N-channel profiles can be used in the Separate Menu > With Profile... method. N-channel images allow you to encapsulate both the proofing information for image display and also the separation information.

Because of this they are becoming more popular in some workflows although there are often restrictions with the use of them because users are often confined to a modal window, stopping them from freely combining them with other separations. Unlike other software, AVA is able to separate and view these n-channel images in a non modal fashion.

We are currently able to handle n-channel profiles of up to 8 colours. 

1. To separate to n-channels, go to Separate Menu > With Profile… and select an n-channel profile.
2. To view the channels, click on the disclosure triangle beside the image:

If you already have a separation and want to view it with an n-channel profile, select the layers and use the Separate Menu > Layers into N-Channel command and then select the profile from the window which follows. The result of this is an n-channel image with an embedded profile which can be used in the same way as any other image.

There are several third party applications which can be used to create n-channel profiles, however if you do not have one and are more interested in the proofing aspect rather than separation, you may like to consider the creation of an AVA custom overprinting method for your process (in tests we have seen better results using this method). However, there is no need to go for one of these solutions in isolation as the AVA software will happily work with both concurrently.