Tints – Adobe InDesign User Manual
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Tints
About tints
Create and edit tints
About tints
A tint is a screened (lighter) version of a color. Tinting is an economical way to make additional spot color variations without having to pay for
additional spot color inks. Tinting is also a quick way to create lighter versions of process colors, although it doesn’t reduce the cost of printing
process colors. As with non-tinted colors, it’s best to name and store tints in the Swatches panel so that you can easily edit all instances of that
tint in your document.
Spot color and tints
A tint of a spot color is printed on the same printing plate as the spot color. A tint of a process color multiplies each of the CMYK process inks by
the tint percentage; for example, an 80% tint of C10 M20 Y40 K10 results in C8 M16 Y32 K8.
Because colors and tints update together, if you edit a swatch, all objects that use a tint of that swatch update accordingly. You can also edit the
base swatch of a named tint using the Swatch Options command in the Swatches panel menu; this updates any other tints based on the same
swatch.
The tint range in Adobe Creative Suite 3 is 0% to 100%; the lower the number, the lighter the tint.
Create and edit tints
You can adjust the tint of an individual object, or create tints by using the Tint slider in the Swatches panel or Color panel. The tint range is from
0% to 100%; the lower the number, the lighter the tint will be.
Because colors and tints update together, if you edit a swatch, all objects that use a tint of that swatch update accordingly. You can also edit the
base swatch of a named tint using the Swatch Options command in the Swatches panel menu; this updates any other tints based on the same
swatch.
Create a tint swatch using the Swatches panel
1. In the Swatches panel, select a color swatch.
2. Select the arrow next to the Tint box.
3. Drag the Tint slider, and click the New Swatch button or select New Tint Swatch in the Swatches panel menu.
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