Channeling
Screen separation for rotary and flat screen printing. One screen per ink, in print order, with the file your engraver opens.
Channeling splits a design into one printable ink per screen. It finds the colours, suggests one ink per screen, orders them light to dark, traps the edges, and builds a Photoshop Multichannel file with a spot channel per ink plus a black and white positive for every screen. Regroup colours between screens in a table and separate again with exactly the screens you arranged. Currently in beta.
At a Glance
- Credits
- Free for a limited time while we learn from your feedback. A price will be set later.
- Input
- PNG, JPEG, TIFF or PSD, up to 50 MB. Upload at print resolution
- Output
- Photoshop file (Multichannel, one spot channel per screen) and a ZIP with one PNG positive per screen, printed preview, ink list and manifest
- Screens
- 2 to 16 per design, set to your station count
- Press controls
- Print resolution (dpi), solid ground, trap (auto, off or 1 to 6 px), base under every motif (%)
- Typical time
- About a minute for a small swatch, several minutes for a full engraver sheet
- Availability
- Beta. Basic, Standard and Premium subscriptions
How a separation goes
The 12-screen run below is a real one: a leaf print on navy, uploaded at 2000 by 1600 px, 300 dpi, solid ground on.
- 1
Set the press
Number of screens to match your stations, print resolution read from the file, and Solid ground under everything on for a dark ground. Trap and base sit under Advanced.
textile-designer.ai / ChannelingChanneling press settings panel: 12 screens, print resolution 300 dpi read from the file, and Solid ground under everything switched on - 2
Read the screens table
One row per screen in print order: swatch, name, role, opaque or tint, coverage, and the design colours each screen prints. Photoshop file and ZIP downloads sit above it.
textile-designer.ai / ChannelingDownloads row above the screens table listing Ground, Base, L Purple, D Purple and L Orange in print order with role, opaque or tint, coverage and colour chips - 3
Open a row menu
Every row offers Rename, Split into one screen per colour, Merge into, and Remove screen. Colour chips also drag between rows.
textile-designer.ai / ChannelingRow actions menu on the L Orange screen offering Rename, Split into one screen per colour, Merge into, and Remove screen - 4
Split a screen
After the split each colour has its own screen. The coverage arrow shows the old and new figure and the bar under the table counts the change.
textile-designer.ai / ChannelingScreens table after splitting L Orange: coverage shows 9.3% with an arrow to 5.6%, a new L Orange row appears, and the bar reads 1 screen added - 5
Separate again
Separate again re-solves the press with exactly the screens you arranged. Your rows stay dimmed in place and update when it finishes, names and order intact.
textile-designer.ai / ChannelingSeparate again in progress: the previous rows stay on screen dimmed while the new separation runs - 6
Rows settle after the re-run
The second run came back with all 13 screens. The split rows kept their names and position; only the coverage and colour chips were worked out again.
textile-designer.ai / ChannelingScreens table after the second run: 13 screens with L Orange, L Orange 3 and L Orange 2 as separate rows, names and print order kept - 7
Judge the print
The preview shows every ink laid down in order. Flip to Design to compare against the upload before you send anything to engraving.
textile-designer.ai / ChannelingPrint preview of the leaf design as the screens will print, with a Design and Print toggle and zoom control - 8
Check the positives
One positive per screen, ink on white, the way an engraver reads a film. Continuous tone on purpose; halftoning happens in your RIP.
textile-designer.ai / ChannelingPositives gallery: black-on-white screen positives from Ground through L Orange 2 - 9
Open it in Photoshop
The Photoshop file opens as Multichannel with a named spot channel per screen, so the engraver sees exactly what the table showed.
Adobe Photoshop 2025 / 5054_channeling.psdThe downloaded Multichannel PSD in Photoshop with the Channels panel listing Base, L Purple, D Purple, L Orange, D Orange, L Green, D Green, L Yellow and D Yellow as spot channels
Real-World Use Cases
Rotary screen engraving
A process house receives a 12-colour floral for a 64 cm rotary repeat. Channeling returns 12 screens in print order with traps applied and a positive per screen, ready for the engraver instead of a day of hand separation.
Dark-ground prints
A design on navy cloth needs a base under every motif so the colours on top print bright. Set the base percentage and turn on solid ground; the separation lays the ground across the sheet and the motifs over it.
Matching the station count
The printer has 8 stations but the artwork has 14 colours. Set 8 screens, then use the screens table to decide which design colours share an ink, and separate again.
How It Works
Upload at print resolution
Positives come out at the resolution you send. The dpi is read from the file when it carries one, otherwise 300 dpi is assumed and you can correct it.
Set the press
Number of screens, print resolution, and whether the ground prints solid under everything. Advanced: trap width and base under every motif for dark cloth.
Separate and judge the print
Compare the printed preview against your artwork with a slider, then check each screen as its positive. One screen should look like one colour's shapes.
Regroup in the screens table
One row per screen in print order: swatch, name, role, opaque or tint, coverage, and the design colours it prints. Drag a colour to another screen, merge or split screens, then separate again with exactly that arrangement.
Download for the engraver
Photoshop file (Multichannel) for the engraver, or Everything as a ZIP with positives, preview, ink list and manifest as the job record.
Key Features
One Screen per Ink
Each screen is one ink and one station on the press. Set the count to what your printer has, from 2 to 16.
Print Order and Roles
Screens come back ordered light to dark with roles: ground, base, light, dark, black, effect. Opaque or tint per screen.
Trapping Built In
Lighter inks spread under darker ones so a small misregistration does not open a white gap. Auto (about 0.35 pt at your dpi), off, or by hand from 1 to 6 px.
Base and Solid Ground
Lay the base ink under every motif at a chosen percentage for dark cloth, and print the ground across the whole sheet so out-of-register edges show ground, not bare cloth.
Spot Channels, Not Layers
The Photoshop file is Multichannel with a named spot channel per screen, which is what engravers and RIPs expect.
Separate Again
Edit the screens table and re-run with exactly those screens. Typed colours are kept; regrouped inks are worked out from the colours you gave them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Channeling different from Color Separation?
Color Separation returns a layered PSD, one colour per layer, for general editing. Channeling is built for the press: spot channels instead of layers, screens in print order, trapping, a base under every motif and a solid ground option, plus a positive per screen for the engraver.
Does it make halftones, registration marks or film?
No. Channeling delivers continuous-tone positives and the Multichannel file. Halftone screening, registration marks and film or CTS output are done in your RIP or separation software from those files.
Why does it take longer than other tools?
Every screen is worked out together over the whole sheet, so time grows with the pixel count and the number of screens. A 1500 by 2500 px swatch with 12 screens takes under a minute; a full 4724 by 3780 px engraver sheet takes a few minutes.
Can Photopea open the output?
Not correctly. Photopea does not render Multichannel files. Use Photoshop for the Multichannel file, or the PNG positives from the ZIP in any editor.
Is it really free?
During the beta feedback period there is no credit charge, and we ask for a short feedback card after each run. A price will be set later; do not plan a long-term workflow around zero.
Your designs and our AI
Uploads and results are stored in your organisation's workspace and are not accessible from other customers' accounts. Under our Terms of Service, uploaded designs and generated outputs may be used to train and improve our AI models, and that use continues after an account is closed. Any customer can request an AI-training opt-out for their organisation before uploading by contacting support. Details are in our Privacy Policy.