# Halftone Screen Printing in Photoshop CS2



## scribbles124 (Jun 25, 2009)

I've new to screen printing, and am now trying to master screen printing by converting images to halftone. I am wondering if Photoshop CS2 has the capabilities to do this effectively for screenprinting. Any help or opinions would be great. Thanks!


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## moe_szys1ak (Jun 16, 2008)

CS2 definitely has this capability. Just change the color mode to bitmap. Then choose "halftone screen" from the menu that pops up. Select your appropriate settings (halftone shape, frequency and angle) and you're done.

You'll probably want to play with curves and/or levels before you convert to bitmap. Maybe even change to grayscale first and then play with the contrast, but basically, converting to halftones is pretty simple in Photoshop. If you need more, here's a pretty good rundown: Photoshop Halftone Effects The Design Playbook


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## scribbles124 (Jun 25, 2009)

Great info. I'm glad CS2 can do the job! Thanks : )


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## InkedApparel (Mar 18, 2009)

scribbles124 said:


> I've new to screen printing, and am now trying to master screen printing by converting images to halftone. I am wondering if Photoshop CS2 has the capabilities to do this effectively for screenprinting. Any help or opinions would be great. Thanks!


I dont know if this is what you need , but this video is top notch for getting files film ready without a rip in photoshop... hope this helps

[media]http://www.vimeo.com/2811225[/media]

Inked


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## EastBayScreen (Mar 23, 2007)

I don't know if it's me or what but every time I do the bitmap thing to make halftones
in Photoshop they always look really ragged up close. Not nearly as clean as when I import my seps as a PSD with spot channels into Illy, and let the RIP (or Ghostscript as it were) do the halftoning.


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## InkedApparel (Mar 18, 2009)

EastBayScreen said:


> I don't know if it's me or what but every time I do the bitmap thing to make halftones
> in Photoshop they always look really ragged up close. Not nearly as clean as when I import my seps as a PSD with spot channels into Illy, and let the RIP (or Ghostscript as it were) do the halftoning.


are you viewing at print size or are you blowing it way up?
at print size they should look clean if done correctly

Inked


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## EastBayScreen (Mar 23, 2007)

Blowing it way up, but technically...

I'm pretty anal about these things. Good dot formation
is pretty key to halftone prints. You lose dot quality at
every step, so best to start with a perfect dot. I guess it's just
my tendencies toward vector art that make me think everything 
should look clean at 1200%.


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## InkedApparel (Mar 18, 2009)

EastBayScreen said:


> Blowing it way up, but technically...
> 
> I'm pretty anal about these things. Good dot formation
> is pretty key to halftone prints. You lose dot quality at
> ...


comparing raster to vector is like comparing apples to oranges......there is no comparison.

Inked


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## midwaste (Apr 8, 2008)

EastBayScreen said:


> I don't know if it's me or what but every time I do the bitmap thing to make halftones
> in Photoshop they always look really ragged up close. Not nearly as clean as when I import my seps as a PSD with spot channels into Illy, and let the RIP (or Ghostscript as it were) do the halftoning.


Are you noticing a difference at printing or on-screen?

Ironic, I was just toying with the PS bitmap method..I was wondering the same thing, the rasterized halftone from PS is sketchy..haven't printed anything yet.


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## wplate (Jan 13, 2008)

InkedApparel said:


> I dont know if this is what you need , but this video is top notch for getting files film ready without a rip in photoshop... hope this helps
> 
> [media]http://www.vimeo.com/2811225[/media]
> 
> Inked



This video was really cool, thank you for posting the link.

I would like to try this out myself but I have two questions first:


If I had a 305 mesh screen would I really be able to get that level of detail in the exposure? That seems incredible that when I washed it out I would push out holes the size of a few pixels.
In what order would I print the colors onto the shirt?


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## InkedApparel (Mar 18, 2009)

wplate said:


> This video was really cool, thank you for posting the link.
> 
> I would like to try this out myself but I have two questions first:
> 
> ...


 
the level of detail on the film is determined by the lpi(lines per inch) which means how many dots there is in a square inch.screen printers typically use between 45 - 65 lpi , this also depends on what mesh screens you are using also.the higher the lpi the smaller the dots and the more detail.if you expose the screen correctly at say 55 lpi on a 305 mesh , the screen should hold the detail without a problem.

the order in which you should print is your preference, but most printers print light to dark..if you are printing a 4 color process job , start with yellow then mag then cyan then black.now you may need to switch the ink order depending on how the print looks.......play around with the order of the inks until you like the print.

Inked


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

wplate said:


> This video was really cool, thank you for posting the link.
> 
> I would like to try this out myself but I have two questions first:
> 
> ...


Doesn't matter which order, find amongst which is dominant for your first color. This way, you will find it easy registering your next color.




EastBayScreen said:


> I don't know if it's me or what but every time I do the bitmap thing to make halftones
> in Photoshop they always look really ragged up close. Not nearly as clean as when I import my seps as a PSD with spot channels into Illy, and let the RIP (or Ghostscript as it were) do the halftoning.


If you wanted a clean halftone, in converting your art to bitmap change your output resolution to 1000px/inch and notice the difference. 

Goodluck.


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## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

midwaste said:


> Are you noticing a difference at printing or on-screen?
> 
> Ironic, I was just toying with the PS bitmap method..I was wondering the same thing, the rasterized halftone from PS is sketchy..haven't printed anything yet.


This may also be just the preview in photoshop. Bitmaps don't preview well at most zoom levels. If you convert the image to grayscale or RGB it will preview fine at all zoom levels. When you're done viewing just undo back to bitmap mode.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

The order of printing CMYK does not matter unless you get poor results. Some even print black first. Others print the color with the smallest print area first and the color with the largest print area last. 

The best way to see how the dots look is to print it. After all the screen resolution is not the important resolution - only the printed ones matter. And I believe most printers can print only upto 300dpi. Maybe higher models can print higher resolution. However, some color separation program recommend only 200dpi or so. I may be slightly mistaken but am pretty sure that I saw some recommend working or saving files in less than 300dpi. So, print and see how the dots look.


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## Biolek (Jan 6, 2010)

A lot of people affirm that the resolution should be beetween 180-300 dpi.But why _Scott Fresener_ recommend for Photorealistic images 551lpi resolution?

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


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

Biolek said:


> A lot of people affirm that the resolution should be beetween 180-300 dpi.But why _Scott Fresener_ recommend for Photorealistic images 551lpi resolution?
> 
> IMAGES - THE JOURNAL FOR TEXTILE SCREENPRINTING ,EMBROIDERY, PROMOTIONAL CLOTHING AND GARMENT DECORATION



180-300 dpi is different from 55lpi. I think you have just misinterpreted both values as images of the same manner. 

The 180-300 dpi refers to the working resolution (DPi/Dot per Inch) for the design laid out to your design application like Photoshop before having it color separated or ripped.

55 lpi is the halftone output frequency recommendation of Mr. Scot in LPI or Lines Per Inch.
_*
"Dots per inch (**DPI) is a measure of spatial printing or video dot density, in particular the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch (2.54 cm). The DPI value tends to correlate with image resolution, but is related only indirectly."*_

_*"Lines per inch (**LPI) is a measurement of printing resolution in systems that use a halftone screen. Specifically, it is a measure of how close together the lines in a halftone grid are. Higher LPI indicates greater detail and sharpness."*_ - Wikipedia


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## InkedApparel (Mar 18, 2009)

I think that may be a typo...35 , 45, 55 and 65 sound more like the actual numbers to use for lpi

Inked


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## Biolek (Jan 6, 2010)

Ok now I understand.My input resolution is 300dpi,55lpi frequency and 230 mesh.But I want to ask about the output resolution when I`m converting the image to halftones in Photo Shop.Thanks


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## jsf (Aug 4, 2009)

Biolek said:


> Ok now I understand.My input resolution is 300dpi,55lpi frequency and 230 mesh.But I want to ask about the output resolution when I`m converting the image to halftones in Photo Shop.Thanks


I usually do it @1000/dpi for a sharper/detailed halftone.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

Biolek said:


> A lot of people affirm that the resolution should be beetween 180-300 dpi.But why _Scott Fresener_ recommend for Photorealistic images 551lpi resolution?
> 
> IMAGES - THE JOURNAL FOR TEXTILE SCREENPRINTING ,EMBROIDERY, PROMOTIONAL CLOTHING AND GARMENT DECORATION


DPI and LPI are different but are somewhat related in that they both affect an image's resolution. 

LPI defines the sizes of the image's dots and their distance to each other and determines how detailed a halftone image can be printed on a shirt or other substrate. Higher LPI means more dots and more details.

DPI defines the printed resolution of these halftone dots or how dense these halftone dots are printed on the transparency.


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## nyjah (Nov 11, 2009)

jsf said:


> I usually do it @1000/dpi for a sharper/detailed halftone.


thank you sir j


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## UndrGndMchin (Oct 16, 2012)

InkedApparel said:


> I dont know if this is what you need , but this video is top notch for getting files film ready without a rip in photoshop... hope this helps
> 
> [media]http://www.vimeo.com/2811225[/media]
> 
> Inked


Hello did you done this with your actual prints ?


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## Greenpaw (Jan 18, 2013)

I am also having a problem with halftones in photoshop. When I print the image, the dot pattern creates a lightly visible square distribution. How do I get it to print in a more evenly spaced photorealistic dispersion?


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## rence12 (Sep 26, 2008)

It's not prefect but I was happy all in all, and I DIDNT NEED NO. rip software and my mesh was 110 too.


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## railhead (Mar 3, 2014)

n00b question: when making halftones for 4-color, once PS generates the bitmap from each channel, don't I then need to invert it so it prints to the film properly?


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

Do not invert. You expose with the film facing up but underneath the emulsion (assuming that your UV source is below the exposure glass.


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## railhead (Mar 3, 2014)

If you do a greyscale halftone onto a black shirt with white ink, then THAT gets inverted, though, correct?


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## PhilR (May 3, 2011)

railhead said:


> If you do a greyscale halftone onto a black shirt with white ink, then THAT gets inverted, though, correct?


Correct, yes.


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## railhead (Mar 3, 2014)

Thanks everyone! I'm sure I'll have loads more questions as I get started in this, and I appreciate the help!


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## rocha wear (Aug 27, 2013)

great video


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

Biolek said:


> A lot of people affirm that the resolution should be beetween 180-300 dpi.But why _Scott Fresener_ recommend for Photorealistic images 551lpi resolution?
> 
> IMAGES - THE JOURNAL FOR TEXTILE SCREENPRINTING ,EMBROIDERY, PROMOTIONAL CLOTHING AND GARMENT DECORATION


That is a UK publication using the metric system and LPI resoulution instead of DPI resoulution. If you look at the mesh recomendations for CMYK its 120. If you go to his website you will see his recomendations there equal closely what had been posted in the thread.


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