What Are Duotones, Duographs, Tritones and Quadtones?

uotones are two-color halftone image reproductions. Usually, a duotone will be made up of black and one other color, though it doesn't necessarily have to be. A duotone should be created so that the two colors are used at different intensities. This can create an image with subtle coloring that does not overpower or muddy the image's clarity. If done correctly, the result is a photograph with greater depth of color than a plain grayscale photo.

A duograph, or a "fake duotone," is created by printing a one-color halftone over a tint or solid color. The effect is not nearly as effective and one loses a lot of the photo sharpness. It looks pretty crappy all around.

Tritones and a quadtones are halftones that use three and four colors respectively. Personally, I can't say that I've ever seen one of these that were all that impressive. If you have four colors, I'd suggest going with CMYK inks and have the option of using full color photos!

a black & white halftone		a black & cyan duotone
a black & cyan duograph		a black, cyan & magenta tritone
a CMYK quadtone

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