Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 2/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi Kevin,

I created an image with a drop shadow using a spot color.  Why is it when I send to the printer, they said that the drop shadow was not a spot color?  Is there something else I have to do to preserve the spot color?

Thanks!!

ANSWER: Hi Shannon,

Creating a drop shadow in Illustrator is one of the hardest things to do, unfortunately it is not just a matter of applying a PMS color to the shadow. Here are two things to try, but to be honest, we always try to turn people away from this as the results are not always great.

First, make sure you are creating your drop shadows using the EFFECTS menu, not the Filter. Filters are flattened rasterized images and will not convert out properly.

Next, go to Effects>Document raster effects settings and select 300 ppi (Hi-Res) and most importantly, make sure "preserve spot colors" is checked.

Save this as an .eps file, making sure transparency is set to 300 ppi in the options box, and see what your printer says.

If they are still having issues, create your drop shadow as black, then go to Object>Expand Appearance, and ungroup the set, then create a shape the same size as the drop shadow, fill it with your spot color, and change the blending mode to color. Arrange this shape between your object and the shadow and again, save out as an .eps.

I tested the first method in InDesign using the separations preview and it looks like it came in ok. Whichever way you try, I would still bring it into InDesign and test it using the Separations preview window and toggle the colors on and off.

Good luck

Kevin

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your help!  The shape that I am using a drop shadow  on is actually text, so it would be hard to create a shape to come out like the shape of the drop shadow.

The problem is that when I print the separations on my computer (to test separations), it is reading it as processed colors.

Thanks again!

Answer
Hi Shannon,

I would try sending this through InDesign and see what happens.

Also, depending on what version of Illustrator you are using, transparent effects over type will be disastrous. CS2 was the first version to be able to handle this somewhat effectively. Earlier versions will bold text in contact with the shadow, etc.


Kevin