# InDesign CS2: Printing Images with Transparency Produces Color Shift in Background
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indesign-cs2-printing-images-with-transparency-produces-color-shift-in-background/360601
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 13, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indesign-cs2-printing-images-with-transparency-produces-color-shift-in-background/360601 "2006-06-13T18:45:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Nobody\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody_Special)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indesign-cs2-printing-images-with-transparency-produces-color-shift-in-background/360601/1 "2006-06-13T18:45:15Z")
When I print file to our Canon Color Laser Copier 1180 that contains a .psd image with transparency on top of a color background, the color in the area behind the image’s bounding box comes out lighter. The .psd image and background are RGB. I’ve changed the Transparency Blend Space to RGB and set the Output Color to Composite RGB.
I’ve also converted the .psd image to CMYK and used the CMYK equivalent for the background. I set the Transparency Blend Space back to CMYK and Output Color to Composite CMYK with the same result.
How do I fix this? Thanks.
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### Author:  [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indesign-cs2-printing-images-with-transparency-produces-color-shift-in-background/360601/2 "2006-06-13T18:56:16Z")
Is your monitor calibrated correctly?
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### Author:  [@Nobody\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody_Special)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indesign-cs2-printing-images-with-transparency-produces-color-shift-in-background/360601/3 "2006-06-13T19:06:46Z")
I can’t imagine the my monitor calibration would have any effect on the transparency of a .psd file causing a color shift when printing. The issue is not that the color of the .psd file and the same color in the InDesign file don’t look the same when printed.
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### Author:  [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)
#### Post date: [June 13, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indesign-cs2-printing-images-with-transparency-produces-color-shift-in-background/360601/4 "2006-06-13T19:28:31Z")
> [@Nobody Special](#):
>
> I can’t imagine the my monitor calibration would have any effect on the transparency of a .psd file causing a color shift when printing. The issue is not that the color of the .psd file and the same color in the InDesign file don’t look the same when printed.
Okay, I misread your original post. I read it as a difference in colour between the display and the printout and not two areas of the printout. Sorry.
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### Author:  [@miamouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miamouse)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/indesign-cs2-printing-images-with-transparency-produces-color-shift-in-background/360601/5 "2006-06-14T01:57:45Z")
We haven’t gotten the upgrade to CS2 at work yet, but in the version we’re using:
If you’ve got an object with an indesign generated drop shadow, and it’s **above** a text box, the shadow will create a kind of false halo around the text in the box that the shadow touches. We fix it by sending the object to back and then it doesn’t do that anymore.
I was gonna suggest converting to CMYK, since that’s the kind of toner the laser printer would be using, but I see on preview that you already tried that. Maybe the printer isn’t liking .psd files?