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Chris P. Bacon
Chris P. Bacon
Inspiring
February 27, 2023
Question

How do I color black and white content in PhotoShop so that colors can be removed before printing?

  • February 27, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 1377 views

I create physical paper collages with black, white, and colored paper of digital content that I print out with a black and white printer, and I will color it with brush pens.

But I build the collage first in PhotoShop (I might sell it digitally too).

I want to color it first in PhotoShop to see how it will look.

But my printer is black and white and I want to color it by hand so there is no point to to send it to the printer with colors on, so I want to remove them before I print them, and of course I would save the colored version beforehand for reference.

Desaturating the image after coloring that is not sufficient, I create raw black and white images first for my collage, and I want to get them back as they were created originally, without any colors applied.

I would like to be able to save the created coloring within the black and white file so that I could call the colors back and modify them anytime I want, and then be able to hide them again before printing.

How do I do that?

 

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2 replies

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 27, 2023

You could do the Coloring with Solid Color Layers set to »Multiply« for example. (Naturally coloring with opaque colors including white would need to be handles differently.) 

Hiding all Solid Color Layers can then be automated before outputting the file for printing. 

 

How exactly do you hand-color the images? 

Essentially subtractively (with water colors etc.) or do you use opaque colors? 

 

Please post an example (pre and post coloring). 

Chris P. Bacon
Chris P. BaconAuthor
Inspiring
February 27, 2023

I can post an example after I actually created the first.

I am coloring my paper collage with brush pens, yes they are water color based (Sakura Koi & Tombow brush pens), so that is subtractive.

Thanks, I will see how it's going with the method you said.

In fact, I think I can first finalize the collage and print it, and color it only after in PhotoShop, and then color it on the paper. In this case I wouldn't need to undo all colors in PhotoShop.

 

    Jumpenjax
    Community Expert
    JumpenjaxCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 27, 2023

    Create your collage, save a psd. Flatten and save as jpeg. Then go image /mode/lab color. Then go to channels/ through away layer b and Alpha 2, then go image/ grayscale. This will hold the same consistency with all photos.

    Lee- Graphic Designer, Print Specialist, Photographer
    c.pfaffenbichler
    Community Expert
    c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 27, 2023
    @Jumpenjax wrote:

    Create your collage, save a psd. Flatten and save as jpeg. Then go image /mode/lab color. Then go to channels/ through away layer b and Alpha 2, then go image/ grayscale. This will hold the same consistency with all photos.

    Simply selecting the Lightness-Channel in the Channels Panel and converting to (the correct) Grayscale should suffice. 

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