Is the [Paper] colour ever used?

[Robin Springall]

Pagewreck... sorry, PageMaker, and InDesign both have a [paper] colour and another called white, both set to cmyk 0. I've always found it odd, so have never dared use [paper] instead of white. Who would ever use it, when the two must surely be identical?

[iamback]

Originally Posted by Robin Springall

Pagewreck... sorry, PageMaker, and InDesign both have a [paper] colour and another called white, both set to cmyk 0. I've always found it odd, so have never dared use [paper] instead of white. Who would ever use it, when the two must surely be identical?

Must they?

Going by their names, my guess would be that "white" is indeed white, but "paper" would actually be transparent, letting the actual color of the paper (which may not be white!) shine through. The setting 0 may not be all (though I've never used cmyk) if there is a bit flipped somewhere that says "make this color transparent".

Just theorizing, but to me a difference between "paper" and "white" makes sense. Just like icon creation software has a color called "screen" which lets the background color through. You can paint with it: a bit like using a special eraser (though the eraser tool does something else).

[don Arnoldy]

Originally Posted by Robin Springall

Who would ever use it, when the two must surely be identical?

"Paper" and "white" have been equivalent (O% K) for ever. However, it does not *have* to be that way. Someone *could* build a library of paper colors, to which the color "paper" could be set--that would even be more sensible--but no one has.

Generally, I prefer to use "paper" for items I want reversed out--and white for when i explicitly want to print an opaque white (like when I silkscreen a CD)--but the 0% K doesn't work for that!

--don

[Shane Stanley]

Originally Posted by Robin Springall

Who would ever use it, when the two must surely be identical?

Paper is whatever you want it to be. Suppose you're doing a job to be printed on yellow paper; you can change Paper to 100Y or whatever, and you'll get a much more useful preview. But the color itself won't print out.

Shane

[Robin Springall]

Originally Posted by Shane Stanley

Suppose you're doing a job to be printed on yellow paper; you can change Paper to 100Y or whatever, and you'll get a much more useful preview

Ah!, so zat iz vot it iz, zen, eh? Many thanks!

[iamback]

Originally Posted by Shane Stanley

Paper is whatever you want it to be. Suppose you're doing a job to be printed on yellow paper; you can change Paper to 100Y or whatever, and you'll get a much more useful preview. But the color itself won't print out.

Ah, so I guessed (essentially) right: just any color when editing, only effectively transparent when applied. Just like transparency in GIFs and icons, in fact.

[ElyseC]

Originally Posted by Shane Stanley

Paper is whatever you want it to be. Suppose you're doing a job to be printed on yellow paper; you can change Paper to 100Y or whatever, and you'll get a much more useful preview. But the color itself won't print out.

Yep. That's one of those features I've been waiting for the chance to use. Maybe the next freebie wedding invitation or baby announcement I do for a friend will call for colored paper and I can try it out.

[PeterArnel]

Hello Robin - its me
Paper type 1 (white coated has a lab reading of 93 0 -3 - thought u might like to know that - knowing you are a knowing sort of chap
peter

[Robin Springall]

Wotcha Peter! Are those values for a standard gloss art stock, or something posh?

[hergeekness]

InDesign does not have a default color of White. You use Paper instead of White.

If you're seeing "White" in InDesign's Swatches palette, it's because you're working in a converted QuarkXPress document. You can safely delete the color White and change it to Paper at the prompt.

Having both of those there can confuse people. ;-)

Though I suppose a White defined as a spot color would be useful for screen printing jobs.

AM