Handle Separations

With this node you can remove, remap, change the order or update the colorimetric information of separations in a PDF document.

It has the following configuration options:
  • Input File: here you can define the input file. Select the pencil to open Expression Builder.
  • Apply changes on selection only: if you select this checkbox, the changes will only be applied to a predefined selection (for example, a selection specified with the Layers node).

Add Separation

  • Name: here you can define the separation name to be added. You can enter several separations with a comma separated list (for example Die, Pantone 123 C, K). The separation names are case sensitive.
  • Type: here you can define a separation type to add all separations of certain type.
  • Color Type: here you can define a color type.
  • Color Value: here you can define a color value.

Remove Separation

  • Name: here you can define the separation name to be removed. You can enter several separations with a comma separated list (for example Die, Pantone 123 C, K). You can also use a wild card * (for example when you enter PD*, all separation names starting with PD will be removed). The separation names are case sensitive.
  • Type: here you can define a separation type to remove all separations of certain type.

    Example

    If you want to remove all technical separations, select Technical from the Type drop-down list and leave the Name file empty. If you want to remove the both technical and varnish separations, you need to do that in two Handle Separation nodes. The node is memory-optimized so using two nodes will not make and performance problems.

  • All Unused: if you select this checkbox, all unused separations will be removed from the document.

Remap Separation

  • Name: here you can enter a separation name that you want to remap. You can use a wild card, however, you cannot use a comma separated list.
  • Type: here you can specify a type of separation that you want to remap. If the type is other than Any, only separation of the specified type will be remapped.
    Tip: If you want to remap all separations of a specific type, you can put an asterisk to in the Name field (*).
  • to CMYK: if you select this checkbox, the field To Name is ignored. All matching separations will be mapped to CMYK.
    Tip: If you want to map all non-CMYK separations to CMYK, you can enter * in the Name field. The asterisk will match all separations, including C, M, Y, and K, but these will not be mapped to CMYK since they already are CMYK.
  • To Name: here you can define the separation name to be mapped to. If the specified name is not present in the input PDF, the separation will be taken from the active Color Books.
  • To Type: here you can specify the type where all matching separations will be mapped to.
  • Rename if does not exist: if you select this checkbox, the source separation that you want to remap will be renamed in case the target separation does not exist.

    Example

    If you want to remap all separations containing string 817 to Technical:
    1. Set Remap Separations, Name: to 817
    2. Set Remap Separations, Type to Any
    3. Set Remap Separations, To Name to empty
    4. Set Remap Separations, To Type to Technical
  • Mark as darkest: here you can set the selected separation as darkest color. In other cases, when there is Black present in the file, Black will always be marked as automatic darkest color.

Separations Order

This section allows you to perform certain actions concerning the separation order.
  • Order: here you can specify an order for the separations in a JSON formatted way (for example ["Cyan", "Magenta", "Yellow", "Black"]. The default value already specifies the ink order for CMYK separations.
  • Action: here you can specific the action to be taken. Options:
    • No Action: if you select this option, no action will be taken, regardless of the existing separation order.
    • Error If Order Different: if you select this option, the node will generate an error when the separation order in the document is different from the separation order specified in the field Order.
    • Set The Order: if you select this option, the separation order will be changed to the order specified in the field Order.
  • Reverse Order of All Inks: if you select this checkbox, the separation order in the document will be reversed.

Color Book

  • Ink Book Name or Cloudflow URL: here you can specify the ink book name or URL using a CLOUDFLOW path.
  • Action: here you can specify the action to be taken. Options:
    • No action: if you select this option, no action will be taken.
    • Update All Inks In Order: if you select this option, all inks mentioned in Separations Order will be updated according to the selected ink book.
    • Update All Inks from Remap Section: if you select this option, all inks mentioned in Remap section will be updated according to the selected ink book.
    • Update All Inks In Document: if you select this option, all inks in the document will be updated according to the selected ink book.

Printing Methods

With Printing Methods you can define a printing method to a separation.

  • Name: here you can define the name of the separation to define the printing method to.
  • Type: here you can define the printing method.

Select + to add a printing method.

  • Output: here you can select the output type. Options:
    • Postfix: if you select this option, you can define a postfix that will be added to the newly generated file. The new file will be placed on the same location as the original file.
    • Custom: if you select this option, you can specify a path where the new file will be placed and a postfix that will be added to the new file. Select the pencil to open Expression Builder.