Expert: Candice Anderson - 5/18/2006

Question
I recenlty finished a design of a two color newsletter...and ran into a problem at the print shop...fixed it..but still have questions...here we go

1st in photoshop i created a dutone black/magenta of a flower.  I then created a new document CMYK, with a black background, a magenta gradient, and pasted the dutone flower into the cmyk document and saved it, thinking i had created a two color composition since the only colors being used were pantone black and magenta, i then placed this into indesign and finished the rest of the document using indesign swatches...but print shop called and said my cover image was not two color but a four color image

so i opened the cmyk composition and saw that (even though i created a dutone, and created fills and gradients using only magenta and black) the chanels palette had information in the yellow and cyan channels...why? why when you go from a dutone to cmyk do the cyan and yellow channels  have any information in them?

solution was to convert the image to greyscale, create a duotone and tweak the curves to make match the original cmyk image, which i got close, and looked alright, but didn't have the same depth...

also i tried to to take the cmyk composition and simply delete the yellow and cyan channels, which came close to what the original cmyk looked like, but was way bighter in the magenta, and was worried this would cause more problems. so i stuck with dutones cause i know they work, but would this method of deleting the yellow and cyan channel have worked? is this method the same as creating a spot color? or would i have to create a seperate spot? also when i do this channel deletion method i can no longer create new layers

i also messed around with creating greyscale image and then adding a spot....but problem is i like to create color adjustment layers and then use transpaency and blending to get the look i want, but with spot colors it seems like i cannot create a magenta color layer which i can the adjust and blend, i am only capable of adding color into the channel, or creating a greyscale color layer...am i missing something? It seems like as a two color image in photoshop loses functionality, which to my simple head just doesn't make sense. why doesn't everything funtion the same, with the only option in color being white, black and the spot...but everything be just as functional as a cmyk? i hope that made some sort of sense
thanks  

Answer
this is so funny

i just went through this exact hell the other day!  Thank god the client said, it's ok, we'll just do blk/white.

Let me start out by saying, I hate two color jobs.   Future reference, unless you are doing a job with just vector images, theres no point in doing 2 color.  (espeically becuase its becoming cheaper to print 4 color anyway)  Unless you don't mind losing information, of course.  What you did was a four color job with only two colors.  Once you added a gradient and started editing, you went four color.   
The only way to really do it, is to delete all of the black in the picture and paint that color.  Or, take your blk/white object and move to indesign. Then color that picture your color.   

now, to answer questions :) (its in caps so you can see the answer better, not to yell at you :) )

....1st in photoshop i created a dutone black/magenta of a flower. I then created a new document CMYK, with a black background ... IN ORDER TO CREATE A TWO COLOR, YOU MUST BE IN DUOTONE MODE.  (FIRST MAKE IT GRAY SCALE, THEN YOU WILL HAVE THAT OPTION. CMYK IS JUST THAT - 4 COLOR


...why? why when you go from a dutone to cmyk do the cyan and yellow channels have any information in them?... I DONT KNOW.  I NOTICED THIS MYSELF.  THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN TELL IF YOU HAVE a FOUR COLOR JOB OR TWO IS:
1. PRINT
2. OUPUT
3. IF YOU ARE ABLETO PRINT SEPERATIONS, DO SO
OR
WINDOW
OUPUT
SEPERATIONS

IF YOU HAVE 2 SEPERATIONS, YOU ARE IN 2 COLOR.  

...solution was to convert the image to greyscale, create a duotone and tweak the curves to make match the original cmyk image, which i got close, and looked alright, but didn't have the same depth... YEP, NOT REALLY MUCH YOU CAN DO ABOUT THAT.  

WHAT YOU ALSO MIGHT WANT TO TRY (JUST THOUGHT OF THIS :) ) IS POSTERIZING IT.  GO TO IMAGES, ADJUSTMENTS, POSTERIZE (ONCE ITS IN GRAY SCALE) THEN GO TO IMAGES, ADJUSTMENTS, SELECTIVE COLOR AND PLAY WITH THINGS THERE.

...also i tried to to take the cmyk composition and simply delete the yellow and cyan channels, which came close to what the original cmyk looked like, but was way bighter in the magenta, and was worried this would cause more problems. so i stuck with dutones cause i know they work, but would this method of deleting the yellow and cyan channel have worked?... I DONT KNOW, SORRY.  YOU CAN TRY IT AND SEE.  ASK THE PRINTER TO LOOK AT IT BEFORE HE PRINTS, THEY ARE USUALLY VERY GOOD ABOUT THIS.

is this method the same as creating a spot color? or would i have to create a seperate spot? NO.  A SPOT COLOR IS A PANTONE COLOR.  YELLOW AND BLUE AND THE SWATCHES ARE PROCESS.

also when i do this channel deletion method i can no longer create new layers YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DELETE THE CHANNELS.  YOU NEED TO KEEP THEM.  YOU DELETE THEM BY CHANGING YOUR MODE.

...i also messed around with creating greyscale image and then adding a spot....but problem is i like to create color adjustment layers and then use transpaency and blending to get the look i want, but with spot colors it seems like i cannot create a magenta color layer which i can the adjust and blend, i am only capable of adding color into the channel, or creating a greyscale color layer...am i missing something?... IS THIS IN INDESIGN OR PHOTOSHOP?  IF IN PHOTOSHOP, TEMPORARLY MAKE IT RGB, THEN PUT IT BACK WHEN YOU ARE DONE.  

...It seems like as a two color image in photoshop loses functionality, which to my simple head just doesn't make sense... THATS THE BEAUTY OF TWO COLOR :) THERES A REASON WHY ITS CHEAPER.

Now, I will admit, I have only done 2 two color jobs that were sent to a printer. The best thing to do is call your printer and ask how they prefer two color jobs. They don't mind helping and prefer it over having to explain later.  

good luck :)

candice