Multi-channel support

rich apollo

Well-known member
Hmm. Interesting. Photoshop supports multi-channel profiles (since CS4), but neither InDesign, Acrobat, nor Illustrator will support the resulting image.

Is there something I'm missing?
 
Hmm. Interesting. Photoshop supports multi-channel profiles (since CS4), but neither InDesign, Acrobat, nor Illustrator will support the resulting image.

Is there something I'm missing?

You mean you don't use PShop to do your page layouts? ;-)

best, gordon p
 
Hmm. Interesting. Photoshop supports multi-channel profiles (since CS4), but neither InDesign, Acrobat, nor Illustrator will support the resulting image.

Is there something I'm missing?

Assuming you mean n-channel profiles, where the profile refers to a set of colors OTHER THAN Gray, RGB or CMYK, that is correct - the rest of the Creative Suite does not support them. The reason is that the PDF imaging model (on which they are all based) does not support it. PDF only allows for 1, 3 and 4 channel profiles in Gray, RGB and CMYK space (though with v4 profiles, the colorant order can be changed).

Can you tell more about what type of work you are doing where you are using a custom made n-channel profile?
 
I was just doing some testing. Working on some ideas for expanded gamut printing.

First, I was reviewing my color server, which doesn't "see" the n-channel (or multi-channel) profiles. Then I looked at InDesign to see if I could either create a document in a n-channel color space or convert to an n-channel color space during export to PDF. Then I created a Hexachrome file in Photoshop and tried to import it into InDesign - I also tried to place it into Illustrator. Neither program will accept the file.

Lastly, I tried to edit a PDF. I tried using the Touch-Up Object tool to edit an image, but found that I couldn't save the resulting edited image back into the PDF. I also tried to place the Hex image on a layer, but that, too, failed.
 
Have you tried saving the image out of PShop as a composite DCS 2? DCS 2 with extra spot channels can be imported into InDesign which can then export a PDF containing the image with the extra colors. Open that in Acrobat and the extra channels are there. That's as far as I can test with the tools I have.

Or maybe I don't understand what you're trying to do.

best, gordon p
 
Thinking back to the old days of PageMaker 6...using the built-in Kodak CMS, one could print directly to the default Hexachrome profile, creating the multi-channel seps on the fly.

Stephen Marsh
 
Have you tried saving the image out of PShop as a composite DCS 2? DCS 2 with extra spot channels can be imported into InDesign which can then export a PDF containing the image with the extra colors. Open that in Acrobat and the extra channels are there. That's as far as I can test with the tools I have.

That's DeviceN, which is multiple spot channels. If you create one of those in Photoshop, you can easily bring that into the rest of the Suite (and PDF).

NChannel profiles, however, are a completely different thing. They are "ICCBased", meaning that it has an associated ICC profile.
 
This is quite simple really. You can do this by saving the image as either PSD or Tiff. You just need to make sure the color mode is CMYK and your extra channels are defined as spot channels.

Are of these types can be placed in Illustrator or InDesign.
 

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