Printing Indesign tints problem

[alm70]

I'm not 100% sure this is the right forum for this, but I have a question about a print piece I have created in Adobe InDesign CS3. I'm printing a 4-color process piece and was surprised today to get color proofs back from my printer. On one page, I have a rectangular shape made up of c-12, m-0, y-60, k-0. Right beside that shape I have another shape with the same fill, but a tint of 50%. In theory, I was thinking these two pieces would look like they are from the same hue, but once I got my proofs back...the second shape (the one with the 50% tint) looks very orange/yellow. In other words..one would never think it was 50% tint of the first color. It looks like a totally different color but not a tint of the first.

It's hard to describe something so visual, but anyone have any input? I did some rough color proofs at my workplace and all looks well. All looks well on screen. I just noticed you can make a tint swatch? Would that have made a difference?

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance and if more info is needed I can certainly answer questions.

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

A swatch would not have made a difference. Note thaht 50% tint and 50% opacity is not the same thing.
About the hue, well above about 40% (taking dotgain into consideration) the raster dots start to overlap, wich means you have 4 colours in play, paper, cyan, yellow and cyan+yellow.

A proof is again throwing in some ink colours and proofer paper, and will be simulating the printed colours.
Normally the yellow of a proofer is too redish in hue, and so it may be a proofer error.

But even when printing you will probably experience blues with similar ratio of cyan:magenta will be a different hue at 50%. Magenta tends to outshine cyan especially at lower %, and this is even more so on uncoated papers. I don't so often do greens, but I would look at the Lab values of the two tints.

It could also be a dotgain issue.