Tiling separated layers in the Layout Window is a great way of assessing a separation before going to production with the design. Viewing each separation side by side helps you to assess the movement of each layer and identify any issues which may cause problems in production.
When assessing separations, it is sometimes best to view greyscale layers, as opposed to recoloured layers. If you do not already have a greyscale colourway of your separated design, you can easily add this by holding down ⌥ (option key) on the keyboard and clicking the + button at the top of the Layers Palette.
Now follow these steps to tile the greyscale separated layers:
- Open the Layout Window of your design by going to Window Menu > Layout.
- Go to File Menu > Page Setup and set the size of your page to suit your printer.
- Make the layers you want to tile (your separated layers) visible in the Layers Palette.
- Go to Layout Menu > Tile to open the tile settings.
Tip: You can add the Tile function to the toolbar of the Layout Window by holding down ^ (control key) on your keyboard and clicking on the toolbar of the Layout Window.
- Select Visible layers from the Tile menu:
- Set the Number Across to the number of layers you want to sit across the width of your page.
- Set the spacing values to the required gap you need between each separation.
- Leave Tile Design Origin set to Off.
- Click OK to tile the separated layers onto the page.
Note: If you have set the page size correctly in Step 2, but the tiled layers fall off the page, you should either drag the tiled layers to fit better on the page.
- Print the Layout Window and assess the separation. If changes are needed, make the changes, then repeat Steps 1 - 9 to re-print the separated layers.