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Good Venture
Good Venture
Known Participant
July 18, 2023
Question

how to export psd with pantone spot colour

  • July 18, 2023
  • 4 replies
  • 9308 views

Hi everyone

 

I'm trying to export an artwork created in Photoshop that uses a solid colour level as a background set to Pantone 485 C. Later, I want to use the .psd or .tiff file - exported to CMYK - in InDesign, where I'm adding text and finalise the artwork. 

 

Is there a specific process to follow to preserve the spot colour when exporting files from Photoshop? Because at the moment the file I've exported is not recognised by the printer.

Instead, another file created in InDesign - and exported to CMYK - that uses as background for the same Pantone 485 C is working fine with the printer and they where able to index the colour for printing. 

 

Thank you!

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    4 replies

    K
    kekeko
    Participating Frequently
    February 27, 2024

    Hello there! 
    Did you find a solution for that issue? I am dealing with the same thing now. The only thing is that I am placing this spot color psd in Illustrator and not InDesign.
    Thank you! 

    c.pfaffenbichler
    Community Expert
    c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 27, 2024

    Please describe the actual problem and post meaningful screenshots. 

    Or better yet provide the psd and the ai-file. 

      c.pfaffenbichler
      Community Expert
      c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 19, 2023
      quote

      To export a PSD file with Pantone spot color and incorporate Lingo translation words, you can follow these steps. First, open your PSD file in Adobe Photoshop. Ensure that the layers you want to export with spot color are properly organized. Next, go to the "Window" menu and select "Swatches" to access the swatch panel. In the swatch panel, choose the Pantone spot color you want to use by clicking on it. Apply this color to the desired layers or elements in your design. Once the spot color is applied, go to the "File" menu and select "Save As." Choose a destination folder and select the PSD format. In the saving options dialog, make sure to check the "Include Spot Colors" checkbox. Proceed with saving the file. Now, to add Lingo translation, open Lingo and create a new project. Import the exported PSD file into Lingo, and Lingo will automatically extract the text content from your design. From there, you can input the translation words for each language in Lingo's interface. Once the translations are complete, Lingo allows you to export the translated content in various formats, such as JSON, XML, or even directly into your development environment. This way, you can export a PSD with Pantone spot color and incorporate Lingo translation words seamlessly.


      By @Gatver31174288kawx

      Why translate?

      Are you sure you are talking about Photoshop? How do you imagine you would apply a Spot Color to a Layer? 

        c.pfaffenbichler
        Community Expert
        c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        July 19, 2023

        Could you please post screenshots with the pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Channels, Options Bar, …) visible? 

         

        Spot Channels in psd should work fine, what exactly do you mean by 

        »Because at the moment the file I've exported is not recognised by the printer.«

        ? What format did you export? Why Export and not Save As or Save a Copy? from which application are you printing? 

          Good Venture
          Good VentureAuthor
          Known Participant
          July 24, 2023

          Hey! 

           

          I've posted the screenshot below. 

           

          To answer your questions... I mean that, during the printing phase, the PANTONE 485 C spot colour used in the file is not recognised - to the best of my knowledge, this is due to the missing spot channel (which I've now fixed) and how the files are saved. 

           

          Yes, by export I mean "Save as..". What is important to notice is that I will have to import the file created in Photoshop in InDesign and later save the file again. During this particular step, I find it tricky to retain the spot colour. 

           

           

           

          c.pfaffenbichler
          Community Expert
          c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          July 24, 2023

          If you place the image in Indesign anway just stick with psd. 

          Stephen Marsh
          Community Expert
          Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          July 18, 2023

          You need a spot colour channel, with the appropriate name and alternate colour values for composite preview (Lab, RGB or CMYK). You need to create any knockouts in the spot channel as the CMYK data overprints by default. Finally Save as Photoshop PDF checking the retain spot channels checkbox (legacy workflows would have used DCS 2 EPS). Always a good idea to first save and keep a PSD version.

           

          https://helpx.adobe.com/au/photoshop/using/file-formats.html

           

          https://helpx.adobe.com/au/photoshop/using/channel-basics.html

           

          https://helpx.adobe.com/au/photoshop/using/printing-spot-colors.html

          https://prepression.blogspot.com/2022/12/photoshop-2022-pantone-color-book.html

           

            Good Venture
            Good VentureAuthor
            Known Participant
            July 24, 2023

            Hey Steve, thanks for your reply! Very useful and concise. I've managed to create the spot channel, but I can't find the option to retain spot channels when saving the file as Photoshop PDF.

            c.pfaffenbichler
            Community Expert
            c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            July 24, 2023

            Could you please post screenshots with the pertinent Panels (Toolbar, Layers, Channels, Options Bar, …) visible? 

             

            Spot Channels in pdf work fine here, please provide the file and the resulting pdf. 

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