For those who work with many different substrates and perhaps also use AVA Production Colour Management, having the correct overprint and substrate settings is key to printing the correct colour.

In AVA, documents have their own overprint and substrate settings saved directly within the .ava4 format. When the file is opened, the user can specify whether the document settings should be retained, or whether they would prefer to use their own application settings.

Specific colourways can also have their own unique substrate, which is very useful if you know a particular colourway is going to be printed on a different substrate.

Having the colour settings saved within the file format ensures the design transports with the correct settings, and makes printing the design with the wrong settings incredibly difficult.

Setting a Specific Document Substrate

1. At the top of the Layers Palette, click the substrate disclosure triangle.
   The View Setting is automatically set to Document.
   
   
2. Drag the correct substrate colour from a colour file into the colour chip in the Layers Palette.
3. Save the file as .ava4.

Setting a Specific Colourway Substrate

1. Choose the colourway you wish to apply a different substrate to from the Colourway Chooser.
2. At the top of the Layers Palette, click the substrate disclosure triangle.
3. Click the ‘View Setting’ popup menu (set to ‘Document’ by default).
4. Change it to ‘Colourway’ and tick ‘Custom Setting’.
   
   
   
   
5. Drag the correct substrate colour from a colour file into the colour chip box.
   
   All settings within this section for this colourway will then be retained by the document upon saving as .ava4. A custom colourway substrate will override a custom document setting.

Setting a Specific Document Overprint

1. Go to AVA Menu > Inspectors > Overprint… The ‘View Setting’ pop up menu will be set to ‘Document’ by default.
2. Select the desired Overprint Method and Ink Breakdown.
3. Save the file as .ava4.

All settings within the Overprint Inspector will then be retained by the document upon saving, and will be restored when the file is re-opened, even if the file is opened on a different computer. This radically reduces the possibility of printing a file with incorrect settings.

Setting a Specific Layout 'Design Object' View Substrate

• Select the design object you wish to customise the substrate for.
• At the top of the Layers Palette, click the substrate disclosure triangle.
• Click the ‘View Setting’ menu (set to ‘Document’ by default).
• Change it to ‘View’ and tick ‘Custom Setting’.
• Drag the correct colour into the colour chip box.

All settings within this view will then be retained by the document upon saving. In the Layout Window, a custom view substrate will override a custom document setting.

Setting a Specific Layout 'Design Object' View Overprint

1. Select the design object you wish to customise the overprint for.
2. Go to AVA Menu > Inspectors > Overprint…
3. Click the ‘View Setting’ menu (set to ‘Document’ by default).
4. Change it to ‘View’ and tick ‘Custom Setting’.
5. Set the correct Overprint Method.

All settings within this view will then be retained by the document upon saving. In the Layout Window, a custom view substrate will override a custom document setting.