Skip to main content
Participant
May 2, 2008
Question

Editing Contrast / Brightness inside InDesign

  • May 2, 2008
  • 4 replies
  • 112200 views
In Quark you can go and edit any image by right clicking an image going to Picture Effects then Adjusments followed by "Brightness/Contrast" . I was wondering if it is possible to edit images on the fly like that in InDesign and if so how? Messing with the Opacity of the object seems to work a little bit but i'm sure that's not what you are suppost to do.

4 replies

hekselsior
Known Participant
November 29, 2020

I know the original post dated back to 2008, but I think this is still relevant. I wonder why not adding some basic image adjustment like Brightness, Contrast and Temperature? This will make the workflow much faster instead of working with other app, and perhaps less computer resource too. 

Participant
September 28, 2016

Holy cow, NOT thank goodness. Maybe for people creating anything other than a newspaper, but when creating a newspaper, an ability to adjust the picture effects on the page is vital. We adjust everything in Photoshop, but we still have to adjust it once it's on the page, as well, as it always imports darker than we had it in Photoshop and, if left like that, will run dark on our press.

I'm beginning to think InDesign is a bust for newspapers. No Smart Fit, no photo adjusting, no feeding multiple stories into the same text box... ugh.

Does anyone happen to have a script for Windows that will allow the picture effects to be adjusted in InDesign?

rob day
Community Expert
Community Expert
September 28, 2016

but we still have to adjust it once it's on the page, as well, as it always imports darker than we had it in Photoshop and, if left like that, will run dark on our press.

Are these grayscale images? See #11-13 here:

https://forums.adobe.com/message/4482662#4482662#4482662

Participant
December 6, 2010

You can use AppleScript if you're a Mac user. Here is the link of an AppleScript I wrote for InDesign CS4: http://rahmetli.info/en/brightness-and-contrast-adjustment-in-indesign-cs4-mac/

Scott Falkner
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 2, 2008
Can't, and thank goodness. You want to edit an image? Use an image editor. You can add adjustment layers to your image and save as PSD. InDesign will let you turn those adjustment layers on and off, but not edit them.
Participant
July 10, 2020

Sorry, this comes across as one of the most insulting and idiotic responses I've seen in a long time, and from someone who promotes themself as a professional.  If a user has a need, then that need is *not* something you should be glad they can't do.  Having been a photographer for over 20 years, and now trying to grapple with the intricacies of having to deal with varying printer configurations, the concept of having to return to an image editor and edit each photo instead of being able to have the option of adjusting the output contrast of a page seems *VERY* reasonable to ask.

rob day
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 11, 2020

The post you are responding to is from 2008, so you might want to start a new thread.

 

Having been a photographer for over 20 years, and now trying to grapple with the intricacies of having to deal with varying printer configurations,

 

The CC print applications deal with different print destinations via a comprehensive color management system, so you shouldn’t have to adjust placed images for different devices.

 

The recommended workflow today (as opposed to 2008) would be to place profiled RGB images, and make a conversion for the specific destination device during the Export to PDF, or at output in the RIP. For example you can work in a wide gamut RGB space like AdobeRGB, and convert to any CMYK space on the PDF export, and get the best CMYK values for that destination. Or, the destination could be to an RGB driven inkjet printer, and the Export color could be left unchanged (default PDF/X-4). The conversion for the specific Inkjet device and media would be made in the print driver—the source AdobeRGB color to the  media ICC profile.