Working with swatches, Swatches panel overview, Swatch types – Adobe InDesign CS4 User Manual
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USING INDESIGN CS4
Color
Working with swatches
Swatches panel overview
The Swatches panel (Window
> Swatches) lets you create and name colors, gradients, or tints, and quickly apply them
to your document. Swatches are similar to paragraph and character styles; any change you make to a swatch affects all
objects to which the swatch is applied. Swatches make it easier to modify color schemes without having to locate and
adjust each individual object.
When the fill or stroke of selected text or an object contains a color or gradient applied from the Swatches panel, the
applied swatch is highlighted in the Swatches panel. Swatches you create are associated only with the current
document. Each document can have a different set of swatches stored in its Swatches panel.
When working with a prepress service provider, swatches let you clearly identify spot colors. You can also specify color
settings in a preflight profile to determine which color settings work with your printer.
Six CMYK-defined colors appear in the default Swatches panel: cyan, magenta, yellow, red, green, and blue.
Note: When you print a book whose chapters contain conflicting swatches, you can instruct InDesign to synchronize
settings with the master document. (See “
See also
Understanding spot and process colors
Swatch types
The Swatches panel stores the following types of swatches:
Colors
Icons on the Swatches panel identify the spot
and process
color types, and LAB
, RGB
,
CMYK
, and Mixed Ink
color modes.
Tints
A percentage value next to a swatch in the Swatches panel indicates a tint of a spot or process color.
Gradients
An icon on the Swatches panel indicates whether a gradient is radial
or linear
.
None
The None swatch removes the stroke or fill from an object. You can’t edit or remove this swatch.
Paper
Paper is a built-in swatch that simulates the paper color on which you’re printing. Objects behind a paper-
colored object won’t print where the paper-colored object overlaps them. Instead, the color of the paper on which you
print shows through. You can edit the Paper color to match your paper stock by double-clicking it in the Swatches
panel. Use the Paper color for previewing only—it will not be printed on a composite printer or in color separations.
You can’t remove this swatch. Do not apply the Paper swatch to remove color from an object. Use the None swatch
instead.
Note: If the Paper color is not working as described, and you are printing to a non-PostScript printer, try switching your
printer driver to Raster Graphics mode.
Black
Black is a built-in, 100% process color black defined using the CMYK color model. You can’t edit or remove this
swatch. By default, all occurrences of Black overprint (print on top of) underlying inks, including text characters at any
size. You can disable this behavior.
Updated 18 June 2009