What is a halftone?

A halftone reproduces smooth shades of tone using a pattern of dots that vary in size and spacing. Larger, denser dots read as darker areas and smaller dots as lighter ones, which lets solid printing inks simulate the continuous tones of a photograph.

• Your eye blends the dot pattern into smooth gradients when viewed at normal distance.
• Dot size and density control how light or dark each area appears.
• It is how a single ink can produce a full range of light and shadow.
• Combined across CMYK plates, halftones build full-color photographic prints.