Separation Studio
Split a design into spot-colour screens for screen and rotary printing, with trapping, registration marks, a named colour for each ink and layered PSD export.
Credit Usage
Options & Settings
| Setting | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Screens | Buttons | How many spot colours to separate into. Each one is a physical screen to burn, so the count is what the print run is quoted on. Auto lets the clustering pick. Auto23456789101112 |
| Trapping | Slider | Grows each plate outward so neighbouring inks overlap. Hides the white gaps that appear when the press is slightly out of registration. 0-4 px |
| Add registration marks (every plate) | Toggle | Stamps identical crosshairs on every plate so the press operator can align the screens. |
| Add white under-base | Toggle | Adds a white under-base plate to every export (ZIP, TIFF and PSD). Only needed on dark garments. |
| Output DPI | Presets | Resolution written into the exported plates. It changes the print size, not the pixels. 72150300600 |
| Export | Buttons | A ZIP with one PNG per plate, TIFF plates, or a layered PSD. ZIPTIFFPSD |
When to Use
- Preparing spot-colour screens for a screen-print run
- Quoting a job — the screen count drives the setup cost
- Preparing files for rotary screen printing
- Generating individual colour layers for engraving
Pro Tips
Fewer screens is a cheaper print run — start low and add only what the design needs
Turn trapping on if your press ever shows white gaps between inks
White under-base is only for dark garments — it wastes ink otherwise, and it goes into the PSD export only
PSD export keeps every plate as its own layer, named after its nearest library colour
What to Expect
Best Results
- Designs with distinct, separable colors
- Flat color areas (spot colors)
- Clean edges between color zones
- 2-8 color designs
Limited Results
- Photorealistic imagery (too many tones)
- Very subtle color variations
- Designs with 15+ colors
- Anti-aliased edges (may create extra colors)
Real-World Examples
Screen Printing Separation
A 6-color paisley pattern was separated into individual color masks, each ready for screen exposure in rotary screen printing.
Trapping for a Manual Press
A 3-colour logo was separated with 2px trapping, so neighbouring inks overlap and a slightly misregistered press leaves no white gap between them.
PSD Export with Colour Names
A layered PSD was created with each color as a separate layer, plus a color manifest mapping each separation to its nearest library colour code for dye matching.
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