How To Color Separate In Illustrator For Screen Printing

[@Ryonet]

This is just the start of all the cool things you can do in Adobe Illustrator for t-shirt designs. If you’d like to learn more about using Adobe Illustrator for screen printing design, check out this free course: scrnprntl.ink/DesigninIllustrator

[@jessshambaugh3435]

We are new to screen printing and I have come back to this video so many times. Thanks so much for the easy to follow video!

[@beachhousevolleyball587]

This video was REALLY helpful in so many ways. Thanks for taking the time to record this "how to!"

[@raynardoshedrick7186]

I watched your video and didn’t need to look any further. You taught me exactly what I needed.

[@Ryonet]

Fantastic @Raynardo Shedrick ! Love to hear it. Happy printing!

[@Tim.McElheny]

Thanks for posting. I would like to see a video explaining how to compensate for dot gain in Photoshop before printing out the positives. Thank you

[@faizanbaber]

Last guy i watched for screen print tutorial made it so complicated that it felt like an impossible job for me (even though I'm working in illustrator for more than two years now) Thankyou for making it nice and simple! Now it feels like a 2 min job for me

[@faizanbaber]

Can't put it in words how helpful it was, I'm here after doing the work in couple of minutes

[@praxedesserwelas8449]

big help for a newbie in screen printing. i am not an english proficient but i understand this tutorial well because its explained well... thank you...

[@natalievelazquez4527]

This is the best explanation I’ve found. Thank you!! What is Acurip and do I need it I’m order for artwork preparation?

[@Ryonet]

Accurip works with your printer for getting optimal film transparencies. There's a link in the description if you'd like to learn more.

[@Elle_M717]

Awesome video, thanks. Been working with POD clients for far too long and forgot how to do color separations for the screenprint clients. Thank you!

[@Ryonet]

Ah yes, glad you watched and found it helpful. Thank you!

[@kerrybrees1168]

Super instruction! That usually takes three days to learn at university! Thanks for posting this 🙏🏼

[@Ryonet]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@sudds80]

Very much appreciated, awesome and easy to understand video!

[@Ryonet]

Glad it was helpful!

[@theboytheycalljonny1]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@SamuraiJack47]

Thanks That's what i was looking for ;)

[@Ryonet]

Glad to hear it!

[@SamuraiJack47]

@@Ryonet Hoping for more content :)

[@321pillay7]

@@SamuraiJack47 good

[@ParsonsDesigns]

Thanks for the great tips! I have been using Corel draw for year and switched to AI this year 2020 and am loving it so far.

[@devensharma305]

This has to be the cleanest and simply explained video on color separation. Many thanks.

[@chasman20]

How would you print this without using AccuRip? Also, like you, I have 3 spot colors in my design (Pantone 211 C, Pantone Hexachrome Black C and Pantone Trans. White). Would you know why I can click the eye of the Pantone Trans. White but it doesn't turn off the white in the preview. The other 2 colors turn off when I click the eye.

[@Ryonet]

Hey there! Ideally you have RIP software but some things can be done manually. Please reach out to our Support Team and check out this free online Adobe Course! scrnprntl.ink/IllustratorCourse

[@rjdean8913]

Great video, thanks for sharing

[@Ryonet]

Thanks for watching!

[@hermanlopez2945]

That was very helpful. Thanks for the easy to understand and follow

[@gd4490]

It won’t let me create a swatch for my black outline on design without creating a stroke which adds another outline on the outside of my design. Then when I go to separation preview and remove black it turns everything black into a gray instead of removing the black. I’m so confused

[@Ryonet]

Let me know if this helps: Drag the color from your tool bar into your swatch menu. Then double click the color and make it a spot color. Then when you select outline in your toolbar, use the same spot black you just created.

[@brettbowman2336]

Love this, thank you!

[@ronaldpeters5483]

Awesome video!!! Nicely done Luke

[@Joe-ps9ff]

If you were to print the white in the tee in your example, how would you show that separation and how would you gang the three colors on one film?

[@epresley8324]

If the artwork includes a logo with two or more colors, how does that effect the process? GREAT video! THANK YOU!!!

[@HK-eu8mr]

God bless you, sir

[@alexischey9632]

What if you do not have the software to print... how do you go about printing or saving so you can print at like a local staples or printing shop? Is there a certain way we need to save the file since we separated it

[@jeroenbeltman515]

Use the menu item Select > Text Objects to be sure you got all the text object to outline

[@mdriajrahman7123]

I am trying to change composite to separations but my composite is invisible. what should I do now? thanks in advance for your help

[@nabeel1989choudhary]

one of the best video on net please can you make more videos cheers

[@eliashossain2183]

Very helpful content Thank you so much ❤️

[@godsarmorpodcast3367]

Awesome man great job!

[@NorCalScreenPrintSupply]

Great video, Luke!

[@DoRightSb]

When going to print it won’t let me print out separate colors

[@freshbox6228]

How do you do it so it prints dark black. For example I’ll have like a grey color and I’m printing in only black but it’ll print in light black need help with this

[@Ryonet]

For rich, dark black prints, several factors could be affecting the outcome. Give us a call for tailored advice to improve your results. We’re here to help!

[@MistahL]

Awesome video, great information!

[@BURLO96]

Hey bro! I have a question. I’m going to be printing my own designs on t shirts and other stuff, I have the exposure unit, 4 color 1 station, flash dryer and have emulsion coming in. But the one issue is that I don’t have the printer for the film, but my friend does. As long as I supply the film sheets he will print them for me. But he doesn’t have illustrator, I do.. can I send him png of the color separations?

[@Ryonet]

What's up, Dko7a? You could certainly try it. Couple things. Send it as 100% black on each layer and send it separated since your friend wont have the ability to separate on his end. So, if it's a 3 color, send your friend each layer as black to be printed individually. You may have to experiment a little, but nothing wrong with that. Happy printing!

[@BURLO96]

@@Ryonet sounds good, I’ll definitely begin on the trial and error aspects of it soon. Thanks for the response, I wasn’t able to find any results online

[@graphicdesigner4855]

My art is set to spot color but will not show in the separations menu. any thoughts?

[@dumbest_man_alive]

Thanks this was really helpful!

[@Ryonet]

Glad it was helpful!

[@snoozin1957]

Just starting to think about purchasing a screen printer. Love your video, very nicely explained. I have Ai and Acrorip. What printer and film do you recommend?

[@Ryonet]

Hi! If you have accurip, I would encourage you to look up the printers they recommend. As for film, either Baselyr Film or Rite Film will work great!

[@colorpicker9097]

Very Helpful ... Thank You...

[@Ryonet]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jennymoon8159]

Super helpful video!! I have a question for anyone who might be happy to help! If i dont have a Pantone color book and I want the printers/manufacturers to find the closest pantone alternative to my CMYK swatch, would I just create a spot color using this CMYK value like what was done in the video? Would the printers usually know to find Pantone alternative when it is set up this way?

[@Ryonet]

Hi @Jenny Moon! You can create spot color in order for the printer to know what color you are looking for. Having a Pantone guide can be super helpful as well though. i do suggest anyone who is close to screen printing and design having one. hope that helps.

[@jennymoon8159]

@@Ryonet Thank you for your reply Ryonet! :D

[@victor25021983]

since is screen print.. it require black colors ..... how to export the 3 separation colors ( red, blue, black) to picture???

[@Ryonet]

What's up, Victor?! Hope you're good man. yes, the image on the films needs to be black. The more opaque and dense the better. You do this by turning every layer of the image black or letting a RIP software do that work for you. Both are valid. Hope this helps. Happy printing.

[@321pillay7]

Thanks This is very helpful video....

[@Ryonet]

So glad this helped!

[@wapiwap2498]

how to setting output colour becaming printing on black ink colour ?

[@saphiralux4091]

LUKE... Thank god I found you.... Jaime

[@Rachael5673]

This is a nice video. Can you tell me why CMYK show in separations when I link photoshop files to Illustrator?

[@Ryonet]

Something in what you linked - is in cmyk. Turn on and off the cmyk colors to figure out what is currently a CMYK color. Then change that part of the design to a spot color.

[@rorothegoatboat]

recolor an 8 color design into 3-4 colors in photoshop and separate that?

[@Ryonet]

You can manually separate artwork in Illustrator or use separation software!

[@rognroll2786]

Hi, I'm brand new; haven't printed a transparency yet. I have layered all my colors in my artwork. Will this turn out the same as you have done with the spot colors? Or, will I want to relearn it the way you did it?

[@Ryonet]

first question is: Are you using rip software? If yes, it does not matter if you have multiple layers. If no: then you are in need of creating a workaround for printing each color and creating a layer for each color is a good start.

[@colinhuggins6164]

Looking Good!

[@ianfox2107]

Great Video, well done...

[@Ryonet]

Thank you!

[@raniergalvezabad]

What if a client sent you just a png, mot editable not anything just merged flat?

[@Ryonet]

Then you will need to either redraw it as a vector design or separate it in a pixel program like photoshop. The easiest step will be for you to put some pressure on the customer to supply you with usable art, or you charge them accordingly to create usable art.

[@diyaquaticss]

Okay so if I send someone’s logo to Ai will that software automatically separate each item in the graphic? I see you scroll over words and it lets you select each object.

[@Ryonet]

HI Vanessa. There is a lot to unpack when learning how to do color separations in Illustrator. Part of it is just knowing the fundamentals of the program. Some of them being: what is a spot color, Vector Vs Raster, RGB or CMYK etc... There is another video in our library about separating for a base white that goes into those basics a bit deeper. Talking about spot colors and how illustrator sees them. Check that one out and let us know if that helps!

[@variations3]

Hi there, thank you so much for this clear video :) I wanted to ask. I do not have a RIP, I use a HP COLOR LASERJET PRO to print my positives. If I do all of the steps in this video, does it make a difference in terms of how DARK my positive will be If I print to my laser printer from Illustrator vs Photoshop? Do I print directly from Illustrator without a RIP, or do I print my separations to POSTSCRIPT format from Illustrator, make that into a PDF with Preview and then open it up in PHOTOSHOP to print from there?

[@Ryonet]

The drawback to laser printers is that they are programmed to not create a dense black in open areas, just thin areas less than 1/4 inch wide. In the more open areas it conserves toner and makes a much lighter black deposit. You are then tasked with using heat or a spray to increase that black density. On top of this, your best results come from using a semi opaque film, which makes stencil quality sub optimal. So, hitting print from any of those interfaces will give you very similar results.

[@variations3]

@@Ryonet Thank you very much your answer and all of your videos. Warm hellos from the Dominican Rep. :)

[@itspratyushjaiswal]

Helpful

[@Ryonet]

Awesome, glad you found it useful! Check out our new Advanced Photoshop course! scrnprntl.ink/AdvancedPhotoshop1

[@oscarale2747]

What about creating base? if you going to print in colour tees you need a white under base

[@Ryonet]

Hi @Oscar Ale Here are a couple links to some videos that go in depth w/ creating an underbase. Check em out! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqipmHusbNZpd7s kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmLWmqptqdSlsJY

[@perceptivepanda9954]

How do you do this if you have, say, a word blended together @ 5 steps.. and all colors are different?

[@Ryonet]

HI! Are the colors all spot colors? Or is it all cmyk? This makes a huge difference in your ability to separate the design. There are other Illustrator classes you can look at - separating blends may be what you are looking for.

[@perceptivepanda9954]

@@Ryonet They are cmyk colors. I used the blend tool to create 5 lines of the same word above each other, gradually changing color. The colors likely have to be splotted on when actually inking the shirts, huh?

[@Ryonet]

@@perceptivepanda9954 Hi - if you want to print the individual colors, then you will need to find a way to make them "Spot Colors". Otherwise you will need to print it as cmyk, which will be very problematic coming out of illustrator. Try blending the name again, but this time start with Spot Colors and see if that works.

[@NatalyaFurman]

THANK YOU!!!

[@Ryonet]

No problem! Hope this helps!

[@brentwright5761]

One other thing you can do is specify the registration marks with the registration color swatch and it will show up on every transfer sheet without having to make multiple color registration marks.

[@Ryonet]

Good tip!

[@tonyfdesign]

I think he did that?

[@brentwright5761]

Thanks Luke.....my fault......just saw the end when I noticed different colors for the registration marks.....

[@a_gummyw33]

it doesn't give me the composite option, the only thing i can press is the emulsion:(

[@tonyfdesign]

For just three colors, you could skip the spots and use C, M and K and get the same result much faster.

[@user-ir1om4kp2x]

Hey! great video, what is the purpose of registration marks?

[@Ryonet]

hi @吉岡メロ ! Registration marks are a tool for lining up the film on the screen and then the image on press. They are an alignment tool.

[@joshmadrid5253]

what about halftones in illustrator that is a photo like

[@1man1comment63]

i don't have a swatches tab? why?

[@rougeboifilm]

This was a good video I really needed this one. Thanks for the video. O yea what's acurip? I have a canon printer.

[@rougeboifilm]

well what if your not using acurip?

[@ellsworthmingoes6130]

Thanks so much. This is what I needed. This is a life saver. Well explained.

[@Ryonet]

Hi Ellsworth! We're pumped it helped. Happy printing!

[@rommycougar]

how to save please each color separately as png? its saving the whole design when i try to !!

[@rafaelcasa316]

use a virtual printer

[@Dtag1971]

The graphic inside the T-shirt.... Man that would be really really small.... What mesh would you use in that?

[@georgedjmatrix4229]

i would say a 280 or 305 mesh count.

[@brandonapostol9024]

do i need accurip to print the seperations ??

[@Ryonet]

Accurip - or other rip software will make this process simple. You can manually separate it for printing if needed - but you will be dependent on your printers natural ink settings to create an opaque enough film.

[@Martinzvlogs]

what if its 3d text and the text has multiple colors ?

[@Ryonet]

Hi Martin - then you want to look at other separation tutorials like the one by Chuggins that goes over creating a base white. If the design is a raster image or is too complex to separate in Illustrator - then we recommend a separation program like sep studio or learning how to do hand crafted separations in photoshop.

[@masterprinter5029]

7:43 my reference

[@audreykattan7977]

💟

[@rickwallace1845]

What a shortsighted video. seriously. not everyone has accurip or any plug-in software to do seps. Just print the seps like a normal person, use a postscript driver and sep to pdfs. Plus a lot of us produce seps to email far away and are not going directly to a printer. Plus by going the pdf route you can manually gang-up seps on one page to save on film.

[@Ryonet]

Hi @rick wallace, thanks for the feedback!