How can I divide layered concentric circles into independent object rings?

[sonofmrsnak]

Is there an easy way to divide this design so that each color block ring segment is independent? It's currently made with layered concentric circles achieving the look of rings.

I need to be able to select only the gold color segments so that I can knock them out of an underlying white plate.

I don't want to have to rebuild this another way if at all possible. If so, I would have probably created the rings as strokes, and then outlined them.
AI has so many tricks, hoping there is one for this challenge.

[Monika Gause]

The pathfinder "Merge" can do this.

Select them either one by one and apply it. Or select them all at once - your description is not clear to me as to what kind of result you want.

[sonofmrsnak]

Hi Monika, thanks! This is the result I need to achieve (from above): I need to be able to select only the gold color segments so that I can knock them out of an underlying white plate.

The "merge" also separates the underlapping rings underneath into many segments, so this is not quite practical.

I just got the easy solution from the prepress house who will be printing these:

"Since we can use overprints in the white layer, true knockouts are not necessary. You can just use a 0/0/0/0 fill to indicate that. So, just copy the whole shape, set all colors that are to be solid to your white ink spot, and the knockout colors to 0/0/0/0."

Crisis averted!

[Monika Gause]

Please show.

Can you just make a sketch of it? I don't understand what you want it to look like.

[sonofmrsnak]

Hi Monika, appreciate your help, but we may have language difficulties here. I did solve the problem. I'll post how it was separated when I prepare the art tomorrow. Thanks!

[Jacob Bugge · Accepted solution]

son,

How about this reversible way?

1) Select one gold colour circle,

2) Select>Same>Fill Color,

3) Set Opacity to 0 in the Transparency palette,

4) Group everything,

5) Tick Knockout Group in the Transparency palette.

[sonofmrsnak]

This was the solution. Make the knockout white with a CMYK value of 0000. Make all the other rings the spot white (indicated as blue).

This was the preferred solution from my label printer.

[Jacob Bugge]

Thank you for sharing, sonof.