Printing gradients on a 2 color job...

[CAM]

Hi everyone...

I have a question about making gradients using 2 colors. I have a client that is requesting that an existing job, which is 4 colors, be converted to 2 colors, red & black. My question is can gradients be accurately printed using 2 colors?

The issue I'm having is that the document contains gradients, and I'm not 100% sure if the printer will convert those colors within the gradation to a 4 color process or not.

Can a brush of black that fades to a transparency be used as a shadow gradient over top of the red and still be 2 colors? Can percentages of pantone colors be used?

thanks

 

[bgardner]

I think im confused on the way your wording your question...maybe its just me.

Here goes nothing...Yes you can use 2 Pantones and make gradients

Do you want a gradient that fades from black to red, or do you want it to go from black to white to red?? Either way, You can make this in illustrator very easily, whether you want it as 4color process or black and a pantone it can be done.

I assume you want it just to be a gradient of some sort of shape and not a photograph??

 

[CAM]

Sorry for the confusion...

Its not a matter of knowing how to make a gradient, I can do that.

Here's more detail about my dilemma....

I have a Photoshop file that is now 2 colors(red&black) which is placed in an InDesign file to be eventually printed on newsprint. The objects that I am colorizing are rasterized smart objects. The original file had gradients on a few of the objects. One of the gradients fades from a black to a red, and another from the same red to a white(2 separate objects) I just want to know if it is possible to use percentages of two color values, whether they are spot colors or not, to create a gradient on a 2 color job (ex: having a shade of black over top of the red and disperse, or the red over the white and disperse) I just want to make sure it doesn't require a 4 color process to mimic the change in color within the gradient. I know this can be done with black to white, but not too sure about color on color.

Hopefully this makes more sense...

 

[Brad38CMU]

This is possible, fairly simple actually. You can run a 100% red and overprint the black gradient. I'm still confused a little by the wording of the question, but you can definitely make a gradient from two colors. What type of printing? What's your min dot?

 

[JaimeZ]

Photoshop and Spot Colors--Arrrg!

Now that I got that out of the way. Just convert every thing to two colors K (black) and M (magenta) in Photoshop for the gradients. Then do the same in Indesign for the rest of the layout, separate to the K and M and just use the correct PMS red on press.

There probably is a more precise way of doing it, and someone will probably write to this thread to tell us how easy it is. But this method always works and can be done rather quickly.

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

CAM just be clear at handoffs what you have done. It is much more tricky working with a two colour job than a process job. I would consider not doing the comping in Photoshop but in InDesign. InDesign can view separatons. You can use mixed ink swatches to create two colour jobs. I did a similar job recently, and my rip went inta an "advanced overprint mode" out of memory, as it triggered some previously unused module. There are work arounds etc, but if it is an add just ask the printer how they intend to print it. Better ask bfore than complain after.