A while ago i asked what would be the best rez & colour format
to use on designing a wine label in photoshop.
The reply i got from swampy,although was the the best,im not not that lucky
enough to own Illustrator,so i went ahead with photoshop.
Here is what it came out like.
Please let me no,of any improvments ,that might help me,if asked to design any more. Thanks

Great design, disgo!

You could be a real "hero" if you had the ability to combine the photo background with the text (and white screen) as spot colors in either Illustrator or InDesign. Unless you can generate the tint used for the background photo as a spot color in Photoshop, your customer is going to have to pay for 4 color process printing rather than a two color job using PMS spot colors from Illustrator or InDesign.

It is possible, but a real pain, to create a spot color in Photoshop. I've read about it, but have never done it. Can't remember where I read or saw the tutorial, but you may be able to find some info on the web. Maybe someone will jump in here with a link to a "Photoshop Spot Color" tutorial.

I'm not saying this to sound "snotty", but if you are going to be doing this kind of work, it pays to have all the tools of the trade. If money is an issue, maybe you can find an older version of Adobe CS to provide the Illustrator/InDesign capabilities.

I like your design, disgo.
You might want to work on the letter spacing (kerning) in "Gauntlettt's"
I would make the spaces consistent and probably put together the 2 t's so there is no space at all. Then look at the rest too.

Great design, disgo!

You could be a real "hero" if you had the ability to combine the photo background with the text (and white screen) as spot colors in either Illustrator or InDesign. Unless you can generate the tint used for the background photo as a spot color in Photoshop, your customer is going to have to pay for 4 color process printing rather than a two color job using PMS spot colors from Illustrator or InDesign.

It is possible, but a real pain, to create a spot color in Photoshop. I've read about it, but have never done it. Can't remember where I read or saw the tutorial, but you may be able to find some info on the web. Maybe someone will jump in here with a link to a "Photoshop Spot Color" tutorial.

I'm not saying this to sound "snotty", but if you are going to be doing this kind of work, it pays to have all the tools of the trade. If money is an issue, maybe you can find an older version of Adobe CS to provide the Illustrator/InDesign capabilities.

I agree with Swampy about having the right tools for the job. InDesign and Illustrator were designed for jobs like this. If you take a course you should be eligible to purchase them at discounted academic prices and, perhaps, get a leg up on your skills.

I got a great deal on Creative Suite 3 Design Premium when my instructor told our class about a special one time offering that was available last spring.

Virginia
aka beaucamera

when i was at schawk, all we did was labels and packaging and 95% of the work that came in was done in photoshop and then usually placed into an illustrator file so not having indesign or illustrator isn't that big of a deal especially now that photoshop can handle vector files...

Pixel, Photoshop's been able to handle vectors for a long time, but my concern is color separations. Why should the customer pay for 4 color process if the labels can be done in 2 spot colors? Unless you can help by telling us how to set up a spot color for that background.

I would have done the background in Photoshop, saved as a black & white Tiff, brought it into either Illustrator or InD and set a spot tint for the background, finished out the text and screens, then saved as an EPS or PDF.

photoshop is more than capable of handling spot colors, i just don't have the time to make a tutorial....if you make an additional channel with the background only you can then specify that channel as a spot channel....there is info about that topic in the Help menu...

Pixel, Photoshop's been able to handle vectors for a long time, but my concern is color separations. Why should the customer pay for 4 color process if the labels can be done in 2 spot colors?

i'm not so sure that 2 spot colors would be cheaper as you'd have to factor in press cleanup and makeready costs as well.....he might be better off doing the label as a duotone with process inks, just a thought...

Swampy:
I would have never thought about a B+W with a spot tint :) Do they charge less if your using a 10% tint of a pms color vs 100%?

Heres some tutorials on spot colors...I have made a bump plate before and also pms separations for a school project but never had the chance to use them in real life.

http://photoshop911.typepad.com/help/2004/04/spot_color_sepa.html
http://www.graphic-design.com/Photoshop/Tips/channel.html

Pixel brings up a good point, if your not making a large run the cleanup can be very costly.

I agree with beaucamera, it would be beneficial and completely legitimate to take a course to qualify for an upgrade. You kill 3 birds with one stone, upgrade your software, provide better services, and learn some new things :)

I am taking classes at www.sesions.edu for graphic design, but they have a bunch of other types of classes as well. Apple discounts qualify as well. The prices have been changed recently but the 3 lesson class on photo retouching is $120 taught by Ken Milburn, seems to be the cheapest class at first glance. The advanced photoshop class by Matt Klowskoski (napp teacher,author) is a good one, but pricey if bought seperatly. Also a community college class might be another option.

The CS3 Design Standard suite comes with Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and Acrobat for $378 (student price) Not shabby at all.

Just found this one, seems to be more revalent to your project

http://www.planetphotoshop.com/working-with-spot-color-channels.html

Adamzx

>>>I would have never thought about a B+W with a spot tint Do they charge less if your using a 10% tint of a pms color vs 100%?

It' won't make any difference. All the burgundy is printed on one plate wether it's at 100% or a 10% tint or any shads in between. Ergo a 2 color job, Black and burgundy.

Thanks for the links on doing spot colors in Photoshop. I've used PMS colors in many Photoshop layouts for things like corporate logos etc., but I know they will eventually print as CMYK in a 4/4 job.

Thank you all.