In the surfaces industry, a common finishing technique applied to production prints is the addition of a wear layer. This is a transparent material which is applied over the printed substrate, and prevents damage from being walked on.
To simulate this finishing process in AVA, you need to use Colour Correction Layers. You also need to have the digital files and the production prints of the same files. You can use a range of designs or several colourways of the same design, with the same wear layer printed onto them. It is important that they were all produced using the same wear layer settings. This means the same recipe, thickness and pressure settings.
Note: For best results, you must have a good screen to print match in place already. This means having up to date profiles for both your monitor and your CAD printer, and you must be happy with the colour match between your CAD prints and the monitor.
- Add a Colour Correction Layer to your document by clicking on the button highlighted in the image below.
- For best results, place the production print at 45º to the screen,
- Double click on the Colour Correction Layer in the Layers Palette to open its settings window.
- Adjust the sliders in the Balance section of the Colour Correction Layer. Corrections are made to the highlights, shadows and mid tones of a design. The top slider in each section adjusts the overall lightness. The second slider is then used to make the design appear blue or more yellow, and the third slider is used to make the design appear more green or more red. The slider at the very bottom of the settings window is used to adjust the overall saturation of a design.
Tip: To get started, use the sliders to adjust an overall colour balance of the Mid tones. Lightening the shadows and adjusting their colour balance is useful for image printing. Occasionally, you may need more than one Colour Correction Layer in your file. For example, to generate a sepia tone effect, add a colour adjustment layer and set the saturation to 0. Then add another one and drag the Blue/Yellow slider for the mid tones towards a little towards yellow. Then drag the Green/Red slider for the mid tones a little towards red.
Saving the settings of the Colour Correction Layer to use on other designs
When you have successfully edited a Colour Correction Layer to match the digital design on screen to your production print, you can save its settings so that you can use it on other designs, or share it with colleagues. This is done using our Palette Technology.
- Go to File Menu > New > Palette, and please the Palette beside your Layers Palette.
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Double click on the Colour Correction Layer and drag the Palette Handler to the Palette:
- Hold down ⌥ (option key) on your keyboard and click on the title of the button you have just added to the Palette and give it an appropriate name.
- Save the Palette.
- Repeat for other wear layers (different thicknesses / pressures).