DTF prints solid ink or no ink. There's nothing in between. A halftone turns a fade, glow, or shadow into tiny solid dots, so it prints the way it looks on screen.
- Dot shape
- Round
- Angle
- 22.5° or 45°
- Frequency
- 25 to 45 LPI
- Resolution
- 300 DPI
Why semi-transparent pixels fail on DTF
Every pixel in a DTF print gets white ink underneath and adhesive powder on top. A pixel at 40% opacity doesn't print at 40%. It prints as a faint, muddy patch, or as a boxy halo around your design. That's why our artwork specs ask for solid color wherever you can.
Halftones fix this. Instead of a see-through gradient, you get solid dots that get smaller and farther apart as the fade gets lighter. From a few feet away, your eye reads it as a smooth fade.
What halftones are good for
- Fades into the shirt color, like a design that dissolves at the bottom.
- Shadows and glows around text or a character.
- Vintage and distressed looks that let the shirt show through.
- Big prints that need to breathe. Less ink means a softer, lighter print on full backs.
How to make a halftone in Photoshop
- Isolate the fade. Put the soft area on its own layer and convert it to grayscale.
- Convert to bitmap. Go to Image > Mode > Bitmap, keep 300 DPI output, and choose Halftone Screen.
- Set the screen. Try 35 LPI, a 22.5° angle, and a round dot. Coarser screens print more reliably on DTF than fine ones.
- Colorize the dots. Convert back to RGB or CMYK and fill the dots with your ink color.
- Export as PNG with a fully transparent background.
Illustrator and Procreate also have halftone brushes and effects. The rule is the same in any app: every pixel ends up 100% solid or 100% clear.
Halftone settings cheat sheet
| Look | LPI | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bold vintage | 25 to 30 | Dots are visible up close |
| Everyday fade | 35 to 40 | Reads smooth at arm's length |
| Fine detail | 45 | Keep dots from getting too small to hold |
Common mistakes
Dots too small
Tiny dots can drop out. If the lightest end of your fade disappears, go coarser.
Halftoning the whole design
Keep solid areas solid. Only screen the soft parts.
Resizing after halftoning
Resizing blurs the dots back into soft pixels. Set the final print size first, then halftone.
FAQ
Do I need halftones for DTF?
Only if your design has fades, shadows, glows, or soft edges. Solid art prints clean as is.
What LPI should I use for DTF?
Start at 35 LPI. Go coarser for a bold vintage look or if light dots drop out.
Files ready?
Check them against our artwork specs, then upload.