trap. The black underneath gives density in the shadows.
Every change of the Pantone and CMYK settings is a step in Photoshop's history: undo it and redo it like any other.
Copy settings and Paste settings carry an object's settings to another object, in another file too, so similar photos are done the same way.
In the Volume panel you set contrast, form, texture, dodge, burn and shadows, for the whole object or each ink on its own, plus curves as in Photoshop.
The minimum dot is set for each ink, and any ink can go on a SAMBA channel of its own.
The objects' selections are made by the separation itself. Pick chooses an object with a click, Brush and Lasso add to it or take away, Join joins pieces, and Separate turns one thing, a berry for example, into an object of its own.
A Photoshop selection becomes a new object, and an object becomes a selection again. The selections and settings stay in the file.
The result is not always exact: sometimes it needs light finishing. This function is still being improved.
Adobe Photoshop
690 €
one payment, one computer
Benefits: image separation, CMYK with a mini trap, Pantone with a trap, SAMBA channels.
BuyIllustrator and Photoshop
990 €
one payment, one computer
Benefits: both programs with every feature.
BuyPrices for businesses, net of VAT. Your country's VAT is added at checkout; EU businesses with a VAT number do not pay it. Polar takes the payment.
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