Halftone Image Generator

Turn a photo into halftone dots without Photoshop. Get the classic comic and pop-art look, or a one-color halftone that is ready for screen printing, DTF transfers and laser engraving. Choose how many dots run across the picture, the screen angle and the dot shape, see the original under a slider, and download a print-size PNG with a transparent background or a vector SVG. No photo? Make a halftone gradient pattern or texture instead.

How to Make a Halftone Image

1. Add your picture. Choose a file, drop it onto the page or paste it. A clear photo with one main subject works best.
2. Pick a quick style. Comic and Pop art color are for posters and social media; Screen print, DTF transfer and Laser engraving come with print-safe settings.
3. Adjust the dots. Fewer dots across gives big, bold dots; more dots keeps more detail. Turn the screen angle and try the other dot shapes.
4. Fix the tones. Use Auto levels, Brightness and Contrast if faces turn into dark blobs. Invert makes white dots for dark shirts.
5. Set the print size. Enter the width you will print and the resolution. The pixel size, the print size and the lines per inch (LPI) are shown.
6. Download. Save a PNG, a JPG or a vector SVG.

Halftone Settings for Screen Printing and DTF

The finer the screen, the more detail, but every dot has to survive the screen, the ink and the fabric. Keep the lines per inch at about a quarter of the mesh count:

• Smallest dot. Dots under about 8 to 10 percent tend to wash out of the screen or vanish on a DTF film. The tool drops them so the light areas print clean.
• Fill dark areas. Dots above about 92 to 95 percent fill in on press anyway; filling them solid gives clean shadows.
• Dot gain. Start at 10 to 15 percent for plastisol on cotton. Raise it if your prints still come out darker than the screen.
• Angle. 22.5 degrees avoids moire with the mesh for most printers; 45 degrees is the classic angle on paper.

Halftones for Laser Engraving and Other Uses

Lasers burn every dot at the same strength, so a photo has to become dots first. Choose Laser engraving, set the resolution to the one you engrave at (often 254 or 318 DPI for wood) and the width of the piece, and import the PNG into your laser software without resizing it. The same files work for stencils, risograph prints, embroidery-style art and vinyl: pick SVG when the dots should stay sharp at any size.

For backgrounds and overlays, Make a halftone pattern draws a dotted gradient in the shape you choose. Download it as a transparent PNG and lay it over a design, or as an SVG to recolor later.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I turn a picture into a halftone?

Add the picture on this page and it is turned into dots straight away. Pick a quick style such as Comic or Screen print, then adjust the number of dots across, the screen angle and the dot shape. Set the print width and resolution and download a PNG, JPG or SVG.

What is a halftone?

A halftone prints a photo with one solid ink by breaking it into dots. Dark areas get big dots that almost touch and light areas get small dots, so from a normal viewing distance the eye blends them back into grey tones. Newspapers, comics and screen-printed T-shirts all use halftones.

What LPI should I use for screen printing?

A common rule is to keep the lines per inch at no more than the mesh count divided by 4: about 27 LPI on 110 mesh, 39 LPI on 156 mesh and 57 LPI on 230 mesh. Choose your mesh under Print settings and the tool tells you whether the dots are too fine and can fit them for you.

Which screen angle is best?

For one ink on paper, 45 degrees is the classic angle because the eye notices the rows of dots least. Many screen printers use 22.5 degrees to keep the dots from clashing with the threads of the mesh, which causes a moire pattern. CMYK mode sets the four inks 30 degrees apart automatically.

How do I make a halftone for DTF transfers?

Choose the DTF transfer style. It uses a transparent background, a fine screen and a smallest dot of 10 percent so tiny dots do not get lost. Set the print width you will press, keep 300 DPI and download the PNG. The background stays transparent, so the shirt shows through between the dots.

What does dot gain compensation do?

Ink spreads when it lands on fabric or paper, so a dot that covers half of its cell in the file can cover 60 to 70 percent on the print and the picture comes out too dark. Dot gain compensation makes the midtone dots smaller in advance, so the print matches what you see on screen.

Can I download the halftone as a vector SVG?

Yes. Download SVG writes every dot as a vector shape, set to the physical print width you chose, so you can scale it, recolor it in a design program or send it to a vinyl cutter. Very fine screens produce many dots and a heavy file; fewer dots across keeps it light.

Can I make a halftone pattern or texture without a photo?

Yes. Choose Make a halftone pattern and the tool draws a gradient as dots: left to right, top to bottom, diagonal, from the center or from the edges. Pick the shape of the image, the dot shape and the colors, and download a transparent PNG or an SVG to use as a background or overlay.

Is my picture uploaded?

No. The halftone is made inside your browser and the picture never leaves your device.

Is it free?

Adding pictures, trying styles and previewing are free. Downloading counts as one use per picture, however many file types you save, with a free daily allowance; a membership raises the limit for people who make print files every day.