What is Design Separation? (Updated 2025)
Discover what design separation (also know as colour separation) is, why it's essential in wallpaper and fabric printing, and how it transforms art work into production-ready designs. From preparing files to extracting colours and creating colourings, professional separation gives artists, brands, and small business the accuracy and confidence they need.
- Lauren Peploe
What is Design Separation? (Updated 2025)
Design separation (also known as colour separation) is one of the most important technical steps in preparing wallpaper and fabric designs for print. It’s the process that takes art work – whether painted, drawn, or digital – and turns it into a print-ready design.
In this post, I’ll explain what design separation is, why it matters, and how it can transform your creative ideas into professional wallpaper and fabric collections.
Why design separation matters in wallpaper and fabric printing
Designers often end up with a single flat image that has the colours flattened and embedded in. While flattened files work fine for screens – and can sometimes work for printed products – they’re not ideal for manufacturing. To achieve the best results, each colour is isolated onto its own layer. This process is called design separation.
For wallpapers and fabrics, separation means:
- Accuracy → Every colour prints perfectly.
- Flexibility → Infinite colourings can be created from one set of separations.
- Consistency → Ensures colours are accurately reproduced across printers and substrates.
Although design separation is most common in interiors, the process can also be used in industries like packaging, stationery, and giftware.
What is colour separation in surface design?
The terms colour separation and design separation are often used interchangeably. Both describe breaking down art work into its individual colour layers.
Each colour is carefully separated out so it sits on its own layer. This gives total control over colour management, allowing you to recolour, adjust, and test new colour schemes with precision. For manufacturers, this step is essential for achieving professional results across wallpaper rolls and fabric lengths.
Design separation in action
Colouring separations
How the separation process works
Step 1: Preparing the artwork
The original design (a scan, painting, or digital file) is cleaned up and set up in AVA CAD/CAM, or similar software.
Step 2: Extracting colours
Each colour and it’s tones is separated out and placed on to its own layer.
Step 3: Refining the separation
Layers are checked, overlaps adjusted, and the separated layers built up to mirror the original flattened artwork.
Step 4: Testing colourways
Once separated, the design can be recoloured endlessly using client-led palettes or suggesting my own ideas.
The benefits of professional design separation
- Accuracy → Art work translates perfectly to production.
- Efficiency → Saves time and reduces costly reworking
- Flexibility → One art work can be developed into multiple colour ways.
- Scalability → One set of separations can be used across wallpaper and fabric.
Tools I use: Why I work with AVA CAD/CAM
For professional separations, I use AVA CAD/CAM. The industry-leading software allows me to build flawless repeats, create separations, and manage colour ways with speed and precision.
I use AVA on almost every wallpaper and fabric project I work on. It bridges the gap between creative vision and print-ready files, giving my clients confidence that their design will be supplied as high-quality, industry standard files.
When to consider design separation
Design separation is essential for taking artwork into decorative print production. From transforming paintings and illustrations into repeating wallpapers, to preparing collections for launch and ensuring designs are technically print-ready, separation goes beyond simply creating layers of colour. It’s what gives wallpapers and fabrics a professional, production-quality finish.
Bridging the gap between creativity and production, design separation ensures your art work not only looks beautiful, but also works technically when it reaches the production stage.
If you’re ready to bring your designs to life as a wallpaper or fabric, I’d love to help Get in touch or explore my design services to find out more.
FAQs
They’re essentially the same thing. Both terms describe breaking a design into individual colour layers so each can be controlled in production.
Without separation, art work can’t be recoloured or printed consistently. It’s the key step that makes a design truly production-ready.
Absolutely. I regularly work with client art work, including hand paintings and digital files, and prepare it for wallpaper and fabric printing using professional design software.
Everything I share reflects how I approach wallpaper design, balancing creativity with technical decisions moving a design into production. I’ve brought that process, from first idea to seamless, production-ready repeat, together in my digital workbook, How to Create a Wallpaper Design.
Grounded in real studio experience, it’s designed to help you approach your own wallpaper designs with clarity, confidence and technical assurance.
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