Adobe Illustrator for Windows - Emulating Screens in Illustrator / Photoshop

Author

Emulating Screens in Illustrator / Photoshop

mothy

2006-02-20, 3:37 am

Hello,

I am trying to show my boss what a 1-color print job with multiple
screens would look like, which is already difficult using a 4-color
plotter, I know. Anyway, beyond not being able to match PMS302 very
well with said plotter, I would like to be able to fake the look of
screens so I can print it out and he will sign-off on the job. Is
there any easy way to do this, using either Illustrator or Photoshop?
For example, on a solid background I have a half-dozen versions of our
logo arranged around the background in varying spot color percentages
(not transparency, but the saturation percentage [?] of the selected
colors). When this is printed on our plotter or any printer, the
colors are lighter but they do not have the look of having been
screened back. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I've looked
everywhere on the web and can't find even a mention of this issue...

Thank you,

mothy

Kdod

2006-02-20, 3:37 am

"mothy" <mothman@fritter.com> wrote in message
news:1140019099.110304.317370@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I am trying to show my boss what a 1-color print job with multiple
> screens would look like, which is already difficult using a 4-color
> plotter, I know. Anyway, beyond not being able to match PMS302 very
> well with said plotter, I would like to be able to fake the look of
> screens so I can print it out and he will sign-off on the job. Is
> there any easy way to do this, using either Illustrator or Photoshop?
> For example, on a solid background I have a half-dozen versions of our
> logo arranged around the background in varying spot color percentages
> (not transparency, but the saturation percentage [?] of the selected
> colors). When this is printed on our plotter or any printer, the
> colors are lighter but they do not have the look of having been
> screened back. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I've looked
> everywhere on the web and can't find even a mention of this issue...
>
> Thank you,
>
> mothy
>
Are talking about a gray scale look?

mothy

2006-02-20, 3:37 am

Well, everything will be printed in PMS 302, so in effect you are
correct. But I want different screens for different elements on my
printed piece. I'm trying to give the impression of different colors
by adjusting the color percentages of each element. Not the
transparency, but actually the color percentages (available under the
color menu when an element with a Pantone color is selected). I hope
that makes sense.

Thanks,
mothy

Gene Palmiter

2006-02-25, 10:16 pm

Is there a reason to not make a swatch for each required percentage of the
pantone swatch?

--
Thanks,
Gene Palmiter
(visit my photo gallery at http://palmiter.dotphoto.com)
freebridge design group

"mothy" <mothman@fritter.com> wrote in message
news:1140057348.697347.47900@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Well, everything will be printed in PMS 302, so in effect you are
> correct. But I want different screens for different elements on my
> printed piece. I'm trying to give the impression of different colors
> by adjusting the color percentages of each element. Not the
> transparency, but actually the color percentages (available under the
> color menu when an element with a Pantone color is selected). I hope
> that makes sense.
>
> Thanks,
> mothy
>

mothy

2006-02-26, 6:20 pm

You could do that, but it's beside the point. The problem is that when
I print the piece on a plotter, the screens may be accurate tonally,
but the colors are solid (I found this out even when the proof was
RIPPED at a professional printshop; I assumed that my RIP wasn't good
enough, but their version still showed solid colors for things screened
back). I'm just trying to figure out someway to represent the screens
as they will be produced on an offset press, ie. the space between the
dots is what changes the tones. A plotter is just going to re-create
the tones by a combination of CMYK. I'm not even concerned about the
color accuracy of the elements: I'd just like to see white between the
dots for something that's screened back to 10%, for example. I guess
the only reliable solution as far as I can see is that the next thing I
have printed will hopefully have enough space on the edges of the press
sheet to print a color bar of our PMS color in increments of 5%, etc.
At that point, maybe I could scan those squares in and recreate them in
Illustrator, then in the future could just fill elements in with those
dot patterns and then choose whatever color I'd like to fill them with.

Gene Palmiter

2006-02-27, 10:17 pm

You can make sheet of simulated benday dots with Photoshop...there should be
a better way though.

--
Thanks,
Gene Palmiter
(visit my photo gallery at http://palmiter.dotphoto.com)
freebridge design group

"mothy" <mothman@fritter.com> wrote in message
news:1140990161.292439.222950@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> You could do that, but it's beside the point. The problem is that when
> I print the piece on a plotter, the screens may be accurate tonally,
> but the colors are solid (I found this out even when the proof was
> RIPPED at a professional printshop; I assumed that my RIP wasn't good
> enough, but their version still showed solid colors for things screened
> back). I'm just trying to figure out someway to represent the screens
> as they will be produced on an offset press, ie. the space between the
> dots is what changes the tones. A plotter is just going to re-create
> the tones by a combination of CMYK. I'm not even concerned about the
> color accuracy of the elements: I'd just like to see white between the
> dots for something that's screened back to 10%, for example. I guess
> the only reliable solution as far as I can see is that the next thing I
> have printed will hopefully have enough space on the edges of the press
> sheet to print a color bar of our PMS color in increments of 5%, etc.
> At that point, maybe I could scan those squares in and recreate them in
> Illustrator, then in the future could just fill elements in with those
> dot patterns and then choose whatever color I'd like to fill them with.
>