InDesign, the basics

Member lesson

Swatches, colour and preflight

Lesson 5 of 7 in InDesign, the basics.

Checked against the makers' documentation on 9 October 2026.

InDesign: How to Create Preflight Profiles (Video Tutorial) · CreativePro
Lesson

The Swatches panel stores the colours, tints and gradients a document uses. A swatch works like a style. Apply a swatch and the object remembers it, so editing the swatch changes every object that uses it. Colours mixed in the Color panel without being saved as swatches do not update that way, which is why a brand's palette belongs in the Swatches panel from the first day. To add one, choose New Color Swatch from the Swatches panel menu, set Color Type and Color Mode, untick Name With Color Value and type the brand's own name for it.

Member

The rest of this is for members.

You have read the opening of this lesson. The rest of it comes with a membership.

One membership covers all four courses and Brands.

  • All lessons in the four Learn courses
  • All brand breakdowns in the Brands section
  • All quizzes, flashcards and crosswords
  • An AI teacher on every lesson, for up to 60 questions a day
  • All course material published during the membership

Price

Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.

Check what stuck

Members only

You can't take this check yet.

Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    You defined a brand colour in RGB as a process swatch. What does Adobe's help say about its final output values?

    • They stay RGB unless you export to PDF/X-4
    • They are always CMYK, converted by your colour management settings
    • They print on a separate spot colour plate
    • They match the hex code exactly on paper
  2. Question 2, locked

    Why should text never be coloured with the Registration swatch?

    • It prints on every plate, so the text prints in every ink
    • It shows on screen only and never prints
    • It cannot be converted to CMYK on export
    • It overprints every colour beneath it
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which problems does InDesign's default preflight profile, [Basic], look for?

    • Image resolution and colour spaces
    • Bleed, crop marks and the PDF preset
    • Missing or modified links, overset text and missing fonts
    • Spelling, widows and orphans

Elsewhere in the library

Hear about new courses.

Leave an email and we will tell you when something new lands. We do not write often.