Using colors from imported graphics – Adobe InDesign User Manual
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Using colors from imported graphics
Using colors from imported graphics
InDesign provides various ways for you to sample and redefine colors from the graphics you import into your document. Spot colors from placed
PDF or EPS files and spot-color channels in Adobe Photoshop (PSD) and TIFF files appear as spot colors in the Swatches panel. You can apply
these colors to objects in your document or convert them to process colors; however, you cannot redefine the color values or delete the imported
swatches. If you delete the placed graphic, the colors remain but are converted to native InDesign colors, which can then be edited or deleted.
Using the Eyedropper tool to sample colors
You can use the Eyedropper tool
to add colors from imported graphics to your document, or to apply them to objects in your document. This is
useful for coordinating layout colors with images.
For best results with color separations, you may want to make sure that color names, types (such as spot and process), and models (such as
RGB and CMYK) of the colors sampled in InDesign are consistent with the color definitions in the imported graphics. If you’re not sure about the
best settings to use, consult with your prepress service provider.
Working with spot-color channels in an Adobe Photoshop (PSD) file
When you place a native Photoshop file (PSD) or TIFF file in InDesign, any spot-color channels the file contains appear in the Swatches panel as
spot-color inks. You can select and apply these swatches to other objects in your document; to delete these swatches, however, you must first
delete the placed image.
If you import a file that has a spot-color channel with the same name as a spot color in your document, but with different color values, you will be
asked whether you want to use the color values in the placed file or the ones in the document.
Working with colors from EPS or PDF files
When you place a PDF file, EPS graphic, or Adobe Illustrator (.AI) file, names of spot colors used in the graphic are added to the Swatches panel
in your document, so that you can be aware that they can cause additional printing costs later, and also so that you can use the spot colors in your
document.
If the graphic you are importing contains a spot color with the same name as a spot color in your document but different color values, the color
values in the document are used.
Change an imported spot color to a process color
When you import an EPS, PSD, TIFF or PDF graphic containing a spot color (or a spot-color channel), InDesign adds the spot color name and
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