I need to do a cut, undercut, and spread in Illustrator I can't find any information to do this

[dbielanski07]

I need to do a cut, undercut, and spread in Illustrator, I can't find any information to do this. Can anyone please help???

[Mike_Gondek · Accepted solution]

That is a very broad question, and depends on if you are trying to do this to a vector shape, vector group, placed image.

You can manually add a stoke in the appearance palette and set the to overprint or white to cut back.

Or you can use the pathfinder flyout >> trap.

Trapping in Illustrator

[dbielanski07]

They are asking for a

Cut=100%

Undercut=.0044  (50%)

Spread=.004 (50%)

[dbielanski07]

I've read that tutorial 5 time and it doesn't help me to  understand it??

[Mike_Gondek]

Who is this coming from, sounds like a printer, not sure how to exactly interpret the percentage values. 

.004" Spread is a standard  trapping amount for litho. Undercut may also be know as a pullback, did you get a typo as .0004 is not much difference.

If you have never trapped before, this is something you cannot learn by doing tutorials over a few days, you need training or to send this to someone else.

[jdanek]

An undercut ( choke ) and a spread are typically not done on the same element.  It is one or the other.  It depends on the file itself.  Many RIPs do in-RIP trapping and the specs sound like input information going-in. Many print vendors do not recommend you do your own trapping and leave it to the prepress people.  We need more specific application information before we can recommend anything here.  Many times you will see choke applied to text that is knocking out.  A spread would be applied to an overprinted item.  Are you working on a process color file or is it Spot color?