Expert: Laith Ibrahim - 11/28/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I have a business card to make that is going to be printed on a press.  I can only use spot colors.  How should I save this file so that the pressman doesn't have to do any color management etc.  Is there a way to save with a color bar having spot colors instead of CMYK?  I know how to get the spot colors from the library, but I'm not sure how to preserve them.  Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Shannon,

I suggest contacting your printing press first to get their requirements before sending your file for them. Some prefer "ai" or "PDF" and others still like "EPS" files. When you submit your business cards' file, the printing press will ask you to fill a form which will have fields where you can specify the spot colors to be used. If it does not, you can enter them in the "Special Instruction" or "Comments" field.

To make sure that you only have spot colors used in your file and nothing else, do the following:
---Print your file to Adobe PDF, Under the "Output" option change the "MODE" to "Separations"
---Under "Marks and Bleed, select "All Printer's Marks"
---Hit "Print.
If for example you used 2 spot colors in your design then you'll only get a 2-page PDF. Each one has the separation for one spot color with its number at top of the page. If you have more than 2 pages then you need to check your file for any other colors other than the spot colors you like to use.
Please let me know if this solution worked for and don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything else.

Best regards,

Laith

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

QUESTION: Hi Laith,

I tried to print the document with the separations and box came up that said "Cannot Print".  When I try to print to file: (Post Script File because there is no option for PDF) the text from the business card ends up being way off to the left and not within the working space.  Can you tell me what I am doing wrong? Also, how can I tell if anything in the document is not a spot color?  Thanks again, Shannon

Answer
Hi again Shannon,
You can still achieve what you want using the "Adobe PostScript File" as a printer. Just make sure that the size of your media (under "General" option in the print dialog box) is bigger than your dartboard. Doing so will make sure that you see the "Page information of the file". Set your output to "Separations" and finally, under "Marks and Bleed" click on "All Printer's Marks". Hit print.
As for the business card being way off to the left, this can be due to one of the following:
1. Your Artboard is bigger than the paper size you selected in the print dialog box
2. Your artboard is not centered in the Print dialog box. When get the print options you'll see a white window at bottom right that shows your artboard within. Double click inside that area and your artboard will be centered. Check your business card in that area is it still of?
3. Another reason is that your page tiling is not correct. Page tiling is the area that the printer will print. To fix that (this has nothing to do with the print dialog box) you have to go to the top menu of Illustrator and choose "View/Show Page Tiling". You will probably need to adjust your "print" setup if you get a message saying that this option is not available (if you get it, go to print/setup/crop artwork to artboard).
Then on the tools menu look at the hand tool, you'll see that it has a small triangle on its lower right side, press (not click) that triangle for a second or two and you'll get the "Page Tiling Tool". Select it and double click on it. This will center it on your artboard. Now try printing your business card.

By the way, to see what you're doing wrong I suggest that you make the borders of your business card visible. Use the rectangle tool to do that; select the rectangle tool/click on the artboard/setup the dimensions to 3.5" X 2" and put your artwork and text within this border. Then try to print and see where your business card fall.

Now the last part of your question; all the above is to get the separations printout that will prove whether or not you only have the spot color you need in your business card. Another way is to select an area that is filled with one of the spot colors that you've used then go to the top menu/select/same fill color. This will select all areas filled with the same spot color. Hit CTRL-ALT-3 to hide them. Then do the same with the other color. If you have anything else left on the artboard then check it to determine what extra colors you have. I wish I have your artwork to give you more details.

Please let me if everything worked well for you.

Best regards,

Laith