Documentation - Kayrock Power Tools

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Getting Started

System Requirements

Adobe Photoshop CC 2024 or newer. Compatible with Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) and Windows 10/11.

How to Launch

After installation via Adobe Creative Cloud, open Photoshop and navigate to Plugins → Kayrock Power Tools to open the panel.

Main Panel

The Kayrock Power Tools panel is your command center. It features icon buttons for frequently used tools and a comprehensive flyout menu for additional utilities.

Icon Buttons

Quickly launch primary tools like Rotate Canvas and Multitone Threshold directly from the panel interface.

Flyout Menu

Click the menu icon (≡) in the top right corner of the panel to access Layer Conversion utilities, About information, and other commands.

Rotate Canvas

The Rotate Canvas tool offers advanced rotation capabilities beyond Photoshop's native commands, specifically tailored for pixel art, bitmaps, and precise prepress adjustments. It supports Bitmap, Indexed Color, Grayscale, RGB, and Lab color modes.

Direction

Toggle between Clockwise and Counter-Clockwise rotation logic.

Angle

Adjust the angle from -180° to 180° using the slider or numeric input. Positive values rotate clockwise by default.

Algorithm

Select the interpolation method:

Nearest Neighbor: Preserves hard edges (standard).
Shear (3-Pass): Lossless rotation for 90° increments, minimal distortion for others.
Bilinear: Smooth interpolation.
RotSprite (Sharp/Smooth): Specialized pixel art rotation.

Resize Canvas

Select Yes to resize the canvas to fit the rotated image, or No to rotate in place (which may introduce clipping).

Preview & Execution

Use the Eye Button to toggle the realtime preview. A progress meter appears for large updates. Click OK to apply or Cancel to discard.

Multitone Threshold

The Multitone Threshold tool offers advanced control over image posterization and separation, allowing for precise tonal splitting and color assignment.

Number of Screens

Select the number of output screens (colors) for the separation. Options range from Monotone (1) to Octatone (8).

Mode

Selects how output levels are calculated:

Auto Range Toggle: Lets you pin the darkest level to black and the lightest to white, ensuring the full tonal range is utilized.
Midpoint: Output levels are centered on each range.
Even Spacing: Output levels are evenly spaced from black to white.
Content-Aware: Analyzes the histogram in each range to balance the output intensity.

Output Format

Choose the structure of the generated result:

Flat: A single layer with pixels of different colors.
Pixel Layers: One layer per tone with solid filled pixels and transparent areas.
Solid Color Layers: Non-destructive Solid Color Fill layers.
Reduction (Pixel/Solid): Lighter colors underprint darker colors, simulating a woodblock reduction print.

Color Algorithm

Determines the color values for the separated tones:

Grayscale: Uses standard gray values.
Average: Uses the average color of pixels in each bucket.
Dominant Hue: Uses the dominant hue in each bucket, scaled for luminosity.

Threshold Sliders & Histogram

The interactive histogram displays the original document overlaid with the output document. You can adjust every threshold point using the slider thumbs or the numeric inputs above them.

Distribution Tools

Distribute: Sets thresholds to even spacing.
Balance: Sets thresholds to contain an equal number of pixels per bucket.

Preview & Execution

Includes standard OK/Cancel buttons, a realtime preview toggle, and a progress meter for monitoring complex updates.

Layer Conversion

Utilities for converting between pixel-based layers and non-destructive Solid Color layers. Operations are performed only on the selected layers, allowing you to maintain a mix of both layer types within your document.

Pixels to Solid Color

Converts opaque pixel layers (single color on transparent background) into Solid Color Fill layers with masks. This is ideal for preparing artwork for screen printing or vinyl cutting where solid colors are required. It also lets you preview different color choices in real time via the color picker.

Solid Color to Pixels

Rasterizes Solid Color layers back into standard pixel layers while preserving transparency. This is useful for applying pixel-based filters or editing that requires raster data.

Glossary

Comprehensive reference of terms used throughout Kayrock Power Tools.

Rotation & Interpolation Terms

Bilinear Interpolation

A smooth interpolation method that averages the four nearest pixels to calculate each new pixel value. Creates softer edges but can blur sharp details in pixel art.

Nearest Neighbor

The simplest interpolation method that selects the closest pixel value without blending. Preserves hard edges but can create jagged results at non-90° angles.

Paeth Decomposition

A mathematical technique that breaks down a rotation into three shear transformations (horizontal-vertical-horizontal or vertical-horizontal-vertical). Named after Alan Paeth, this method minimizes distortion compared to direct rotation.

RotSprite

A specialized rotation algorithm designed for pixel art. It uses Scale2x upscaling before rotation and downscaling after, preserving crisp edges and preventing the "fuzzy" look common with standard interpolation.

Scale2x

A pixel art scaling algorithm that intelligently enlarges images by analyzing neighboring pixels to create smooth edges. Used as a preprocessing step in RotSprite rotation.

Shear Transformation

A geometric operation that slides pixels parallel to an axis, like pushing the top of a rectangle sideways. Three carefully calculated shears can achieve rotation without traditional interpolation artifacts.

Color Separation Terms

Auto-Distribute

Automatically calculates threshold levels to balance pixel coverage across all output colors, ensuring each tone contains roughly equal information.

Bucket

A tonal range between two threshold points. Each bucket becomes one color in the final separation.

Choking

Reducing the size of a lighter color so it doesn't overlap with adjacent darker colors, creating a small gap. The opposite of spreading.

Content-Aware Mode

Analyzes the histogram within each tonal range to determine optimal output values based on actual pixel distribution, rather than mathematical spacing.

Dominant Hue

The most frequently occurring hue (color) within a tonal range. In multitone threshold, this is adjusted for proper luminosity to maintain tonal relationships.

Halftone

A printing technique that simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of dots or patterns, varying in size or spacing. Traditional screen printing uses halftone screens.

Histogram

A graph showing the distribution of tones in an image, from black (left) to white (right). The height at each point shows how many pixels have that brightness value.

Midpoint Mode

Places each output level at the mathematical center between two threshold points.

Monotone/Duotone/Tritone/Quadtone

Terms describing the number of colors in a separation. Monotone = 1, Duotone = 2, Tritone = 3, Quadtone = 4, and so on up to Octatone = 8.

Posterization

Reducing the number of tones in an image, creating distinct bands of color rather than smooth gradients. Also called "quantization."

Reduction Printing

A printmaking technique where lighter colors are printed first, then the block is "reduced" (carved away) to print darker colors on top. In digital terms, this means lighter colors underprint beneath darker ones.

Spreading

Enlarging a lighter color so it slightly overlaps with adjacent darker colors, preventing gaps. The opposite of choking.

Threshold

A brightness value that divides an image into regions. Pixels darker than the threshold become one color, pixels lighter become another.

Trapping

The intentional slight overlap of adjacent colors in printing to prevent white gaps caused by misregistration. Light colors typically trap under (overlap with) darker colors.

Underprinting

When a lighter color extends beneath a darker color in a print, creating overlap. This is standard practice in reduction printing and helps prevent registration gaps.

Layer Types

Pixel Layer

A standard raster layer containing individual pixel data. Can be edited with paint tools and filters.

Solid Color Fill Layer

A non-destructive layer that fills with a single color, using a layer mask to define visible areas. The color can be changed instantly without affecting the mask.

Opaque Pixel Layer

A pixel layer containing a single color on a transparent background with no semi-transparent pixels. Ideal for conversion to Solid Color layers.

Photoshop & Technical Terms

Adobe Exchange

The official marketplace for Photoshop plugins and extensions.

Action (Photoshop Actions)

A recorded sequence of commands in Photoshop that can be played back to automate repetitive tasks.

Batch Processing

Applying the same operation to multiple files or layers automatically.

Bitmap Mode

A Photoshop color mode using only black and white pixels (1-bit), with no grayscale. Common for line art and certain printing processes.

Indexed Color Mode

A color mode that uses a palette of up to 256 colors, with each pixel referencing a color in the palette rather than storing full RGB values.

Lab Color Mode

A color space that separates lightness (L) from color information (a and b channels), designed to be device-independent.

Registration

The alignment of multiple print layers or colors. Misregistration causes colors to print out of alignment, creating gaps or overlaps.

UXP (Unified Extensibility Platform)

Adobe's modern framework for building Photoshop plugins using web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).