How to Make Photoshop Spot Color Channels

Photoshop uses a spot channel to define an area to be printed in a specific spot color. Spot channels are only used for print output; each spot color used requires its own printing plate. To add a spot channel in Photoshop, follow these steps.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Open the image in Photoshop. Click "File" and select "Open" and navigate to where an image is located. Select the image and click the "Open" button.

2. Choose "Window" from the menu bar and then select "Channels." This opens the Channels palette.

3. Select the item or area to be filled with the spot color. Do this using one of the selection tools, such as the marquee, lasso or pen tool from the tool bar.

4. Choose "New Spot Channel" on the Channels palette dropdown menu located on the upper right. The selected area is filled with the default spot color. Choose the desired color by clicking the color swatch box on the "New Spot Channel" dialog box. Locate the desired color and click on it. The "New Spot Channel" dialog box will appear again. Select an ink solidity value between 0 percent and 100 percent for opacity. This simulates on screen the solidity of the printed spot color. A 100 percent value simulates a totally opaque ink, such as metallic.

5. Type a name for the spot channel in the name field. Be sure to name the spot colors carefully so that they will separate correctly. If the same spot color is in multiple locations, they must be named exactly the same. Otherwise the colors might separate into two different colors when printed. Click "OK."

Tips & Warnings

• Solidity and color choice options only affect the composite print and the on screen preview, not the printed separations.

• To export Photoshop spot channels, save the file as DCS or PDF.