Old fashion trial and error can be used too with the help of a reference tool. Tools are available to measure dot value but can get costly. The output device needs to be calibrated as an exact amount.
#WILFLEX PHOTOSHOP COLOR SEPARATION SOFTWARE#
The RIP software takes a percentage of a color and prints that color in dot patterns. Adjustments are usually available in the RIP software. This is a lot trickier than the Photoshop adjustment but their is hope. Weather you are using Film or Computer to Screen you need to calibrate the output of the device. Then the print looks washed out and flat. What happens then is under saturated shadows and solid areas. If your dot gain settings are not correct in Photoshop the only chance you have of printing somewhat accurate is with minimal pressure. In graphic printing 20% dot gain is more realistic, but remember t-shirt printing gains a lot more. 50% meaning the gradient should look half black and half white. Now I know we talked about excessive gain in t-shirt printing, right? Well, it’s typical to see as much as 40% gain in the 50% dot size. Every monitor will display differently so some testing and adjusting will need to be done. Here is where you will adjust the settings in Photoshop for expected dot gain.Įdit/Color Settings/Spot Custom Dot Gain. When separating the art into channels you can get an accurate representation of what the finished print will look like.
Photoshop has the ability to simulate dot gain the the settings for channels. There are many tools in the process that need to be calibrated to succeed in the dot gain battle. The second image is what the dots look like after printing. The first image is what the dots look like on screen. The good news is dot gain is consistent and controllable. The increased pressure along with the porous sub-strait increase the amount or percentage of dot gain. This is more prevalent in t-shirt printing than flat stock printing because the inks are thicker and require more pressure.
In any type of screen printing, paper or textile, the halftone dots grow or get larger when printed through a screen onto a sub-strait. The short answer is the dots in a halftone print grow as they are printed.