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turner111
Inspiring
April 17, 2019
Question

Previewing a white spot color?

  • April 17, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 3823 views

Hi all,

I have a design with white objects to be printed on a black t-shirt (as well as other CMYK content).

I'm converting the white to a spot color, and it shows up in the plates list (Illustrator and Acrobat), but I can't figure out how to actually see it...

Everything else shows up normally. Any tips?

thanks

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    4 replies

    M
    Community Expert
    Mariam HovhannesyanCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 17, 2019

    Double-click the "White" swatch in the Swatches Panel insideIllustrator. Change the top dropdown menu to Spot Color: Click Okay. Now select all the white elements in your piece and ensure they are using that swatch for the stroke/fill color.

    T
    turner111Author
    Inspiring
    April 17, 2019

    That's exactly what I did.

    T
    turner111Author
    Inspiring
    April 17, 2019

    Here's what I've got - I can't seem to display just the white (spot) plate. (Black is in place here only to be able to see the white artwork.)

    meganchi
    meganchi
    Legend
    April 17, 2019

    OK, if this is purely so you can see what areas are truly going to print with white ink, then on your white spot color, double-click it and change the cmyk values to another color build that is visible.

    Bottom line for any job sent to a print service bureau is that you can assign the name "white" to any spot ink color. In essence it's just a color separation with a name that gets output to plate (indicating what color should print). It doesn't matter what the color build is, you can rename it "white". Then you can turn off and on the "white" separation to preview the areas assigned to that color.

    J
    jdanek
    Inspiring
    April 17, 2019

    What is the spot color you are using for White? Just apply any spot color that will show up like Pantone Yellow.  That will separate and then any plastisol can be used on press.

    T
    turner111Author
    Inspiring
    April 17, 2019

    No specific color - just white converted to spot.

    J
    jdanek
    Inspiring
    April 18, 2019

    If I am not mistaken, white in Illustrator, as part of the process color system, is no color. It is actually your paper color.

    Sent from my iPhone

    marliton
    Community Expert
    marlitonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 17, 2019

    Hi. You can draw a no-printing Background to simulate the t-shirt color. Also, you can use another color instead of white.

    Marlon Ceballos
    T
    turner111Author
    Inspiring
    April 17, 2019

    Hi marliton,

    thanks for your note!

    Yes, I'm able to simulate the background color (black) but I want to be able to see the white ink where it's actually white. It's not appearing at all right now.

    marliton
    Community Expert
    marlitonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 17, 2019

    Maybe, you have activated the overprint function. Check it in the Attributes panel.

    Marlon Ceballos
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