In PE 3.0 I am having trouble doing the CMYK separation on pp 168-171. If I use the Hidden Power tool, CMYK Black, I can closely match Fig. 5.39. However, I am asked twice to use a Curve (for the Composite and Luminosity layers); I don't know why this shows up, as Curves were not used in the detailed step-by-step procedure.

If I manually do steps 1-19 of the procedure, I don't end up with Fig. 5.39 - it looks like a mask for the most saturated bits of the image. Using the manual steps, I am alble to match Figs. 5.37 and 5.38, but when I am through with step 19 and I turn off visibility for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black, I don't match Fig 5.39. I have been through those steps several times, and I don't see where I have made a misstep.

The Curves are an advanced option for CMYK separation. I believe it is mentioned in the book (I haven't checked just now...thanks for mentioning if it is not).

If you use the separation tool and set the playback to step and pause (for Elements 2 users, this will be found in the free tools, for Elements 3, this can be found in the PowerBonus tools), you can watch the steps as they occur.

As to figure 5.39...what mode is that layer when you are viewing it? You may have to change it to Normal...