Uses color separations, i.e. color channels separated into individual image files and combines them into a single image by overlaying them on top of each other, coloring each individual layer to create the final image. Similar to the process of screenprinting, but in the digital space. Images created with ColorCombine are treated just as regular images are so they can be edited, scaled, used in Step&Repeat Patterns, and so on.
ColorCombine is applied directly upon importing the image files. Using one of the ColorCombine import mode will automatically bring up the ColorCombine dialog, letting you adjust your settings, coloring the individual layers, customizing the halftone screening, etc.
Currently supported formats for ColorCombine are PSD, Black and White Bitmap TIFF files and Grayscale TIFFs.
To import and merge images with ColorCombine, first open the Image Import dialog either by clicking on the Import button in the Toolbar, going to File > Import Image... or by right clicking on an empty area in a Job and selecting Import Image....
In the Image Import dialog, activate the File Type dropdown and select ColorCombine (*.tif, *.tiff, *.psd, *.psb). With Color Combine selected, you can now choose one or more images from the file browser as usual (Click drag, ctrl-click, or shift-click in the File Browser to select multiple files).
With the files you want to combine selected, confirm by clicking Open. This will automatically bring up the Color Combine window where you can configure how the images will be merged. Note that once the images are merged, you can always re-edit the combined file by right-clicking it and selecting Edit ColorCombine Layers.
The ColorCombine feature offers a large range of different feature to configure your layers, from colors, to repetitions, halftone screening and others. You might not need all of them for your application, so you can safely ignore those you don’t need or leave them at the their default values. The different types of functions are grouped in tabs at the top of the dialog. The most important one is Coloration, as it deals with the colors for the different layers, but depending on what you are looking to do, the others can be very useful too.
When the
ColorCombine window first comes up, it will default to the coloration tab with
the layer list at the center. The layer list reflects the images/color layers
that make up the ColorCombine image. This is also where we can assign a color
to each layer to affect the final look of the combined image.
By default, each color will be assigned a value in CMYK, but you can change
those any time using the tools at the top of the list. To the right of the list
you’ll see the list tools that allow you to move between list entries, delete
layers/image or add new ones. Below the color list you’ll see a preview of the
currently selected layer in its original black and white.
Lets have a look at what the individual tools do:
Preview: Generates a preview of what the combined and colorized image will look like with the current settings.
Show Color Info: Brings up the Color Info window that lets you see color recipes for the different colors in CMYK, LAB, or RGB.
Show Raster Info: Brings up the Raster Info window that shows the raster settings for the currently selected layer. Note that this is only available if Activate Halftone Screening is turned on in the halftone screening tab (If Activate Halftone Screening is unchecked the regular Ergosoft raster is used, so there are no halftone raster settings to display).
ColorPicker: Lets you select a color for the selected layer using the ColorPicker Tool
Swatchbook: Lets you select a color for the selected layer using the Swatchbook Tool
Named Colors: Lets you select a color for the selected layer using the Named Color Tool
Measure Color: Lets you select a color for the selected layer using the Measure Color Tool
Opacity: Found below the layer preview, this controls the opacity for the channel and its color.
To colorize a list entry, select it and access the ColorPicker, Swatchbook, Named Color or Measure Color Tools above the color list.
Theres also some additional tools you can use for your colorizations:
Save as Swatchbook: Saves all the colors for your layers into a swatchbook, using the layer name as the name for the color entry.
Export...: Exports your ColorCombine layer configuration as a *.ccx file so you can easily reload your settings later.
The halftone screening tab lets you control the rasterization when the individual layers are combined. To customize your halftone screening instead of using the regular Ergosoft rastering method, check the Activate halftone screening box at the top of the dialog. Note that halftone screening is not available for Bitmap TIFF files.
The dropdown menu near the top lets you select between different saved screening configurations. To save a screening configuration for later use and make it available here, adjust the settings and click the Save... button at the bottom of the dialog. Note that if you activate Change to alter screening settings, the dropdown will automatically change to Custom Settings and become inacessible. To go back to a Saved setting from the dropdown, simply uncheck the Change box again.
The Screening Parameter List at the center of the dialog lists the different settings for screen dots that are currently configured. Each entry consists of an angle, shape, frequency and dot gain curve for that particular sets of dots. Whenever one of these types of dots is used, it will be with those settings. You can alter the settings any time by activating the Change box and clicking the Edit... button.
To see which dot type is applied to which screen, go to the Coloration tab of ColorCombine and click the Show RasterInfo Settings button. This will open a small window showing the rasterinfo settings for the selected layer.
By default the buttons to edit the screens in the list will be greyed out, if you want to adjust the screens, check the Change box above the list.
Move Up/Move Down: Moves the selected screen up or down in the list
Add: Adds a new screen to the list and opens the configuration window for the new screen.
Delete: Deletes the currently selected screen.
Edit: Opens the settings for the currently selected screen so you can edit them. Change the angle, shape and frequency of raster dots and customize the dot gain curve for the screen. Note that you’ll need to turn on the Activate Curve checkbox at the top of the halftone screening dialog for custom dot gain curves to take effect.
Apply same shape / frequency / dot gain / dot amplitude / dot pixel noise: These checkboxes ensure that the respective settings all stay the same for all screens. E.g. when Apply same shape is checked, changing the dot shape in one screen will automatically change it for all other screens as well. To allow for different settings between screens, simply uncheck the respective box.
The Options tab contains some settings relating to ColorCombine itself.
Activating Print Color Sample will print sample patches of the colors used to color the individual ColorCombine layers next to the combined image. Use width and Height to configure how large individual patches can be and use Max. Total Patch Width to set a maximum width for the patches area that should not be exceeded.
Allow Editing of Device colors enables device color input into the ColorPicker Tool in Coloration. If this is unchecked, direct entering of device colors there is disabled input can only be done in RGB and LAB.
Combine as set the colorspace into which the layers/image files are combined, regardless of what the input color space of the image files is.
Using Combine as LAB, the different image files/layers are combined into an LAB image.
Using Combine as Device, the different image files/layers are combined into the colorspace of the color profile in the currently selected Print Environment (E.g. CMYK for a regular 4C Print Environment).
Using Combine as Spectral, the different image files/layers are combined into an LAB image using a special algorythm that takes into account measured spectral values. If this is used but the coloration colors do not have spectral values, ColorCombine will attempt to extrapolate suitable values from LAB.
Allow definition of mixed colors: Lets you define specific colors to be used when two or more layers overlap. For example if your 1st and 2nd layer have overlapping areas, but you do not want those areas to be printed by simply printing these two colors over each other but want to use an entirely different color instead. Activating Allow definition of mixed colors, lets you do that by selecting multiple layers in the coloration tab and specifying a specific color that will be used only in areas where the two overlap.
The Overprint Parameter settings deals with the behavior when multiple layers overlap.
Color Absorption sets how much color each layer absorbs. This
can be thought of as how much colors can mix when mutliple colors overlap. The
list has 6 entries by default since is the maximum commonly used in traditional
screenprinting (The entries do not
have a direct relation to the number of colors in the Print Environment or the
number of layers in your coloration). The order of the colors relates to the
order in which they are printed, so the number 1 is always the first
layer/color that is printed onto the material, 2 the second and so on.
The higher the absorption value, the more the color can mix. 100% allows for
maximum «mixing». When two colors with 100% absorption overlap, both colors
will be printed with 50%. If 3 100% colors overlap, each is printed with 33.3 %
and so on. An absorption of 0% means that the color does not mix at all, i.e.
it overwrites any colors that are printed before it.
First Printed Color has the highest absorption / Last Printed Color has the highest absorption: Sets the general absorption behavior for the printed layers. High absorption means mixing potential, so First printed color has highest absorption means that the first color printed will mix with the second a lot, the second will mix less, and so on.
Presets: Lets you save and load sets of Options to quickly access them at a later date. If you find yourself using a differents sets of options frequently, it can be helpful to save them as presets so you can load different ones quickly.
Once you have configured all the settings to your liking, you can either use the Preview button to show you what your combined file looks like, or you can confirm the ColorCombine dialog with Ok to create your image.
Once created, you can edit the ColorCombine image like any other by scaling, croping, tiling it, etc. you can also change the ColorCombine parameters again at any time by right-clicking it and selecting Edit ColorCombine Layers