When screen printing a design with more than one color, you need to separate the colors before you print for the best results. Why Do You Need Color Separation Software? The spot process uses a separate ink for every color in your image, so color separation will split a spot process design into as many images as there are colors. Other processes, like spot color index color, use more than four colors of ink. When you print all four images onto the same place, the result will look like your original image. The color separation software will split your image into four different images, one for each base color.

How many images you end up with depends on the type of ink you’re using and the number of colors in your design.įor example, for a four-color print process, you’ll need to mix your four base colors to get all the different hues in your design. However, you can only screenprint one color at a time, and you need these separate images to make multi-color prints. When you layer the images, it gives you the full design.

Essentially, the process gives you a separate image for each color in the design. Use this guide to find the software that fits your needs so you can get started on your next screenprinting project.Ĭolor separation for screen printing is the process where a program separates the different colors present in an image into individual images. The features and price tag that are right for a busy business might not make sense for someone just getting into screen printing. What makes the best software is different for everyone. Splitting an image into individual colors manually is time-consuming and tricky, but software can automate the process and reduce how many screens you’ll need to use to get the right result. Good color separation software will split your image up into several colors without losing the integrity of the image.

But how do you know what colors to use, and in what order? With color separation software.

For most designs, this means using multiple screens and layering colors. When you’re screen printing, you can only use one color at a time.

Separation studio 4 output printing