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steve28334296fr9y
Participant
February 11, 2023
Answered

Designing a transparent label

  • February 11, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 1428 views

Hi all

I'm pretty new to illustrator so please forgive me if I ask any stupid questions!

I'm trying to design a round transparent label sticker for my granddaughter's class club. It's pretty simple really - just a ice cream cone with the background removed and the words "Ice Cream Club" written at the base of the cone. I've already removed the background from the cone and overlaid the text but the printer says that I have to have a white filled vector later of the cone as a spot colour underneath the actual cone in the separations panel.
I've tried to trace the cone but once it's traced, I can't assign a spot colour to it at all.

Can anyone please help - I think I understand what the printer needs but I'm just not sure how to get it!

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Monika Gause

You could use Window > Imagetrace.

Set it to black and white.

Then use the threshold slider to make it dark.

Also in "Advanced" turn on "Ignore white"

 

When you're done, you need to Expend it. Object > Imge Trace > Expand

 

You didn't tell us how you made the text. If it is Illustrator text, you need to duplicate it.

Then Text > Create Outlines

Then Select the Ice cream trace and the outlined text and in the pathfinder panel click on "Unite"

 

Fill this with white as per the specifications of the print service. The fill might need to be set to overprint or it might need to be set up as a spot color or something else. Ask them.

2 replies

Luke Jennings3
Community Expert
Luke Jennings3Community Expert
Community Expert
February 11, 2023

Create the spot color white in your swatches, call it "White" or whatever name your printer requires, you will need to have the spot color under all other ink and all other ink will need to be set to overprint the spot white ink. You can add a 10% cyan tint to the spot white, to make it easier to see on your final pdf, it will print as white only.

S
steve28334296fr9yAuthor
Participant
February 11, 2023

Thanks all but is there some function of auto trace that will automatically trace the outline for me? My use of a pen is rather limited due to arthritis so I find it hard to be precise while holding a pen!

 

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
February 11, 2023

You could use Window > Imagetrace.

Set it to black and white.

Then use the threshold slider to make it dark.

Also in "Advanced" turn on "Ignore white"

 

When you're done, you need to Expend it. Object > Imge Trace > Expand

 

You didn't tell us how you made the text. If it is Illustrator text, you need to duplicate it.

Then Text > Create Outlines

Then Select the Ice cream trace and the outlined text and in the pathfinder panel click on "Unite"

 

Fill this with white as per the specifications of the print service. The fill might need to be set to overprint or it might need to be set up as a spot color or something else. Ask them.

    Rene Andritsch
    Community Expert
    Rene AndritschCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 11, 2023

    The printer will probably have the white “layer” as a base to print the other stuff on. Usually it is sufficient if you color the underlying cone with Magenta or Cyan. Either color should not be part of the design. As the printer if it is ok if you use one of the two colors as a spot color.

    S
    steve28334296fr9yAuthor
    Participant
    February 11, 2023

    But how do I colour the cone with a solid colour in illustrator? He also said it needs to be a vector as opposed to pixels (which the actual cone is)?

    Scott Falkner
    Community Expert
    Scott FalknerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 11, 2023

    Open the Swatches panel and select New Swatch from the flyout menu (hamburder at top right). Give the swatch a name, like “Spot White” and select Spot Color as the color type.

    The swatch will appear in the Swatches panel with a black dot on it, which indicates it is a spot colour.

    Apply it as a fill for a path you draw using the pen tool or any other drawing tools. You can overlap shapes, like a circle and a triangle to make the cone.

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