For the Fixup to do what it promises, the following conditions must be met:

• Text must still be available as text in the PDF so that a Spot Color separation can be created for the text.
• The print file should not have been yet reduced to pixels and vectors through transparency reduction.

Figure 1:  Left: The tab Basic settings in the dialog Create Spot Color Separation for Object Type; Right: The Advanced tab in the dialog Create Spot Color Separation for Object Type

The following options are available to create a Spot Color separation for object types:

• Templates [1] –  Settings that are selected in the dialog can be saved as a template and thus applied to other Articles/Print Items.

Basic Settings

• Apply to [2] – select the object types for which a Spot Color separation should be created from the drop-down menu. The following options are available:
  • Images – a separation is only created for images.
  • Vectors – a separation is only created for vectors.
  • Text – nur für Texte wird eine Separation erzeugt.
  • Text and Vectors – a separation is only created for texts and vectors.
  • Variable Content [10] – select the desired placeholder - database field or user-defined field - from which the value for the object type should be retrieved. The following values must be present in the selected field so that the selection is executed:
    • Image
    • Vector
    • Text
    • Text_Vector
• Limit to Objects with CMYK Values [3] – activate this option when restricting the selected object type to the entered CMYK values. To do this, enter the desired CMYK values so that a Spot Color separation is only created for the selected object type in the specified CMYK value.
• Limit to Objects using the Spot Color [4] – activate this option when restricting the selected object type to the entered Spot Color. To do this, select a Spot Color in the selection menu so that a Spot Color separation is only generated for the selected object type in the selected Spot Color.
• Invert Search [5] – Activate this option if the Spot Color separation should be inverted (reversed). This means that a separation is not created for the selected object type but for all other object types in the file.
• Create Spot Color Channel [6] – select a Spot Color from the selection menu with which the Spot Color channel should be created. All system-wide defined Spot Colors that are output as a separation are available.
• Overprint State [7] –  select the overprint status for the separation here. Choose between Overprint and Knockout.
• Tonal Value [8] – the color value of the fill color can be reduced by moving the slider or entering the percentage values.
• Opacity [9] – the opacity of the fill color can be reduced by moving the slider or entering the percentage values.

Advanced

• Quality [11] – in the selection menu, select how precisely the printable objects of the Print Item should be traced to create the white separation. The more ornate and the smaller the Print Items are, the more precisely they should be traced. Please note, however, that more precise tracing also takes considerably more time. The following options are available:
  • Accurate – the objects are traced very precisely but somewhat more slowly. The resolution of the tracing depends on the size of the object. The following resolution is stored depending on the size:
    • With a width or height of up to 300 mm tracing is performed at 1200 dpi.
    • When the size of the width or height is up to 1000 mm, the tracing is carried out at 800 dpi.
    • When the width or height is up to 2000 mm, the tracing is done at 600 dpi.
    • When the width or height is greater than 2000 mm, the tracing is done at 300 dpi.
  • Fast – the objects are traced accurately yet fast. The resolution of the tracing depends on the size of the object. The following resolution is stored depending on the size:
    • With a width or height of up to 300 mm, tracing is performed at 600 dpi.
    • When the size of the width or height is up to 1000 mm, the tracing is carried out at 300 dpi.
    • When the size of the width or height is up to 2000 mm, the tracing is done at 150 dpi.
    • When the width or height is greater than 2000 mm, the tracing is done at 100 dpi.
  • Custom – select the resolution with which the objects are to be traced. To do this, enter the desired resolution in the field provided.
  • Variable Content [15] – select the desired placeholder - database field or user-defined field - from which the value for the quality should be retrieved. The following values must be found in the selected field so that the selection is executed:
    • Accurate
    • Fast
    • Custom
• Resolution [12] – enter the desired resolution for tracing the objects. For the Variable Content [16], select the desired placeholder - database field or user-defined field - from which the value for the user-defined resolution should be retrieved.
• Layer Name [13] – enter the name of the Layer on which the white separation should be created. When no separate Layer should be created, remove the name from the input field. For the Variable Content [17], select the desired placeholder - database field or user-defined field - from which the value for the layer name should be retrieved.
• Conformity of Processing Steps according to ISO 19593-1 [14] – a white separation should be created by default according to ISO 19593-1 on the White layer in the White group of the White type. Further information on the ISO standard can be found in the description Processing Steps ISO 15931-1.

Figure 2: Left: The values in the selected field for the option Apply to; Right: The values in the selected field for the option Quality

To experiment with this function, refer to the sample file "Sample_Separation for selected Object.pdf". A Spot Color Separation should be created for the text within the file.

After applying the Fixup, the file "Sample_Separation for selected Object_End.pdf" is created, where a Spot Color Separation has been created for the text. The values from Figure 1 were used for this example.

Figure 3: Left: Initial file; Right: Edited file for which a Spot Color Separation was created

Article update: Workflow 1.17.2 – 04/2024