The Process Manual

To apply a tint to a color: 1. Select an element and apply the color.

2. Use the percentage drop-down menu at the top of the Swatches palette to select the percentage of color you wish to apply. GRADIENTS One of the most exciting features of InDesign is the ability to create gradients using anywhere from one color fading into white to 256 colors. Gradients can be applied to text, shapes or other page elements. To create a gradient: 1. Create the page element to which you want to apply a gradient. 2. Open both your Color and Gradient palettes (Window > Color and Window > Gradient). If the two palettes are docked, click on the tab of one and drag it away from the other palette. 3. To apply a gradient, either use the Gradient tool or the Gradient button at the bottom of the Tool palette. 4. To change the colors of your gradient, select your page element and click on the gradient bar at the bottom of the Gradient palette. 5. It is important when creating four-color gradients to choose CMYK colors. In the Color palette, choose CMYK from the palette menu. 6. “Paint buckets” appear at either end of the bar. Click on the paint bucket you would like to change, and then select a color from the bar at the bottom of the Color palette. 7. To apply a gradient of more than two colors, add paint buckets to the gradient bar by clicking on it. You can also slide the paint buckets around on the gradient bar for different effects. Creating gradients from predefined colors To ensure that the gradients you create will turn out as you expect, it is best to create them from colors that you can readily see printed on paper, such as Walsworth’s Formula Colors. You must add the colors you want to use to your Swatches palette before they can be used to create a gradient. 1. With your page open, click on Color Information on the Control Center. 2. Click the +Formula check box to open the color selector. 3. In the color selector dialog that opens, click to check the color(s) you wish to use.

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Any tint applied to a color will change the appearance of that color. As with any color you see on your computer’s monitor, it will not exactly match the appearance of the color when it is printed in your book. This is also true when working with gradients.

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