ColorLayers
An UltraSeps alternative without Photoshop
UltraSeps works inside Photoshop. By its maker’s own description it is a set of applications and plugins that take whatever the editor can open. The difference that matters is not the quality of the separation but where it lives.
The difference is where the work happens
A plugin inherits everything from its host. You need a Photoshop licence, you need the machine it is installed on, and you need an editor update not to break the set.
A standalone tool inherits none of that. It opens in a browser tab, on any system, and installs nothing. The artwork stays on your own computer while it does: the work happens there and the file is not sent anywhere.
What is not here
Said plainly, so nobody spends an evening finding out.
- Editing. No brush, no retouching, no type. Drawing happens elsewhere; this prepares for the press.
- A dozen separation modes. One route: an automatic palette, then editing the inks by hand.
- Dot shapes. Two, round and ellipse.
- Other processes. Screen printing. Digital printing, cutting and packaging need conversions that are not here.
What there is instead
- Repeatability. The same file with the same profile gives the same plates on any machine and a year later.
- Measured checks. Thin strokes, closing gaps and undersized dots are found as numbers rather than by zooming in.
- A report. Line count, angles, print order, profile and every issue sit in the archive beside the films.
- Paying per export. Not per year and not per seat. Preparation is free; you pay when you take the files.
How to compare them properly
Not by the preview. Both draw a preview, and both draw a flattering one.
Take artwork that has gone wrong on you before: fine type, a fade that runs to nothing, or a lot of small detail. Run it through both and put the films side by side at one to one, not the pictures. Whatever difference there is will be there.
FAQ
Do I need Photoshop at all?
+
Not for the separation. For fixing artwork, retouching and type, exactly as before. The layered PSD in the archive opens there if you want to adjust something.
Does it run on a Mac?
+
Yes. It is a browser tab, so the system does not matter: macOS, Windows, Linux.
Can I keep UltraSeps for some jobs?
+
Of course. This is not all or nothing: separating and checking are free here, so you can run the difficult jobs through both and keep whichever came out better.
