Channel mixer

The Channel Mixer (Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Channel Mixer) blends percentages
of channels within a single document. It can be applied as an adjustment layer, so
corrections made this way can be changed or masked indefinitely. It can�t be used
to blend channels from two documents. The Channel Mixer is an excellent choice for
making global (the same percentage of channels for the whole image) color to black-
and-white conversions. If you want to control black-and-white conversions locally
(different percentages of channels for different image areas), use channels as
layers instead.

Using the Channel Mixer adjustment, it's possibile to create high-quality

grayscale, sepia tone, or other tinted images. It also make creative color
adjustments to an image. To create high-quality grayscale images, choose the
percentage for each color channel in the Channel Mixer adjustment. To convert a
color image to grayscale and add tinting to the image, use the Black & White
command (see Convert a color image to black and white).

The Channel Mixer adjustment options modify a targeted (output) color channel using
a mix of the existing (source) color channels in the image. Color channels are
grayscale images representing the tonal values of the color components in an image
(RGB or CMYK). When you use the Channel Mixer, you are adding or subtracting
grayscale data from a source channel to the targeted channel. You are not adding or
subtracting colors to a specific color component as you do with the Selective Color
adjustment.

Channel Mixer presets are available from the Preset menu in the Properties panel.
Use the default Channel Mixer presets to create, save, and load custom presets.

Mix color channels

In the Channels panel, select the composite color channel.
To access the Channel Mixer adjustment, do one of the following:
Click the Channel Mixer icon in the Adjustments panel.

Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Channel Mixer. Click OK in the New Layer
dialog box.

Note:

You can also choose Image > Adjustments > Channel Mixer. But keep in mind that this
method makes direct adjustments to the image layer and discards image information.

Do one of the following:

In the Properties panel, choose a channel from the Output Channel menu in which to
blend one or more existing channels.

In the Properties panel, choose a Channel Mixer preset from the Preset menu.

Choosing an output channel sets the source slider for that channel to 100% and all
other channels to 0%. For example, choosing Red as the output channel sets the
Source Channels sliders to 100% for Red, and to 0% for Green and Blue (in an RGB
image).

To decrease the channel�s contribution to the output channel, drag a source channel
slider to the left. To increase the channel�s contribution, drag a source channel
slider to the right or enter a value between -200% and +200% in the box. Using a
negative value inverts the source channel before adding it to the output channel.
Photoshop displays the total value of the source channels in the Total field. If
the combined channel values are above 100%, Photoshop displays a warning icon next
to the total.

Drag the slider or enter a value for the Constant option.

This option adjusts the grayscale value of the output channel. Negative values add
more black, and positive values add more white. A -200% value makes the output
channel black, and a +200% value makes the output channel white.

You can save Channel Mixer dialog box settings for reuse on other images. See Save
adjustment settings and Reapply adjustment settings.

Create monochrome images from RGB or CMYK images

Monochrome images display color channels as gray values. Adjust the percentage of
each source channel to fine-tune the overall grayscale image.

In the Channels panel, select the composite color channel.

Apply a Channel Mixer adjustment.
In the Properties panel, do one of the following:

Select Monochrome.

Select one of the default presets from the Channel Mixer menu:

Black & White Infrared (RGB)

Red=-70%, Green=200%, Blue=-30%

Black & White With Blue Filter (RGB)

Red=0%, Green=0%, Blue=100%

Black & White With Green Filter (RGB)

Red=0%, Green=100%, Blue=0%

Black & White With Orange Filter (RGB)

Red=50%, Green=50%, Blue=0%

Black & White With Red Filter (RGB)

Red=100%, Green=0%, Blue=0%

Black & White With Yellow Filter (RGB)

Red=34%, Green=66%, Blue=0%

To control the amount of detail and contrast in the images before you convert them
to grayscale, use the source channel sliders.
Before adjusting the percentages of the source channels, view how each source
channel affects the monochrome image. For example, in RGB, view the image with the
Red channel set to +100% and the Green and Blue source channels set to 0%. Then,
view the image with the Green source channel set to +100% and the other two
channels set to 0%. Finally, view the image with Blue source channel set to +100%
and the other channels set to 0%.

Note:

The Total value displays the total percentage of the source channels. For best
results, adjust the source channels so the combined values equal 100%. If the
combined values are above 100%, a warning icon appears next to the total,
indicating that the processed image will be brighter than the original, possibly
removing highlight detail.

(Optional) Drag the slider or enter a value for the Constant option.
This option adjusts the grayscale value of the output channel. Negative values add
more black, and positive values add more white. A -200% value makes the output
channel black; a +200% value makes the output channel white.

Create a hand-tinted appearance for specific image elements

In the Channels panel, select the composite color channel.
Apply a Channel Mixer adjustment.
In the Properties panel, select and then deselect Monochrome.

Choose an Output Channel option, and adjust the source channel sliders. (Repeat
this step as desired for each output channel.)

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Calculations - Apply image

The commands Calculations (Image > Calculations) and Apply Image (Image > Apply
Image) can also be used to blend channels. With these two commands, you can combine
any two channels, from different documents, from any layer, at any opacity, with
most blend modes. With Apply Image, you target the channel you wish to change. With
Calculations, you blend to create a new document, a new channel or a new selection.
Neither Calculations nor Apply Image can be used as adjustment layers or layers;
consequently, corrections you make with either of these features are made
permanently to an image. With Apply Image and Calculations, you can take advantage
of two less frequently used blending modes not found with other tools (Add and
Subtract), but you can�t take advantage of four frequently used blending modes
(Hue, Saturation, Color and Luminosity) even if you use the Fade command.

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For the greatest control and flexibility, use channels as layers. Copy any channel
and paste it into any destination as a layer. (Target a channel by clicking on it;
copy that channel (Select All > Edit > Copy); then target the master channel (RGB)
and paste (Edit > Paste).) You can activate, deactivate, mask, change or replace
this new layer indefinitely. Use Layer Styles (double-click on the Layer icon in
the Layers palette) to determine Blend Mode, Opacity, Advanced Blending, to select
which channel is affected, and Blend If options, to determine how This Layer
affects the Underlying Layer or which values of the overlying layer affect the
values of the underlying layer. What�s more, you get a dynamic preview of any
changes you make while you make them. The adjustments you make are flexible, so you
can remove them or fine-tune any of the settings in future editing sessions. You
even can blend two or more channels first, as layers, and then use the resulting
new layer to blend with the Background layer. By turning channels into layers, you
can achieve everything that the other methods achieve and more.

One File, Many Channels

You may be surprised to find that every file has at least 10 channels to choose
from. How do you get so many? Consider the file in different color spaces�RGB, CMYK
and LAB. Convert a duplicate file into another color space, and you can use any and
all of the resulting channels. In fact, you can choose between many, many more
channels when you consider that when converting to CMYK, there are five different
options for generating a Black plate (None, Light, Medium, Heavy and Maximum) with
two styles for each with two Separation types (UCR and GCR). But for the vast
majority of situations, I recommend you try to keep things as simple as possible
and stick with the standard three.