Can we have nicer gradient when we use spot color to gradient?
Look like the tone was mixed with desaturated tone at the middle part when we use pantone / spot colour we created.
When we output to print, the desaturated tone is still visible.
Attached the screenshot for your reference. Thank you!
Graphic Department
shared this idea
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Yes, the 'more stops' method indeed just shifts the transition. And if you mix two spots, you get two of grayish bands :) But in some cases having a band in the other place rather than in a middle can be enough to hide the fact — especially together with the second 'overprint' method used.
Glad you figured it out and it works for you!
Please also note that Pantones are different. Some inks are more opaque than others, so you should always test these and consult with printing shops before printing a large batch. -
Thanks for your reply and suggestion!
I've try to place more stops , but the desaturated tone still there, it just move up to the part where the blending start .
Adding an overprint layer on top and shift the transition slightly to cover the bottom layer works! We output to print and the colour blend nicely and the pantone colour looks accurate. Hope it works well for other spot colour too.We will use this method for our future jobs! Thanks again for your help!
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I see exactly what you mean, but it’s never this simple.
When you use spot colors (which are separate inks, especially in gradients), it is implied that we know what we do and are responsible for the final output. Mixing CMYK with spots is never an easy task for any print shop — just because of the physics of the color you are witnessing.If you check Separations Preview panel, and toggle CMYK composite and used spot channels, you will see Illustrator plays fair: inks gets blended into zero, cross-fading into each other. There is no automated trickery that can suit any case, it all relies on our perception and the task we are having.
Sometimes we can make a darker color to be overprinted and shift the transition slightly, to make the top ink cover the bottom one slightly, and setup both separately. Won’t really work if both colors have the same luminosity.
A safer solution would be to introduce intermediate stops into the gradient.
You can do this manually, or with help of auxiliary tools, like Gradient Blender script by Sergey Osokin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3FG0g5yDm8).There is a also separate request for different blending methods for gradients: https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/45171784-lch-gradients
If you wish, I can merge this one into it.
