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Graphic Design vocabulary · Image Formats & Resolution

Duotone

Meaning in graphic design, with examples

nounCommon term

In graphic design, duotone means: An image reproduced with two inks whose tonal contributions are controlled separately.

In Turkish: çift tonlu görüntü

How it is used

Specify the inks and tonal treatment; a two-colour layout is not necessarily a duotone.

Example sentences

  1. The portrait duotone combines black with a warm brown ink.

    Both inks contribute to the tonal rendering of one image.

  2. Adjusting the second ink curve softened the duotone's highlights.

    The tonal contribution of one ink can be controlled independently.

Common collocations

  • duotone image
  • duotone curve
  • spot colourA specially mixed ink printed as a single solid colour instead of being built from CMYK dots, used for exact brand colours, metallics and neons. Pantone is the best-known system.
  • raster imageA digital image made of a grid of tiny coloured squares called pixels, such as a photo. It has a fixed resolution, so it loses quality when enlarged too much.

More terms: Image Formats & Resolution

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