The Canon Copier professionals were in the studio today. . .

They came in to help us with an issue we're having with creating reliable tints. Tints that hold their color when they go out to be printed in the real world.

Here's what they said:
Our machines are great and can hold down to 2% of any color. Also, you should check "Leave CMYK color unchanged" in your Indesign Print file dialog box.

We said:
That's great. The edit in the Print dialog box is easy, but the 2% percent doesn't help us, as most real-world printers can't hold that.

They said:
Okay, you're right. We suggest that you DON'T invent CMYK colors in your color palette. Rather (as Michael had suggested) designers must choose a PMS color to work from. Go ahead and set it to be process over spot, but keep it's PMS name.

We said:
How come?

They said:
The Canon finds those names, and treats them in a special fashion. You'll get more accurate colors all around. In fact, why don't we show you how to build your special color library here on the RIP. . .

We cried out:
NO! NO! NO! That's WAY too much power for us. We'll end up in color confusion hell if you do that!

They said:
Okay, we'll be on our way then.

And there's our problem solved:
1) check "CMYK Leave Color Unchanged" in the Indesign's Print Dialog under "Setup"
2) use PMS colors to build and name your desired colors, especially your tints.

thank you!