The Ink filter in Color Efex Pro 4 simulates the stylistic effect of special papers and toners that you can apply to your image. This is reminiscent of wet darkroom techniques used to change the color of the paper, either to warm or cool, in an effort to enhance, alter, or embellish the mood and story of the image.

This is a simple yet powerful filter that gives you a lot of control over the way the tones work with the original colors of the image. To begin, let’s look at the two filter controls and see how these affect the image.

Ink filter control options

Color Set drop down menu allows you to choose differing color combinations. There are 11 Color Set options that give you an expanded color palette to work with; the filter is set to Color Set 1 as a starting point.

Color Set drop down options

The Strength slider controls how much of the filter interacts with the original image; 80% is the default value, giving the image a fairly strong application of the filtered effect. Moving the slider to the left will reduce/remove any color that has been added to the image, while moving it to the right will increase the color.

Tip: This is a great filter to pair with Film Grain! The gritty emulsion adds character and lends to the mood and feeling created by the Ink filter.