Colour Overlay versus Monotone

S
Posted By
SerayaH
Feb 23, 2004
Views
183
Replies
1
Status
Closed
Hi,

I’ve made a chrome effect with some type and have applied the colour overlay command under layer effects. I chose a pantone colour because I’d like to reproduce the file using one colour on a printing press. I wasn’t sure if this would work so I duplicated the file, changed the colour mode to grayscale and then made it into a monotone using the same pantone spot colour. The problem is that when I do that the colour isn’t as bright as it was using the colour overlay effect. Even when I fiddle around with the curve in the monotone dialogue, I can’t get it to match the colour overlay look.

I just wondered if it was possible to output a file successfully using the colour overlay effect – will it output as one colour or do I need to go the monotone route? If I do have to make it a monotone, how can I get the tones to look like the colour overlay effect?

Any help here would be much appreciated.

Seraya
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Paul_Hokanson
Feb 23, 2004
Seraya,

Your first method of using color overlay will not produce a file that will print using only one spot color.

As you’ve already done, the file must be converted to grayscale. Once it’s grayscale you can place it into a layout program like InDesign and apply your spot color to it. If this file will not be part of a layout (ie: you’re just creating the art in Photoshop and delivering it to the printer), then save the file as grayscale and simply instruct the printer what spot color you’d like it printed with. Keep in mind that printing with just a single color (especially a light color on a white page) will result in a final output that is weak in shadow detail and contrast. You may want to sample some duotones and use black as one of the colors to increase shadow information.

Even when I fiddle around with the curve in the monotone dialogue, I can’t get it to match the colour overlay look.

You probably chose an overlay color that was out of gamut for CMYK inks. When you choose a spot color (not a process color) you can achieve results you cannot get using a 4 color mix, but its still difficult to reproduce much of the RGB spectrum without going to some alternative printing type.

The more muted colors you’ll see on your screen with a properly setup CMYK preview is much more accurate and you should use this as a benchmark.

Good luck.

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