Halftones for screen printing: angle, frequency, dot shape.

Angle

The angle of the dot grid relative to the print direction. Standard angles: K = 45°, C = 15°, M = 75°, Y = 0°. The 30° separation between channels minimizes moiré because their dot patterns do not align. Get two channels within 15° of each other and the patterns lock up into visible interference.

Frequency (lpi)

Lines-per-inch of the halftone grid. Higher lpi = finer detail = also finer dots that the press needs to hold. 110 mesh: 45-65 lpi. 156 mesh: 65-85 lpi. 196 mesh: 85-110 lpi. Push lpi too high for your mesh and the small dots gain on press, blowing out shadows. Push too low and you can see the dots from across the room.

Dot shape

Round dots are the workhorse — predictable gain, easy to hold across mid-tones. Elliptical dots reduce visible patterning in skin tones (great for portraits). Diamond dots are sharper in highlights but harder to print. Most apparel jobs use round; T-shirt photo prints often use elliptical.

Mesh-to-lpi rule of thumb

Frequency should be roughly 2.5× your mesh count. 110 mesh → 45 lpi. 156 mesh → 65 lpi. 230 mesh → 95 lpi. Below the ratio: visible dots. Above the ratio: dot gain on press.

Underbase halftones

On dark garments with a white underbase, the underbase needs its own halftone — usually 5-10 lpi lower than the top colors, to prevent the underbase dots aligning with color dots and showing through. We default to a 50% underbase choke and 55 lpi for 110-mesh whites.

What we deliver

Pre-built halftone separations in AI and PDF — one layer per ink, with halftone angle and frequency labeled on each layer for your RIP. No guessing, no re-screening on press. See screen printing →

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