mixing spot colors

[Drodo webforumsuser@macromedia.com]

How I do create a color combining 2 or more spot colors? (FHMXa)
Lets say I have a pantone blue and yellow, and I want to make a green that when separated is X% of each spot color. I can make a gradient with both colors and choose a tone from the gradient, but something tells me that when I separate it is not going to be Ok.

I suppose that I can create a shape with a spot and put another on top with the other spot (or a % of it) and make it overprint... but that is a guessing game.

I'm missing something obvious here?

Extra of this: I would LOVE to have layer groups, but over all...
more guides layers!

Raul.

[Odysseus]

"\"Drodo\" webforumsuser"@macromedia.com wrote:

>
> How I do create a color combining 2 or more spot colors? (FHMXa)
> Lets say I have a pantone blue and yellow, and I want to make a green that when separated is X% of each spot color. I can make a gradient with both colors and choose a tone from the gradient, but something tells me that when I separate it is not going to be Ok.
>

In FH v8 a two-colour gradient will certainly separate correctly (I'm
a few versions behind). But I don't think there's any way to get a
single mixed colour out of that; if you're talking about some kind of
eyedropper tool in MX I'm pretty sure that will just give you a CMYK
or RGB 'match'.

> I suppose that I can create a shape with a spot and put another on top with the other spot (or a % of it) and make it overprint... but that is a guessing game.
>

That technique certainly works, but it will only show the upper
object on screen or in a composite proof. OTOH even programs that
*do* support mixed colours (the only one I've used is QuarkXPress,
which has had such a feature for quite a while, but I gather that
InDesign CS does now as well) can only show a process simulation of
some kind -- you need a good sense for how the spot colours will
combine, or a specialized swatchbook. If you have Photoshop you can
use its duotone features to get at least a rough idea of how the
colours will look together.

> I'm missing something obvious here?
>

I don't think so -- but I don't have a recent version of FH.

--
Odysseus

[borut19]

Is it posible to mix two spot colors in FreeHand
for example - I need a color with 30 % PANTONE 287 and 100% PANTONE 281.

I need this color coz I want to make a gradient from this color to 100%
pantone 281.

[JET@BB]

Nope.

Give the object a grad fill from 30% 287 to 0% 287. Clone it. Give the clone a
solid fill of 100% 281 and set it to overprint.
It will not display on-screen as desired, but should separate correctly.

JET

[borut19]

that is not working. On output I get only foreground color

I was hopeing that maybe exist some Xtras

Thanx

[Rich Hudgins]

If by output you mean printing a composite print to a desktop printer
then you are correct. What JET was saying is that if you print the
separations, you will see that you get a solid band of 100% Pantone 281
(will print as 100% black) and a gradient from 30% to 0% of Pantone 287
(will print as gray to white), in the same exact spot. This means that
when separated to film and printed on a press the colors will mix as you
want.

Rich

borut19 wrote:

> that is not working. On output I get only foreground color
>
> I was hopeing that maybe exist some Xtras
>
> Thanx