# HalfTone and Process Printing



## zymerguyer (Feb 15, 2007)

Hey,
I've been printing for a few months now, and I'd like to try and expand to doing halftones, but I'm kinda in the dark. I use photoshop and Illustrator CS for everything. I was wondering, is there anything extra I'd need to buy to print in halftones, besides the process ink colors?? Also, what mesh count is ideal for this type of printing?? And final question, what does the "angle" mean when you're speaking about halftone printing??

Thanks


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## groggman (Jan 17, 2007)

Scott Fresener is one of the best pioneers to screen printing. He has a pretty informative break down in this article. It might be a good place for you to start.IMAGES - THE JOURNAL FOR TEXTILE SCREENPRINTING, EMBROIDERY AND GARMENT DECORATION


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## zymerguyer (Feb 15, 2007)

thanks a lot, really appriciate it


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## groggman (Jan 17, 2007)

No problem, helping is learning.


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

Thats a great article

Your going to need some testing on your equipment to figure out what angles work best for you. Each cmyk plate requires a dif angle to reduce/minimize moire. (Irregular dot patterns tat become visible when dots and mesh interfere)
lpi will range from 45-65 and your shape will be ellipse or elliptical
I would suggest starting out at 45-55 lpi

Screens for cmyk will be 305's - 355's. Manually youll want 305's for 55lpi and lower dot size.

print order is normally Y,M,C & K (black) sometimes , depending on the image you can change the order to get a better result. If your print is too reddish/pink print the magenta before the yellow.

good luck and ask away with any questions you may have after reading the article


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## spankthafunk (Apr 9, 2007)

great advice. I can't wait to try this~ If you have a cheaper inkjet printer, can you print the dots twice to get darker (more opaque) dots? I'm just starting out with grayscale for now, not CMYK.


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## greenstonegrphix (Jul 12, 2010)

groggman said:


> Scott Fresener is one of the best pioneers to screen printing. He has a pretty informative break down in this article. It might be a good place for you to start.IMAGES - THE JOURNAL FOR TEXTILE SCREENPRINTING, EMBROIDERY AND GARMENT DECORATION


That article doesn't exist anymore, but there are a lot of other great articles by him on this site, as well as other good stuff!


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## Celtic (Feb 19, 2008)

I'd recommend getting AccuRip. Another good idea, one that you could skip the AccuRip, is to get QuikSeps Pro.....not only does it do many types of color seps, but it also does halftones.


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

You can print bitmap halftones directly out of photoshop.

Once your art is done, change to multichannel, split the channels, then under Image/mode change from grayscale to bitmap/halftone screen/dot shape,frequency,angle.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

You may want to download trial versions of t-seps and other color-separation programs and see how you feel about them. For CMYK though, you need them much less. 

A RIP program should enable you to print halftones but you can also convert channels into halftones manually. You should be able to find some videos in youtube.


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## dxconceptoz (Jan 25, 2011)

im trying haftone..but i can get the exact radius of dots for me to use..to have a nice haftone..im a newbie sirs..and also a newbie in printing..hope you could help me to with my problem..tnx sirs..=)


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## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

dxconceptoz said:


> im trying haftone..but i can get the exact radius of dots for me to use..to have a nice haftone..im a newbie sirs..and also a newbie in printing..hope you could help me to with my problem..tnx sirs..=)


what are the halftone settings you are currently using and what mesh count are you using?


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## meno (Dec 10, 2011)

dxconceptoz said:


> im trying haftone..but i can get the exact radius of dots for me to use..to have a nice haftone..im a newbie sirs..and also a newbie in printing..hope you could help me to with my problem..tnx sirs..=)



have you ever trying custom pattern in photoshop halftone screen? 

you can do this by create your owner dot (or even your image!) 
and convert it to halftone screen like in webpage below. 

Photoshop Tutorial - Mini Hendrix Using Bitmap Mode | 8164.org


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

dxconceptoz said:


> im trying haftone..but i can get the exact radius of dots for me to use..to have a nice haftone..im a newbie sirs..and also a newbie in printing..hope you could help me to with my problem..tnx sirs..=)


How did you create the halftone?

One way is to convert your final image into CMYK mode then copy each channel into a new file. Convert each layer to grayscale then to bitmap. You will then be asked for the screen angle, halftone patter, screen frequency(or dot size).


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## TYGERON (Apr 26, 2009)

And you don't have to start with such high mesh counts and such fine line counts to do good process images. Especially just starting out. A lot depends on the graphic and the type of feel you want to get. Lower line and mesh counts will give you less detail and coarser transitions but still look good. I suggest starting with lower counts then working up with experience.

Both prints done with (2) 110'S and (2) 200's (the only ones I had for a Yudu. Long story...LOL!)


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## cyclesurgeon (Sep 10, 2010)

Still love those prints Dr.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

TYGERON said:


> And you don't have to start with such high mesh counts and such fine line counts to do good process images. Especially just starting out. A lot depends on the graphic and the type of feel you want to get. Lower line and mesh counts will give you less detail and coarser transitions but still look good. I suggest starting with lower counts then working up with experience.
> 
> Both prints done with (2) 110'S and (2) 200's (the only ones I had for a Yudu. Long story...LOL!)



Nice prints.

Getting the halftones right is more important than using high mesh.


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## TYGERON (Apr 26, 2009)

cyclesurgeon said:


> Still love those prints Dr.


Thanks, Dr.! 

And you know I kinda miss playing with that thing. Been a while. It's kinda under a pile of stuff (as is most flat surfaces in my shop...LOL!)

I'm still looking for your process pics!


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## TYGERON (Apr 26, 2009)

BroJames said:


> Nice prints.
> 
> Getting the halftones right is more important than using high mesh.


Thanks Angel.


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## cyclesurgeon (Sep 10, 2010)

TYGERON said:


> Thanks, Dr.!
> 
> And you know I kinda miss playing with that thing. Been a while. It's kinda under a pile of stuff (as is most flat surfaces in my shop...LOL!)
> 
> I'm still looking for your process pics!


Well Dr. it's like this...The print shop is back in wood shop mode until Christmas presents are complete (bird hotels and fine writing implements this year). On the bright side, I did swap a very bendy/flexy lazy susan for a very stiff steel lazy susan on my 4 color press so my registration should improve drastically.


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## TYGERON (Apr 26, 2009)

cyclesurgeon said:


> Well Dr. it's like this...The print shop is back in wood shop mode until Christmas presents are complete (bird hotels and fine writing implements this year). On the bright side, I did swap a very bendy/flexy lazy susan for a very stiff steel lazy susan on my 4 color press so my registration should improve drastically.


So it's "Dr. Claus" for the time being, eh? Youknow there are elves for that.

Fine writing implements? You make quills or fountain pens? You should adjourn to the waiting room...I mean Lounge, and post some pics of what you do!

Have you checked out the "Ruxvell" printer and plans download?


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## cyclesurgeon (Sep 10, 2010)

TYGERON said:


> So it's "Dr. Claus" for the time being, eh? Youknow there are elves for that.
> 
> Fine writing implements? You make quills or fountain pens? You should adjourn to the waiting room...I mean Lounge, and post some pics of what you do!
> 
> Have you checked out the "Ruxvell" printer and plans download?



Will do on both counts Dr.


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## personalazeit (Nov 5, 2009)

greenstonegrphix said:


> That article doesn't exist anymore, but there are a lot of other great articles by him on this site, as well as other good stuff!


I found it here, they moved it..
IMAGES - THE JOURNAL FOR TEXTILE SCREENPRINTING ,EMBROIDERY, PROMOTIONAL CLOTHING AND GARMENT DECORATION


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## issicus (Nov 22, 2011)

good info. I was wondering if using a thinner/thicker coat of emulsion has any effect?


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## TYGERON (Apr 26, 2009)

issicus said:


> good info. I was wondering if using a thinner/thicker coat of emulsion has any effect?


Yes. It can have quite a dramatic effect.The emulsion thickness affects exposure time, ability to hold detail, the quality of dot(s) and how much ink is deposited amongst other things.

Interestingly one might assume that a thinner stencil would shorten exposure times and allow greater detail/smaller dots. Actually it can result in diminished quality, shape and definition. A more appropriate stencil thickness can give a cleaner more consistent dot. Of course coupled with other optimum elements like light source, film, mesh etc.


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## issicus (Nov 22, 2011)

could some one post an example of what a working dot count for a one color gradient looks like for a 200 mesh? and maybe the finished product. thanks 

what is the best emulsion, and what is the worst type for halftones?


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## UndrGndMchin (Oct 16, 2012)

IMAGES - THE JOURNAL FOR TEXTILE SCREENPRINTING ,EMBROIDERY, PROMOTIONAL CLOTHING AND GARMENT DECORATION

this may help on halftoning .. 

by Scott Fresener also ..


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