Issues changing color of transparent image

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
April 21, 2025
4 replies
700 views

I have tried multiple different methods and none of which are working- please help!

I am having issues changing colors of my transparent images. Everytime I go to Window>Color it adds the color to the background rather than the image itself. I feel like I have exhausted my options and really am not sure what else I can do. I am fairly new to InDesign so I'm hoping its just something I am overlooking, but I'm beginning to doubt its even possible to change transparent image colors. Please help! I am trying to match this image to our brand colors.

How to

rob day

Community Expert

Hi @abbey_4170 , As @Peter Spier notes Grayscale and Bitmap images can have color applied, but they have to be flattened. More here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/changing-background-color-to-transparent-in-a-bw-image/td-p/13076699

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

Someone who works with InDesign must also be someone who uses Photoshop and Illustrator and Acrobat. All 4 are deep oceans of technical learning and awareness within the various crafts of the publishing/communications industry. Have you considered taking training to get up to speed? (Full Disclosure: my consulting company provides training.)

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

Since these are (probably) pixel-based files, why not save-as TIFF. Remember to set the Mode to Bitmap.

Mike Witherell

A

abbey_4170Author

Participant

Is there a way to save files as TIFF in InDesign? I do not have Photoshop.

BobLevine

Community Expert

No, and frankly this is like a carpenter who has a hammer but no saw.

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

What file format did you make these images? From Photoshop, we used to set the Mode to Bitmap, and place this into InDesign with the intention of recoloring it with the Swatches in the Swatches panel.

Mike Witherell

A

abbey_4170Author

Participant

I have tried both PNG and PDF formats. I unfortunately did not create these images, they were created by the company that did our rebranding prior to me being hired.

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