Free PatternMaker Plug-in for InDesign
You can download the PatternMaker plug-in for InDesign free from TeacupSoftware.com! The plug-in (both Mac OS and Windows) lets you create an infinite number of fully-customizable patterns based on three core pattern templates: Crosses, Lines, and Scallops.
Here’s how it works: After you download and install the PatternMaker plug-in into your InDesign > Plug-ins Folder, you can select any InDesign frame (even text converted to outlines), select Window > PatternMaker, choose a pattern, and click the Apply Pattern button. The palette lets you customize the pattern in all kinds of ways (each pattern has its own set of variables you can tweak).
Note that the PatternMaker plug-in can assign colors to the patterns, but it only works with process colors in this version.
You do not need the plug-in in order to print (that is, you can give your InDesign documents to anyone and they can view and print them even without the plug-in). This works because the plug-in simply creates a very small EPS file and embeds it into the InDesign document. Embedding images such as this is no big deal because it only adds about 2 or 3 K to the file size and prints or exports to PDF with no trouble.
For example, here are three variations on a single pattern (Crosses) created with the plug-in. Note that as the pattern angle and size changes you get radically different effects.
Editor’s note: I wrote the postscript code behind these patterns, so I have a financial bias here. For each free plug-in you download, I get exactly zero dollars! 
On the other hand, I am hoping that you’ll like the patterns so much that you’ll want to upgrade to the $99 PatternPack, which gives you 10 more (even cooler) patterns.
Or perhaps you have a need for bar codes, which are just sort of another kind of customizable pattern, right? Teacup also has a barcode pattern pack that can make ISBN, EAN, PostNet, and UPC barcodes. These plug-ins are even scriptable, so you could create a custom barcode workflow for an automated system.
Thanks so much for sharing this little ditty with us! The possibilities are endless.
I tried to download the free plugin, but I can’t find it on the teacupsoftware.com web site. Only a trial version and the full plugin for $99 was there. What’s the url to download the free version?
That\’s a cool plug-in, David! I\’ll have to check that out.
Very good point, Jan! I am pretty sure the demo version is the free version (it’s “demo” because it’s only 3 free patterns), but I’m going to suggest that they clear that up on their site.
Yes David. It’s only 3 patterns. Suggest them soon to do it.
It would also be nice if they showed the other patterns in the retail version (or at least include a healthy set of examples). Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough…
I just try the tool it’s great, however, it doesn’t tile the pattern for you which means you’ll have to make it yourself.
Jackie, I’m not sure what you mean by not tiling the pattern. Many of the patterns are automatically tiling.
Hi,
I downloaded a the Pattern maker plug-in. Every time I try to export files (from Indesign CS4), the patterns do not show up. The page is blank instead.
Any advice appreciated,
thanks,
Aleks.
@Aleks: Best to check with teacup for support. But what do you mean by “export”? As PDF pages? Print? That is very strange.
Why does one have to “remove any previous version of Table Styles you have installed!”? In my InDesign Plug-Ins folder I have a folder called ‘Tables’ and in it two files: TableStylesUI and TablesUI. Do I need to delete these? Why? What will happen if I do? If I don’t?
I just want to use the patterns!!
@Leo: I don’t recall seeing that instruction. No, no you do not need to remove those plug-ins. I think that instruction about Table Styles referred only to the old CS2 (or CS?) Table Styles that Teacup Software used to sell.
David, thank you very much for replying. I installed it, and it works, but I want to pattern cells in a table. It seems I can only pattern the entire table, which is not what I want do. I wanted to use four different patterns for four different kinds of cell…Is there any way to do this?
@Leo: Sorry, patterns are graphics, so they act just the same way as any imported graphic. You can place them in a table cell as an anchored object, or you can put them behind a transparent table cell.
At the PeP conference in May, I think you had mentioned that you designed the PeP logo using Patternmaker. Can you tell us how you did it?
@Kelly: I didn’t design the (awesome) conference logo; that was done by Rufus Deuchler, in Illustrator. I did, however, use PatternMaker to design the background pattern on the conference handouts, seen here behind Rufus’ logo:
