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Create a pdf with 5 channels from Illustrator

Creating a PDF with 5 channels (also known as spot color channels or separation channels) directly from Adobe Illustrator can be done by following these steps:

Step 1: Create Artwork with Spot Colors in Illustrator

  1. Open Adobe Illustrator and create your artwork.
  2. Use CMYK plus ons spot channel named IFOIL. This will create a PDF with 5 channels. To create spot colors, go to the Swatches panel, click the "New Color Swatch" button, and choose "Spot Color." Define five different spot colors for your channels.

Step 2: Assign Spot Colors to Your Artwork

  1. Assign each element to the appropriate spot color by selecting the object and then choosing the spot color from the Swatches panel.
  2. Make sure your artwork uses only the spot colors you want to separate. Remove any unwanted RGB or CMYK colors.

Step 3: Prepare Artboard and Layers

  1. Create a new artboard that represents each of your 5 channels. You'll have one artboard for each channel.
  2. Place the artwork for each channel on its respective artboard.
  3. Organize your layers so that each artboard contains only the artwork for its specific channel.

Step 4: Export Artboards as Separate PDF Files

  1. Go to File > Save As or File > Export and choose the PDF format.
  2. In the Save Adobe PDF dialog box, select "Adobe PDF (Print)" as the preset.
  3. In the "Save as" field, choose a location and name for your PDF.
  4. Click "Save."

Step 5: Configure Color Separations for Each Channel

Repeat the following steps for each artboard (channel):

  1. Open the artboard you want to export as a separate channel PDF.
  2. Go to File > Document Setup.
  3. Under "Bleed and Slug," set the bleed to 0 for this channel artboard.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Go to File > Save As or File > Export.
  6. In the Save Adobe PDF dialog box, click on the "Output" option in the left panel.
  7. Under "Color," select "Separations (In-RIP Separation)."
  8. Click "Save."

Repeat these steps for each of your 5 channels, creating separate PDF files for each channel. Each PDF will contain the artwork for a specific channel with spot color separations.

By following these steps, you'll have created separate PDF files for each of your 5 channels, which can be used in professional printing workflows for color separation and printing on a commercial press.