For this next example we’ll use a black and white original image with the Screen setting. With the graphic blending mode still set to Luminosity the image will create a mock Duotone – a two tone image made up of a color and black.Ħ. Copy the original object again, this time change the fill color from black, paper or registration to a swatch color or one of your choosing. Select it with the Black Arrow and in the effects palette change the Fill to a lower percentage, this will begin to add color back into the image but keep it desaturated – this is the equivalent of using the Hue and Saturation adjustment in Photoshop and lowering the saturation setting.Īs we can see, InDesign allows us to change the Transparency of not just the entire object, but the stroke, fill and when applicable the graphic filling the object as well as Text.ĥ. Make a copy of the image you placed into InDesign. Let’s see what else we can do with just Transparency.Ĥ.

However, if you’re really serious about black and white, I would highly recommend using the Black and White adjustment tool in Photoshop as it gives you the highest level of control over the resulting image.īut that’s not to say we can’t make adjustments in InDesign and get some interesting effects. In this case, since black and paper have no saturation info it turns the graphic into a black and white image. Why does this work? The blending mode Luminosity will take the Hue (color) and Saturation (color intensity) from the base – in this case black or paper – and use the luminosity (the black and white information) from the graphic. Select the image with the direct selection tool (white arrow) and change the blending mode for Graphic in the effects palette to “ Luminosity” Select the placed image with the selection tool (black arrow) and change the fill color of the content box to black, paper or registration (it doesn’t matter which)ģ. Make a new document and then place (FILE menu > PLACE) in a color photograph, I’m going to use this image of a toy robot, but you can of course use any image of your choosing.Ģ. Let’s get the question out of the way first and then we’ll make a more thorough exploration of Transparency.ġ. The answer is “of course you can but why would you want to do it when you have better tools in Photoshop?” The method uses InDesign’s effects Palette to do the conversion which is why this questions lends itself nicely to making a tutorial exploring Transparency. A student asked if it would be possible to convert a drawing from full color to black and white in InDesign.

Opacity in indesign