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L
LBRodgers
Participant
November 17, 2017
Answered

Can Can a gradient be used with a halftone and not caus problems for the commercial printer?

  • November 17, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 490 views

When a black and white illustration in Photoshop cc is created to be printed as a line art with halftone image, can a gradient with black and transparent be used with a halftone? I want to keep it a true black and white image to keep cost down. In the past I thought a gradient was made by the printer with 256 shades of gray. Is that still the same or can I combine the two to make subtle shade with halftones. This may seem like a simple question but I'm old school and worked with offset printing. This image with be printed in book for with a POD printer.

Thank you.

LBR

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Stephen Marsh

The print shop would usually create the halftone when RIPing the file.

That at being said... This sounds more artistic than technical. Work on a layered copy to apply the gradient as a separate layer, darken or multiply blend mode to preview. Trash the image layer, convert to grayscale mode. Then convert to bitmap mode using a halftone screen pattern, then combine over the original image.

2 replies

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
November 20, 2017

Technically one could also combine the 1-bit line art with an underlying grayscale image in Indesign or Illustrator and export a pdf that combines bitmap and grayscale, but resolution considerations should be kept in mind.

For offset printing 1200ppi for 1bit bitmaps and 300ppi for CMYK- and grayscale-images are usually advisable but with print-on-demand I expect the digital printer may print at a lower resolution anyway.

c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
November 19, 2017

Can you elaborate on the lineart/halftone combination you are trying to create?

Ultimately I expect you may have to ask your print provider about their printer’s specifics and if they actually can print with black alone and whether it makes a difference in pricing.

L
LBRodgersAuthor
Participant
November 19, 2017


Thank for the reply. I'm working in Photoshop creating a black  line images with white being the paper. I would love to use a a transparent gradient with half tone screens for the shading. I'm not sure whether the printer will see the images as true black and white or think the it is a image with gray tones (256 grays inks).

Thanks again

Linda

Stephen Marsh
Community Expert
Stephen MarshCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
November 19, 2017

The print shop would usually create the halftone when RIPing the file.

That at being said... This sounds more artistic than technical. Work on a layered copy to apply the gradient as a separate layer, darken or multiply blend mode to preview. Trash the image layer, convert to grayscale mode. Then convert to bitmap mode using a halftone screen pattern, then combine over the original image.

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