--- title: "What Is Halftone Printing? LPI and Angles - CE.SDK Glossary" description: "Halftone prints photos as tiny ink dots that vary in size to suggest shades. See typical LPI, why screens sit at angles, AM vs. FM, and CE.SDK halftones." url: "https://img.ly/glossary/halftone/" type: "page" --- > This is the markdown version of [What Is Halftone Printing? LPI and Angles - CE.SDK Glossary](https://img.ly/glossary/halftone/). For all pages in one file, see [llms-full.txt](https://img.ly/llms-full.txt). For an index of all available pages, see [llms.txt](https://img.ly/llms.txt). --- # Halftone Also known as: Halftone screening ## What Is a Halftone? A halftone is how a press prints shades it has no ink for. A press can only put ink down or leave the paper bare, so a photo is turned into a grid of tiny dots: bigger dots read as darker tones, smaller ones as lighter tones, and from normal viewing distance the eye blends them into smooth shading. CE.SDK also has a Half Tone effect, which puts a visible dot pattern on an image as a design style. ## Do You Need to Halftone Your Own Files? No. The print shop's raster image processor, or RIP, turns every file into halftone dots when it prepares the job, at the shop's own line screen. What you control is the [resolution](https://img.ly/glossary/print-resolution.md): photos at about twice the shop's LPI give the RIP enough detail to build clean dots. The Half Tone effect is a design choice, not print preparation. Its dots become part of the artwork, and the press screens them like everything else on the page. ## What Is LPI in Halftone Printing? LPI, or lines per inch, is how many rows of halftone dots fit in an inch. A higher LPI means smaller dots and finer detail, and images need about twice the LPI in [pixels per inch](https://img.ly/glossary/dpi-vs-ppi.md) to fill it. - **Newspapers**: Typical LPI: 85 LPI, Image resolution: About 170 PPI - **Magazines**: Typical LPI: 133 to 150 LPI, Image resolution: About 266 to 300 PPI - **Commercial offset**: Typical LPI: 150 LPI, Image resolution: 300 PPI - **Premium print**: Typical LPI: 175 to 200 LPI, Image resolution: About 350 to 400 PPI ## Why Are Halftone Screens Set at Different Angles? Each of the four inks gets its own dot grid. Lined up the same way, the grids clash into a wavy pattern called moiré, so each one is turned to a different angle, and together they form a small rosette pattern instead. **15°** Cyan | **75°** Magenta | **0°** Yellow | **45°** Black — dots show least at this angle ## AM vs. FM Screening: What's the Difference? AM screening is the classic method, and FM screening is an alternative for fine detail. ### AM screening Dots sit on a fixed grid and change size with the tone. It's the classic halftone method and the one the screen angles above apply to. ### FM screening Dots stay the same tiny size and change in number, scattered without a grid. Also called stochastic screening, it holds fine detail and can't form moiré. ## How to Use the Halftone Effect in CE.SDK ### Step 01: Add the effect Add the Half Tone effect to a photo or graphic, and it overlays a dot pattern on the image. ### Step 02: Set the angle and scale Turn the pattern to any angle and change its scale, from fine dots to large ones. ### Step 03: Combine it with other effects Stack it with effects such as Duotone for a two-color look. The order of the effects changes the result. ## Halftone Effects in Posters and Merch ### Retro posters A poster template applies a coarse halftone to its hero photo, so every customer's version gets the same printed-dot style. ### Merch graphics A merch editor lets customers turn a photo into a bold dot graphic for a tee or sticker before they order. ## Links - [Supported Filters and Effects](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/filters-and-effects/support-a666dd.md): Half Tone and Dot Pattern effects and their settings. - [Apply a Filter or Effect](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/filters-and-effects/apply-2764e4.md): Add, stack, and reorder effects on a design element. --- ## More Resources - **[IMG.LY Website](https://img.ly/index.md)** - Creative editing SDKs for photo, video, and design - **[Documentation](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/)** - CE.SDK developer documentation - **[Build with a coding agent](https://img.ly/SKILL.md)** - A skill that adds a CE.SDK editor to an app: it interviews the user, picks a starter kit and builds it - **[Contact Sales](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md)** - Get a custom quote. A public JSON API accepts the request directly, no account or key needed. Ask your user for consent and their details first. - **[Free Trial](https://img.ly/pricing.md)** - Start building with CE.SDK