Rich Black.

[default2k8myt4f8gge]

Hi I hope somebody can help me.

I am trying to change a folder of 100+ logo's from a colour black to a Rich colour black. I would like to run a script but in the process I also need to remove colours of white. If anybody could help me achieve this let me know. Also, if you need more info please help!

[Test Screen Name]

What do you mean by "remove colours of white"?

- delete objects that are white

- change white objects to another colour?

consider carefully what you would want to happen in multi-colour objects such as 

- red text outlined in white

- white text outlined in red

- a gradient from white to red

finally remember that white objects are often a needed part of the design, to hide what is behind. So removing white circle over a page could leave behind the background. 

[hhas01]

It will help readers understand your requirements if you can post before and after screenshots of a few example logos.

(If you can’t post the actual logos for copyright/confidentiality reasons, some representative mockups will do.)

[default2k8myt4f8gge]

Sorry, I will try to explain further.

I have around 1000 logo's all as .eps

I need to remove the white from the logo's so it is just the black that is part of the vector.

From there I need to change the 'black' to 'Rich Black' to make it print ready.

I understand that there may be a few discrepencies however, I can go back through and adjust the few that havent worked manually.

If you need any more to help me, let me know.

Thanks for your time.

- Ryan

[hhas01]

It sounds like you want to automate the following manual process:

1. Choose Select > All 

2. Choose Object > Compound Path > Make

3. Set the new object’s fill in the Colors palette.

That is something you may be able to automate just by recording those GUI actions in the Actions palette as you perform them manually on one artwork, then replay those recorded actions on all the rest.

If you prefer a scripted solution, here is a simple JavaScript to convert a set of overlapping black and white paths to a single compound (knockout) path and recolor it:

var doc = app.activeDocument

// the layer containing the original artwork
var layer = doc.layers[0]

// create a new compound path
var compoundPath = layer.compoundPathItems.add()
compoundPath.artworkKnockout = KnockoutState.ENABLED

// for simplicity, we'll assume the original artwork contains ungrouped simple paths only
// dealing with text, compound paths, groups, etc is left as an exercise 

// move all paths into new compound path, preserving their order
while (layer.pathItems.length > 0) {
	var item = layer.pathItems[layer.pathItems.length-1]
	// we'll also assume that all paths are filled CMYK black or CMYK white, and unstroked
	var isWhite = item.fillColor.black < 50
	// move this path into the compoundPath
	item.move(compoundPath, ElementPlacement.INSIDE)
	// set it to appear solid/transparent according to its color
	item.artworkKnockout = KnockoutState.ENABLED
    item.polarity = isWhite ? PolarityValues.POSITIVE : PolarityValues.NEGATIVE
}

// define your rich black colors here (0 to 100 percent)
var richBlack = new CMYKColor()
richBlack.black = 100
richBlack.cyan = 60
richBlack.magenta = 40
richBlack.yellow = 40

// set the color of the compound path (this is counterintuitive but works)
compoundPath.pathItems[0].fillColor = richBlack

Save that as (e.g.) “Knockout to Rich Black.jsx” then run it from File > Scripts > Other Script. (You can also put the .jsx file into AI’s Scripts folder to make it permanently appear in that menu.)

To keep the code simple I have assumed that each artwork file has a single layer containing only CMYK black and CMYK white filled paths stacked one atop another. This may or may not be sufficient depending on how your original artworks were built; e.g. if your artworks can contain a mixture of simple paths, compound paths, text frames, etc, or you have multiple logos per file, then extra code will be needed to handle those correctly. (If you need additional work done, you are welcome to DM me.)