When color separations is enabled in your Ziflow account, the Proof Viewer can show proofs created from PDF, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign files with CMYK or Pantone® color. Reviewers can check for possible print issues by measuring color density. 

Available on: Business Legacy, Pro Enterprise

The feature does not work if a spot color name contains the characters /, \, or :.

Enable color separations

Administrators can enable the color separations feature. 

Color separation is disabled by default because the feature uses significant system resources and may slow your system's performance. Only enable this feature if it is required for your review process.

1. Go to Settings > Proofing Settings > Proof Viewer > Other options.
2. Enable Create color separations. 

View color separations

When color separations are enabled on your Ziflow account and you have a proof created from a PDF, .AI, or .INDD file,  the Color separation icon will be visible in the Proof Viewer toolbar. Select it to open the color separation window. 

Switch between color channels

If Ziflow detects color separations in the file, the color separation window displays the CMYK channels and all available spot colors. Reviewers can toggle individual channels or view combined mixes.

• CMYK channels always appear.
• PANTONE® or other spot color channels appear when available in the file.

Check color density under your cursor

When you move the cursor over the proof, the color separation window shows the color density (as a percentage) for the exact spot under the cursor.

Select Hide colors with 0% values to view only colors with percentage values at the cursor location.

Include color separation details in comments

When a reviewer adds a comment or markup, Ziflow records the visible color separations at that location. This information is stored with the comment and is included in PDF exports.

Use color separations when comparing versions

You can enable color separations while comparing proof versions. This makes it easier to confirm whether updates between versions meet print expectations.

Additional reading

• About the Proof Viewer
• Compare proof versions