Gradients, Screens & Tints
FAQ's
Q. What is a screen tint or halftone?
A. It is a way of creating many shades of colour while printing one ink colour. This is achieved by breaking down artwork into dots varying in size. The term “screen tint” is generally used in reference to solid and graduated percentages of colour and the word “halftone” is generally used in reference to greyscale images such as photographs.
Q. For screen-printing what screen percentages do you recommend for solid tints and gradients?
A. We recommend solid tints to fall between 15% and 85%. We recommend gradients to fall between 5% and 95%.
Q. Why does Ashfield SP recommend against screen-printing large panels of screen tints?
A. In the process of screen-printing, specs and flaws in printing large panels are easily visible. In some cases we recommend printing an additional lighter shade of the same colour as a solid.
Q. What line screen does Ashfield SP use for offset/litho printed products?
A. 150 dpi.
Q. What line screen does Ashfield SP use for screen-printing?
A. Our standard line screen is 65 lpi (lines per inch). For prints that have small areas of halftones with fine detail, we may choose to go to a higher line screen in order to hold detail.
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