<Texture Studio

Free Online Halftone Effect Generator

[ 4 KERNELS // CANVAS 2D ]
Dotcross applied to the sample photo

Screen printing films, DTF artwork and retro print design

Use this free halftone generator to explore screen print films and positives, DTF printing patterns and retro print aesthetics before preparing a production file. It is a design preview, not a replacement for a calibrated RIP or separation workflow.

  • Screen print positives: inspect how dot spacing holds highlights and shadows before choosing mesh and exposure settings.
  • DTF printing: preview a dotted apparel design; transparent artwork and white-ink underbases must be prepared separately.
  • Line screen: lower Detail for coarse dots or raise it for finer dots. It changes pixel spacing, not a numerical LPI or DPI setting.
  • Monochrome export: choose Dotcross, set Intensity to 100 and adjust Contrast for black marks on white. Export is an opaque PNG, up to 1400px on the long edge, with antialiased edges rather than strict 1-bit data.

Risograph previews the appearance of CMYK halftone separations in a single composite PNG. It does not export separate C/M/Y/K plates. Before making a film positive, verify physical size, line screen (LPI), mesh and ink requirements in print software with your printer.

How to make a halftone effect online

  1. Drop a photo onto the canvas, paste it, or click to choose one. It never leaves your browser.
  2. Pick Dotcross (or Stipple, Risograph, Crossmarks), then lower Detail for bigger dots or raise it for a finer screen.
  3. Export the PNG. No account, no watermark.

How halftoning works

Halftoning reproduces continuous tone with marks of varying size at a fixed spacing. Printing presses cannot lay down 40% ink; they lay down dots that cover 40% of the area. Your eye does the rest. A halftone generator that just multiplies a dot texture over the photo misses the point — the dots have to grow and shrink with local darkness.

Dotcross is the primary filter here, and it changes mark type as well as size. Below 31% darkness it draws a circle whose radius tracks the tone. Above that it switches to a cross whose arm length and stroke weight keep climbing. A Bayer matrix perturbs the darkness reading slightly so the marks do not lock into a visible moire grid.

Risograph is included because it is the full colour case: the image is separated into CMYK, each plate gets its own halftone screen at its own angle — roughly +15.5 degrees, -15.5 degrees, 0 and 44.7 degrees — and the plates are printed with a deliberate registration offset onto a warm paper tone. Those angle offsets are exactly why real four-colour print does not moire.

FilterMarkBest for
DotcrossCircle to cross rampEditorial, poster, high contrast
StippleVariable-radius dotsSoft gradients, portraits
RisographCMYK screens, 4 anglesFull colour print look
CrossmarksVector cross fieldTechnical, diagrammatic

Lower the detail slider for a coarser screen with bigger, more graphic dots; raise it for a fine screen that stays closer to the photograph. Everything renders locally through Canvas 2D and exports as a PNG up to a 1400px long edge.

Best for

  • Graphic mockups and apparel print pattern concepts
  • Gig posters and screen-print style illustrations
  • Comic and pop-art style portraits
  • Zine pages and editorial illustration
  • Album and single covers

> Examples

The same illustration run through this page's filters at their default settings — rendered by the exact engine above, not mock-ups.

Illustration of two travellers in straw hats crossing a wind-swept grassy hillside — original image before any filter
Beforeoriginal, no filter
Illustration of two travellers in straw hats crossing a wind-swept grassy hillside, after the Dotcross filter — halftone dots that turn into crosses in the shadows
Dotcrosshalftone dots that turn into crosses in the shadows
Illustration of two travellers in straw hats crossing a wind-swept grassy hillside, after the Stipple filter — variable-radius stipple dots
Stipplevariable-radius stipple dots
Illustration of two travellers in straw hats crossing a wind-swept grassy hillside, after the Risograph filter — CMYK halftone screens with registration offset on warm paper
RisographCMYK halftone screens with registration offset on warm paper
Close crop of the two straw-hat travellers walking through tall green grass — original image before any filter
Beforeoriginal, no filter
Close crop of the two straw-hat travellers walking through tall green grass, after the Dotcross filter — halftone dots that turn into crosses in the shadows
Dotcrosshalftone dots that turn into crosses in the shadows
Close crop of the two straw-hat travellers walking through tall green grass, after the Stipple filter — variable-radius stipple dots
Stipplevariable-radius stipple dots
Close crop of the two straw-hat travellers walking through tall green grass, after the Risograph filter — CMYK halftone screens with registration offset on warm paper
RisographCMYK halftone screens with registration offset on warm paper

> Frequently Asked

Can I use this for screen printing films or DTF printing?
Use it to preview artwork for screen print positives and DTF apparel designs, not as a ready-to-expose film file. Export is an opaque PNG up to 1400px, without a transparent background or DTF white-ink channel. Check physical size, LPI, mesh and ink requirements with your printer in a separation or RIP workflow.
Can I specify a line screen in LPI?
No. Detail controls dot spacing in image pixels: lower values make coarser dots and higher values make finer dots. A physical line screen also depends on final print size; set and verify LPI and output DPI in your production software.
How do I export high-contrast monochrome halftone artwork?
Choose Dotcross, set Intensity to 100 and adjust Contrast before exporting. The PNG has black marks on an opaque white background, with antialiased edges. It is not a strict 1-bit file; Risograph instead exports a single colour composite, not independent CMYK halftone separations.
What is a halftone?
A halftone reproduces a continuous-tone image using marks of varying size at a regular spacing. Because a press can only apply ink or not apply it, tone is simulated by how much area each dot covers.
Why do CMYK halftone screens use different angles?
If every plate used the same screen angle, the four dot grids would overlap and produce a strong moire pattern. Offsetting each plate — roughly 15 degrees apart, with yellow at zero — makes the overlaps form a fine rosette instead.
Is this halftone generator free?
Yes, and it needs no account. The image is processed in your browser with Canvas 2D and exported as a PNG up to a 1400px long edge, with no watermark.
How do I get bigger, more graphic dots?
Lower the detail slider. It widens the screen spacing, so each mark covers more area and the result reads as print rather than photograph.
What is the difference between Dotcross and Stipple?
Stipple only varies dot radius. Dotcross changes the mark itself, drawing circles in lighter areas and switching to crosses once darkness passes a threshold, which holds detail better in the shadows.

Images are processed in your browser and never uploaded. The site keeps anonymous usage analytics (page views, chosen filter, file size) — never pixel data.

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