Silkscreen Print Design - Creating Colour
Separations
This is
a brief tutorial to help you get started with your
design for Silkscreen Printing your CD or DVD
discs. The information provided here is based an
assumption that you have a reasonable working
knowledge of Adobe Illustrator or similar
professional graphic design programs - the
principles are generally the same.
The most important thing about designing for
Silkscreen Printing is creating colour separations.
In other words, you must be able to separate and
isolate each individual colour from every other
colour in the design. The easiest way to do this is
to design each colour on its own design layer.
Looking at the ‘layer menu’ in the sample design
shown below (you can click on the image to view
it full-size), you will see that the design is
based on three colours (109C Yellow, 072C Blue, and
White) with each individual colour being isolated on
its own design layer.
Even
though there are seven horizontal yellow stripes in
the sample design, if they are all the same colour
(in this case they are all Pantone 109C) they all
must go on the same design layer. If one of the
yellow stripes was a different shade than the rest
(for example, if one of the stripes was Pantone
102C) it would have to go on a design layer of its
own, and the design would then be comprised of four
separate colours (109C, 102C, 072C, and White)
instead of three.You will also note that the design
layers are positioned below the template layer -
which is exactly how it should be done.
Remember:
-
There are a maximum
of six colours that can be Silkscreen Printed on
your disc (including white). At Precision Disc our
quotations normally include up to five colours in
the price (including white).
-
Your design colours
must always be specified as Pantone “Solid Coated”
colours. The correct designation for Solid Coated
colours is “C” - for example “Pantone 109C”.
-
Unless you are
experienced with Silkscreen Printing design you
should not design using transparencies or other
effects that use less than 100% solid colour; such
as drop shadows, gradients, and half-tones. Even
though these effects look smooth and solid when
viewed on your computer monitor, they actually
print as a dot pattern and are very difficult to
work with.
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