Media Manager Profiling Guide Version 7 : Profiling for Spot Channels
This page last changed on Aug 22, 2008 by johannaf.

When profiling for spot channels you must select an ink configuration that supports spots e.g. CMYKS or CMYKSS.

Spot Channels can include white ink (see Profiling for White), gloss enhancers, or chromatic spots such as Violet as seen in the DUPONT Artistry (CMYK + V).

Gloss enhancer is considered a spot and uses a predefined ink configuration. This will produce a full flood fill like a liquid laminate. Make your profiling determinations with the gloss enhancer enabled because you always want to profile to the finished product. 

Here are a few things other things to consider when working with chromatic spots, otherwise you can profile using the normal workflow. See Profiling Worklfowfor complete details.

Before you get started, you will need to enable your ink configuration within Media Manager > Configure Devices > Configure Printer Capabilities > Ink Configuration.

Media Options 

To define the basic settings for this media:

  1. Select the Ink Configuration from the drop-down list.
  2. Set your processing options to CMYK.
  3. Click > Spot Color Setup.
  4. Click > Insert to add the number of spot channels you are using.

Note: You can also highlight the Spot 1 and click > edit to change the color of the spot to match more of what you are actually printing. In the case of white ink, it's recommended to use a bright color and not "white" so you can actually see on-screen where the spot color is displayed. See Profiling for White for details on that workflow.

If you are using CMYKRGB or CMYKOG ink configuration there is no need to "Insert" spots. These ink configuration are already processed with the standard modeling technique. See Profiling For CMYKRGB for details on that workflow. With chromatic spots there is no need to Configure Layers to modify the print order.

Ink Restrictions

When determining ink restrictions for spot channels, use the default swatches on the Basic tab or the Advanced tab.

The pre-defined swatches from the drop-down list on the Advanced tab do not print with spots because these are fixed images. 

To print Ink Restriction Swatches:

  1. Start by using the Basic tab when evaluating Ink Restrictions.
  2. Make sure you see your spot channels on the screen.
  3. Click > Print swatch and review your primary CMY colors first.
  4. Keep this swatch for reviewing the spot channels later.


Note: If you are using the Advanced tab, leave the check box enabled for "Use Default Swatch" and click > Print Swatch with all values set  to 100%.

 To determine Primary Ink Restrictions:

  1. Focus on your primary CMY ink restriction values using your preferred method. K is always set to the darkest black without bleeding or that can stand alone when printed by itself. (See Ink Restrictions for more details if needed.)
  2. Be conservative when determining the maximum percentage you plan to use - Remember that you are potentially dealing with 600-700 percent ink load.
  3. Once you have your CMYK percentages, enter these values on the Advanced tab.
  4. Use the drop-down list to select the Ink Restriction Swatch.
  5. Turn your spot channels to 0% (it's ok if the percentage uses a round off of 1.18%) and click >Print.

 

Review the CMY row for neutrality. You can also print your own custom swatch that shows a CMY gradient from 0-100%. Verify that the row is producing a neutral gray before reviewing your spot channels. If you are happy with the results it's time to look at the spot channels from the original "Default" swatch you printed in the first step.

To determine Ink Restrictions for Spot(s): 

  1. Use similar methods for determining ink restrictions e.g. bleeding, puddling, chroma etc...for the spot channels.
  2. If the spot channels continue to transition up to 100% without any artifacts, you must still restrict some ink.
  3. You can use the color counter-part as a guide if needed. For example if you have Blue spot you can choose the same ink percentage you had for the Cyan channel.
  4. Enter in your Spot Ink Restrictions percentages (along with your primary values) and click > next to go to the calibration step.

Note : At this time there is not a specific swatch that will display the full color mix with spots to verify your results.

Calibration/Linearization

The spot channels will print in the calibration swatch. It's important that you take the spot density measurements for the specific spot channel.

To print the calibration swatch:

  1. Click > Print Swatch> Setup> Swatch Option tab.
  2. Select your color device from the drop-down menu and click > print.
  3. Once the swatch is dry, click > Read Swatch and Read Swatch again to open the calibration data table.
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions for the Strip letter and Patch number.
  5. Click > OK to accept readings and click > Next to continue.
  6. Click > Build Linearization as usually and continue on to the Ink Limits step.

Ink Limits

To print the Ink Limits swatch:

  1. Click > Print Swatch and determine Ink Limits as usual. Look for bleed in the columns and choose a value where you can eliminate waste ink.
  2. Click> Read Swatch and enter in the values in the Basic or Advanced tab.
  3. Click > Next to continue on to the ICC step.

ICC

Spot colors require a specific ICC swatch depending on the number of spots used.  See Generating an ICC for more details if needed.

To print the ICC swatch:

  1. Click > Print Swatch and select your color sampling device.
  2. Click > Setup > Options
  3. On the Options tab select the swatch that corresponds to your configuration.
  4. Click > Print. If the ICC swatches exhibit bleeding, you need to go back to Ink Limits and make some adjustments.
  5. Once the swatches are dry, click > Read Swatch and read in the ICC data.
  6. Click > Options to modify the build settings and enable "Dynamic Ink Separations". You can leave the other default build options or make changes based on your experience.
  7. Click > Build.

 

Once you have finished building the ICC, you can make a test image.

To Print a Test Image:

  1. Use the drop-down list or browse for a file.
  2. Check your color management options for the correct input profiles.
  3. Click > Print.
  4. Click > Next to continue.
  5. Click > Finish. This completes the media profiling workflow and you can now use this media within ONYX.

Attachments:
Spot_Color_Setup.jpg (image/jpeg)
Ink_Restrictions.jpg (image/jpeg)
Ink_Restrictions_2.jpg (image/jpeg)
BasicTab.jpg (image/jpeg)
ICCSwatches_Spot.jpg (image/jpeg)
Document generated by Confluence on Nov 19, 2008 16:34