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- Gradient tips
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Click on the headings below to view the information.
Banding will be less obvious if the gradient covers a shorter
distance.
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Banding will be less obvious if the contrast in each ink between
the starting and ending point is greater.
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Banding can be less obvious if more than one ink is involved
and the inks step at different rates. For example, banding
in a blend from 30%M 26%Y to 10%M 10%Y can be less noticeable
than a blend from 30%M 30%Y to 10%M 10%Y.
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Consider creating the gradient in Photoshop and adding a small
amount of noise. If the gradient is all tints of one color
(i.e., 100% TRUMATCH 38a-1 to 10% of the same), create as a
grayscale TIFF and colorize in Quark to reduce print time/file
size. Otherwise, use a CMYK or Duotone file as appropriate
to your print job. You can use a lower resolution file.
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Set your gradients to blend from a spot color to a 0% tint
of that spot color, not to "white". White is usually
treated either as a second spot color (problematic with Illustrator;
see below) or as a process color which could force the entire
gradient to process.
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Illustrator converts spot-to-spot color gradients to process
colors (except for their starting and ending points which are
the correct spot colors). One possible workaround is to create
two gradients, one overprinting the other. Each would blend
from its spot color to a 0% tint of the same spot color. It
will be difficult to impossible to proof this on a composite
device.
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If you want a job to be trapped and you have a gradient in
an Illustrator EPS, make certain that you select "Compatible
gradient printing" in File/Document setup before you save
the AI EPS. Strangely, the RIP in TrapWise is still a PostScript
Level 1; this compatibility option is required for it to be
able to process a file that has Illustrator gradients anywhere
in it.
