User Guide Cancel

Overprinting

  1. InDesign User Guide
  2. Get to know InDesign
    1. Introduction to InDesign
      1. What's New in InDesign
      2. System requirements
      3. Common questions
      4. Use Creative Cloud libraries
    2. Workspace
      1. Workspace basics
      2. Contextual task bar
      3. Customize your workspace in InDesign
      4. Toolbox
      5. Set preferences
      6. Properties panel
      7. Touch workspace
      8. Default keyboard shortcuts
      9. Undo edits and manage History panel
      10. Document recovery and undo
    3. Generative AI (Not available in mainland China)
      1. Text to Image
      2. Generative Expand
      3. Generate Effect in InDesign (Beta)
      4. Generative AI FAQ
  3. Create and layout documents
    1. Documents and pages
      1. Create documents
      2. Work with parent pages
      3. Work with document pages
      4. Set page size, margins, and bleed
      5. Work with files and templates
      6. Convert PDFs to InDesign files in InDesign (Beta)
      7. Create book files
      8. Add basic page numbering
      9. Number pages, chapters, and sections
      10. Convert QuarkXPress and PageMaker documents
      11. Share content
      12. Understand a basic managed-file workflow
      13. Save documents
    2. Grids
      1. Grids
      2. Format grids
    3. Layout aids
      1. Rulers
      2. Align and distribute objects using rulers
      3. Measure objects using the Measure tool
  4. Add content
    1. Text
      1. Add text to frames
      2. Threading text
      3. South-East Asian Scripts
      4. Arabic and Hebrew features in InDesign
      5. Create type on a path
      6. Bullets and numbering
      7. Insert MathML to create math expressions
      8. Glyphs and special characters
      9. Text composition
      10. Text variables
      11. Generate QR codes
      12. Edit text
      13. Align text
      14. Wrap text around objects
      15. Anchored objects
      16. Linked content
      17. Format paragraphs
      18. Format characters
    2. Typography
      1. Using fonts in InDesign
      2. Kerning and tracking
      3. Scale and skew type
      4. Apply color effects to type
    3. Format text
      1. Format text
      2. Auto Style text
      3. Work with Style Packs
      4. Tabs and indents
    4. Review text
      1. Track and review changes
      2. Add editorial notes in InDesign
      3. Import PDF comments
    5. Spell check and language dictionaries
      1. Check spelling, autocorrect, and dynamic spelling
      2. Create, add, and manage dictionaries and words
      3. Change dictionary preferences
      4. Duden dictionary
    6. Add references
      1. Create a table of contents
      2. Footnotes
      3. Create an index
      4. Endnotes
      5. Captions
    7. Styles
      1. Paragraph and character styles
      2. Map, export, and manage styles
      3. Object styles
      4. Drop caps and nested styles
      5. Work with styles
      6. Leading
    8. Tables
      1. Format tables
      2. Create tables
      3. Table and Cell styles
      4. Select and edit tables
      5. Table strokes and fills
    9. Interactivity
      1. Hyperlinks
      2. Dynamic PDF documents
      3. Bookmarks
      4. Buttons
      5. Forms
      6. Animation
      7. Cross-references
      8. Structure PDFs
      9. Page transitions
      10. Movies and sounds
    10. Graphics
      1. Understand paths and shapes
      2. Draw with the Pencil tool
      3. Draw with the Pen tool
      4. Apply line (stroke) settings 
      5. Compound paths and shapes
      6. Edit paths
      7. Clipping paths
      8. Change corner appearance
      9. Frames and objects
      10. Align and distribute objects
      11. Linked and embedded graphics
      12. Integrate AEM assets
    11. Color and transparency
      1. Apply color
      2. Use colors from imported graphics
      3. Work with swatches
      4. Mix inks
      5. Tints
      6. Understand spot and process colors
      7. Blend colors
      8. Gradients
      9. Flatten transparent artwork
      10. Add transparency effects
  5. Find and replace
    1. Find and replace text
    2. Find and replace fonts
    3. Find and replace glyphs
    4. Find and replace using GREP expressions and queries
    5. Find and replace objects
    6. Find and replace colors
    7. Search options to find and replace
  6. Share
    1. Save and access cloud documents
    2. Organize, manage, and share cloud documents
    3. View and manage versions in cloud documents
    4. Common questions about InDesign cloud documents
    5. InCopy on the web (Beta)
    6. Share and collaborate        
    7. Share for Review
    8. Review a shared InDesign document
    9. Manage feedback
    10. Invite to edit
  7. Export, import, and publish
    1. Place, export, and publish
      1. Publish online
      2. Publish online dashboard
      3. Copy, insert graphics
      4. Export to Adobe Express
      5. Export content for EPUB
      6. Adobe PDF options
      7. Export to HTML5
      8. Export content to HTML (Legacy)
      9. Export to Adobe PDF
      10. Export to JPEG format
      11. Import SVG files
      12. DPS and AEM Mobile overview
      13. Supported File Formats
      14. Export and import User Settings
    2. Printing
      1. Print booklets
      2. Printer's marks and bleeds
      3. Print documents
      4. Inks, separation, and screen frequency
      5. Overprinting
      6. Create PostScript and EPS files
      7. Preflight files before handoff
      8. Print thumbnails and oversized documents
      9. Prepare PDFs for service providers
      10. Prepare to print separations
  8. Extend InDesign
    1. Automation
      1. Data merge
      2. Plug-ins
      3. Capture extension in InDesign
      4. Scripting
  9. Troubleshooting
    1. Fixed issues
    2. Known issues
    3. Crash on launch
    4. Preference folder read-only issue
    5. Troubleshoot file issues
    6. Unable to export InDesign file to PDF
    7. InDesign document recovery

About overprinting

If you have not changed the transparency of your artwork with the Transparency panel, the fills and strokes in the artwork will appear opaque, because the top color knocks out, or cuts out, the area underneath. You can prevent knockout by using the Overprint options in the Attributes panel. After you’ve set your overprint options, you can preview the overprinting effects on‑screen.

Three overlapping circles without overprinting (left) compared to three overlapping circles with overprinting (right)

InDesign also has overprint simulation, which is useful for simulating the effects of overprinting spot and process inks on a composite printing device.

Black ink applied to text or native InDesign objects is overprinted by default to prevent misregistration of small black-type characters positioned over color areas, or of color areas outlined with black lines. You can change black ink settings using Appearance Of Blackpreferences.

Your design workflow may require a certain color to be set to overprint. For example, you want to print all the text in your publication in a specific color. Consider the following options:

  • Create an object style that uses the spot ink as the fill or stroke with a matching overprint fill or stroke.

  • Create a separate layer for objects that contain your spot color and assign them to black.

  • Create a composite PDF and change overprint settings within the PDF.

  • Assign overprint settings in your RIP.

  • Apply overprint settings to an image or object and add it to your library, or edit a placed file in its original application.

Determine when to overprint manually

Automatic trapping in InDesign—either as built‑in trapping or Adobe In‑RIP Trapping—nearly eliminates the need for manual overprinting. However, manual overprinting can be an effective solution in the rare cases when you can’t use automatic trapping.

Use the following guidelines to determine whether or not to use overprinting:

  • Consult with your service provider to see if their output devices support manual overprinting.

  • Overprint when the artwork doesn’t share common ink colors and you want to create a trap or overlaid ink effects. When overprinting process color mixes or custom colors that don’t share common ink colors, the overprint color is added to the background color. For example, if you print a fill of 100% magenta over a fill of 100% cyan, the overlapping fills appear violet, not magenta.

  • Don’t overprint when using a stroke to trap two process colors. Instead, you specify a CMYK stroke color that uses the higher value from the corresponding inks in each original color.

  • Make sure that you and your prepress service provider agree on when and how to overprint manually, because doing so will significantly affect trapping options specified in the Print dialog box. Overprinting is supported by most, but not all, PostScript Level 2 and PostScript 3 devices.

Overprint page items

You can overprint strokes or fills, paragraph rules, and rules above footnotes. You can also simulate overprinting of spot colors.

Overprint a stroke or fill

You can overprint strokes or fills of any selected paths using the Attributes panel. An overprinted stroke or fill doesn’t need to be trapped, because overprinting covers any potential gaps between adjacent colors. You can also overprint a stroke to simulate a trap (by overprinting a color you’ve manually calculated as the proper combination of two adjacent colors).

Keep the following guidelines in mind as you apply manual overprinting:

  • If you use the Overprint Fill option on a 100% black stroke or fill, the black ink may not be opaque enough to prevent the underlying ink colors from showing through. To eliminate the show-through problem, use a four-color (rich) black instead of a 100% black. Consult with your service provider about the exact percentages of color to add to the black.

  • When using a stroke to trap objects (but not text characters), adjust the stroke alignment so the stroke falls outside the path or object, rather than inside or centered on the path.

  • When using a stroke to trap two spot colors or a spot and a process color, you usually apply the lighter color to the stroke, and overprint the stroke.

    Use the Separations Preview panel to preview how colors will overprint.

  1. Select one or more paths with the Selection tool  or the Direct Selection tool  , or select text characters with the Type tool. To overprint the stroke of a path that is pasted inside a frame, you must first select the nested (inner) path using the Direct Selection tool.
    Overprinting fills and strokes

    A. Cyan (bottom layer) B. Magenta (middle layer) C. Yellow (top layer) 

  2. Choose Window > Output > Attributes.
  3. In the Attributes panel, do any of the following:
    • To overprint the fill of selected objects, or to overprint unstroked type, select Overprint Fill.

    • To overprint the stroke of selected objects, select Overprint Stroke.

    • To overprint a color applied to the spaces in a dashed, dotted, or patterned line, select Overprint Gap.

Overprint a paragraph rule

  1. Make sure a swatch exists for your overprint color.
  2. Using the Type tool, click an insertion point in a paragraph.
  3. In the Paragraph panel, choose Paragraph Rules in the Paragraph panel menu.
  4. In the pop‑up menu at the top of the dialog box, choose the paragraph rule you want to overprint.
  5. Select one of the following, then click OK.
    • To overprint the stroke of the rule, select Overprint Stroke.

    • To overprint a color applied to the spaces in a dashed, dotted, or patterned line, select Overprint Gap.

Note:

The Overprint Stroke and Overprint Gap options in the Paragraph Rules dialog box can be saved as part of a paragraph style.

Overprint rules above footnotes

InDesign can automatically insert a rule to separate footnotes from the body of the document. You can choose to overprint the rule.

  1. Make sure a swatch exists for your overprint color.
  2. Choose Type > Document Footnote Options.
  3. In the Footnote Options dialog box, click the Layout tab.
  4. Select Overprint Stroke, and click OK.

Simulate overprinting of spot inks

Overprint simulation is useful for simulating the effects of overprinting spot inks with different neutral density values (for example, red and blue). When you print to a composite output device using overprint simulation, you can see if the resulting color is one that you want to overprint or knock out.

  1. In the Output area of the Print dialog box, choose a composite option in the Color menu.
    Note:

    You cannot simulate overprinting when Composite Leave Unchanged is selected.

  2. Select Simulate Overprint.

Change the black overprint setting

To knock out black objects in InDesign, you must prevent the black swatch from overprinting. Unlike most color swatches, which knock out by default, the black swatch overprints by default, including all black strokes, fills, and text characters. The 100% process black appears as [Black] in the Swatches panel. Knock out black objects by either deselecting the overprint default in Preferences or by duplicating the default black swatch and applying the duplicated swatch to color objects that knock out. If you disable the overprint setting in the Preferences dialog box, all instances of Black knock out (remove underlying inks).

Note:

It can be cheaper and easier to have the print shop overprint process black on the press.

  1. Choose Edit > Preferences >Appearance Of Black (Windows) or InDesign > Preferences >Appearance Of Black (Mac OS).
  2. Select or deselect Overprint [Black] Swatch at 100%.
Note:

Overprint [Black] Swatch at 100% does not affect tints of [Black], unnamed black colors, or objects that appear black because of their transparency settings or styles. It affects only objects or text colored with the [Black] swatch.

 Adobe

Get help faster and easier

New user?