need some help on a simple spot color sep with a slight gradient

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

I have a very simple 3 color spot separation with a gradient I could use some help on. 2 of the 3 colors are part of the logo and it has a faint gradient from top to bottom. the 3rd color is a simple text, solid color. I was given the image in a PDF file and I'm attempting to do the seps in photoshop cs. It's my first time attemping spot seps with a gradient. I also have Illustrator CS and CorelDraw 12, but I am more familiar with photoshop.

I have converted the image to a psd. file

In photoshop I have managed to make the gradient into a halftone by selecting just the image with the gradient then going to Filter/Pixalate/Color Halftone..max radius 4 pixels.

Then I am going into the channels and using color range tool to pic the brightest color in the gradient and making it a channel....then when I go to pick the darkest color, the tool is not allowing me to pick the color....the gradient is prodominantly yellow with the dark gradiation coming from the bottom as a red...the red gradient is very faint..it does not dominate in the logo..it's like its barely there really.

Anyway, when I go to pick a red pixel with color range tool it isnt doing anything..nothing is being picked.

I figured id pick a yellow pixel,,make it a channel..then a red pixel and make it a channel.

I don't even know if this is the right approach..I have done searches online and watched some youtube vids but none of them address my exact issue..i just found straight spot color seps with no halftones/gradiations.

Can I get some quick schooling from someone here? I dont want to you to do my seps for me but a walk-thru would be helpful...I'd love to talk to someone on this...the image is so simple its embarrassing hahah..but for someone that's never manually done it before it's a little confusing.

[screenxpress]

Can you post the file or a picture?

[squeezee]

I'll have a look at it, pm me.

[Sbrem]

index it maybe?

Steve

[Fluid]

a pic would help for sure

[3Deep]

Question, how do some people who screenprint get away without doing halftones and only spot color jobs all the time.  Next I really think if your doing art as a screenprinter then learning the basic in both programs pixel and vector is a must.  When I got into printing many years ago I think halftone printing was something I was ask to do right off the bat, and knew I had to brush up on my skills.  Mark I think its time for you to do like I did LOL start brushing up on your vector and halftone printing skills...one good think though you have some dam good teachers here to help ya, I learn the hard way.

Darryl

[blue moon]

Mark,

as somebody who was just recently in your shoes, I'll tell you . . . one of the best decisions I've EVER made was to have Dan (but you could any other good separator) handle that stuff for you. Yes you will have to pay, but you will also get seps that you can look at and use as a reference. They'll help with printing and with time you'll learn to separate yourself.

pierre

[Fluid]

Mark,

as somebody who was just recently in your shoes, I'll tell you . . . one of the best decisions I've EVER made was to have Dan (but you could any other good separator) handle that stuff for you. Yes you will have to pay, but you will also get seps that you can look at and use as a reference. They'll help with printing and with time you'll learn to separate yourself.

pierre

agree. Until you can learn to do it yourself, sub contracting the art and seps will enable you to focus on other aspects of your business.

[Frog]

Question, how do some people who screenprint get away without doing halftones and only spot color jobs all the time?  Next I really think if your doing art as a screenprinter then learning the basic in both programs pixel and vector is a must.  When I got into printing many years ago I think halftone printing was something I was ask to do right off the bat, and knew I had to brush up on my skills.  Mark I think its time for you to do like I did LOL start brushing up on your vector and halftone printing skills...one good think though you have some dam good teachers here to help ya, I learn the hard way.

Darryl

The answer is plain and simple. It all depends on your client base. I do 99% spot colors. Of those, I do halftones when needed, which is probably only a couple dozen times a year at the most, (which is why I get rusty with Ghost, lol!.)

[Sbrem]

You never know what kind of job is going to come through your door, so learning how to do half-tones is fairly important. Sending the seps out will indeed save you time and allow you to print the jobs until you can get the techniques under your belt.

Steve

[ole jobe]

I don't do Adobe, but in Corel and Ghostscript I have almost always been able to get good results with bitmaps, gradients and halftones.

[blue moon]

I don't do Adobe, but in Corel and Ghostscript I have almost always been able to get good results with bitmaps, gradients and halftones.

the award winning print from last year was done on an EPSON 3000 and GhostScript. So the equipment as basic as that can produce spectacular prints. The real difference was in the seps (done by Dan).

pierre

[3Deep]

I,ve done some killer artwork worthy of being in a contest, my only problem I can't sep it, so with that said there is where the skilled manually sepping guys come in at Dan, Myseps etc.  Those guys are worth there weight in gold, I remember years ago this guy brought in a picture of his funny car, this car had one badass paint job I,d ever seem.  He ask could we print it I said yes, but the cost might be high, so I contacted EDG out in Utah they quoted 6 to 8 hundred for the seps...we didn't do the job, but it goes to show you get paid for what you know.  thanks for letting me run wild here lol

Darryl

[Fluid]

The real difference was in the seps (done by Dan).
pierre

In general this is the truth. obviously printing comes into play as far as mesh, inks, etc. yet all in all it is all in the seps. Good seps will yield a good print, great seps will yield a great print

[Sbrem]

I,ve done some killer artwork worthy of being in a contest, my only problem I can't sep it, so with that said there is where the skilled manually sepping guys come in at Dan, Myseps etc.  Those guys are worth there weight in gold, I remember years ago this guy brought in a picture of his funny car, this car had one badass paint job I,d ever seem.  He ask could we print it I said yes, but the cost might be high, so I contacted EDG out in Utah they quoted 6 to 8 hundred for the seps...we didn't do the job, but it goes to show you get paid for what you know.  thanks for letting me run wild here lol

Darryl

We used them for a number of jobs back in the nineties. Jeff Campos was, and I hope still is, a very nice guy. But the cost was killer, either with them or Coudray. But the quality was top notch, it really showed you what kind of printer you were. If you couldn't make a good print with those seps, it was on you...

Steve