InDesign includes the technology to create an infinite array of colors. In today’s post, I’ll review tints, shades, and the transparency effect.

Tints are hues which have a percentage of white added to them. (Refer to the first row of the above example.)

When creating a tint swatch in InDesign, choose the “New tint swatch” option. Then use the tint slider to regulate the percentage of base color swatch.

Shades are hues which have a percentage of black added to them. (Refer to the second row of the above example.)

When creating a shade swatch in InDesign, choose the “New color swatch” option. The color type should be “Spot” and the color mode should be “CMYK.” Then adjust the black slider to regulate the percentage of black color.
A transparent color is a hue which has an opacity less than 100%. (Refer to the third row of the above example.) Spot colors, such as Pantene, cannot be used to create a transparency effect.

When creating a transparency effect in InDesign, first select the base color swatch. Go to OBJECT>EFFECTS>TRANSPARENCY. Change the opacity percentage.
In addition to the “normal” blending mode, the transparency effect has four other modes which result in the following special effects.
