Create, Edit or View a Spot Color

The Spot Color Editor window is used to edit, create, display and store spot colors, including PANTONE and PANTONE Goe colors. Properties of all colors can be viewed, and custom colors can be edited or deleted.

Use this tool if a file contains spot colors that need to be slightly revised after printing.

The Spot Color Editor window allows for a selection from an array of color variations to change the cyan, magenta, yellow and black (C, M, Y and K) values of a spot color recipe or create new spot colors.

A swatch of a set of colors can be printed or a proof of a color being edited can be printed.

How to Determine if a File Contains Spot Colors:

To determine whether the file contains spot colors, either:

• Look at a paper job ticket that has the the spot colors listed

• Right-click on the job and select [Preflight]. Adjust the properties to include looking for spot colors and review the Preflight report to see if any spot colors are located in the file.

To set the Preflight properties to locate spot colors:

1. Right-click on the job, select [Preflight], then [Setup].

2. Place a check mark in the [Spot colors] box and select [OK].

3. Select [Preflight] again.

4. Select [View Report]. View the report for any spot colors located in the file. The report will indicate the number of "plates" being used and will list any spot colors in the file.

Edit, View or Create Spot Colors:

To view a list of existing spot colors, edit a spot color, create a new spot color, or to run a print sample of a spot color, open the Spot Color List window.

NOTE: The Spot Color List window will automatically display the most recent list of PANTONE colors and updated custom destination profiles.

NOTE: Refer to the FreeFlow Online Help for information about all the functions that can be performed in the Spot Color Editor.

1. Select the Spot Color icon on the main Print Server window or select [Color] then [Spot Color List]. The Spot Color List window will be displayed showing an organized list of your PANTONE and custom spot colors.
   
   
   
   

2. To create a new custom spot color, select [New Color].

3. To edit an existing spot color, double-click on the spot color to adjust, and select [Edit Color]. The Spot Color Editor window will be displayed with the values of the currently selected spot color from the Spot Color List.
   
   
   
   If editing a spot color, the name of the selected spot color displays in the Color Name field; the name cannot be changed. If creating a new spot color, enter the name of the new color in the Color Name field.
   
   The center color in the Spot Color window represents the color currently being worked on. Color variations are arranged around the center color. Each line from the center includes two variation steps with more or less of a particular color for each of the four process colors (CMYK).

4. Click on any of the color variation circles to set that color as the new center color in the diagram and produce a new set of color variations in the increments specified. Or, you can manually enter the center CMYK values into the Center Color Adjusted boxes.

5. At any time, select [Reset] to change the C, M, Y and K values back to the original values.

6. Use the Color Variations pulldown list to select the size of the color variation increments. Begin with the default; Medium 5% increments. Use an amount less than 5% to get a closer match.

7. Select [Print Sample] to print the variations of the Spot Color.

8. From the Print Spot Color Sample window, specify the queue to submit the sample to and whether to print the sample now or as a regular job. Select [OK] to print the sample with the current color and variations.
   
   IMPORTANT: When specifying a queue, make sure to select a queue that has Spot Color Processing enabled for the most accurate results.
   
   

9. When the sample document prints, the Spot Color Selector window will be displayed. Keep this window open until a good match is made. Compare the print sample document to the variations in the window to determine which variation most closely matches the spot color. The printed sample contains numbers corresponding to the variation. From the print sample document, the CMYK values listed can be used for each color to recreate a color by typing those values into the CMYK boxes on the Spot Color Editor window.
   
   NOTE: To identify and track each sample document printed, a unique ID number is listed in the upper, left corner of every sample document.
   
   

10. To continue adjusting a spot color and produce different color variations, select [Edit Color]. The Spot Color Selector window will close and the Spot Color Editor window will be displayed.

11. To print a new sample document, select [Print Sample] and view the new spot color variation results.

12. To select the best matching spot color from the Spot Color Selector window, either click on the numbered color variation circle or enter the number of the selected spot color in the Best Match field. Use the numbers to identify and match up to the variations on the window.

13. When a good match is reached, select [Done Editing]. The spot color will be edited or created and the Spot Color Selector window will close. The Spot Color List will be displayed with the updated or new spot color.
    
    NOTE: When the Spot Color Dictionary is updated with a profile, the spot color edits are not retained.