Halftone is how continuous tone becomes printable: vary the size of tiny dots and the eye reads them as shades of grey. Duotone maps those same tones onto two ink colours instead of black. Both started on the press, and both still make striking graphics.
Halftone, mono vs CMYK
A mono halftone screens the image with a single ink at one screen angle — pick any two colours and you get the classic risograph or two-tone poster look. CMYK process screening splits the image into cyan, magenta, yellow and black, each on its own angle (15°, 75°, 0° and 45°) so the dots interleave into a rosette instead of clashing. That angle separation is exactly what stops a printed photo from turning into a moiré mess.
Dot density and angle
- Density sets how many cells span the image. Lower density means bigger, bolder dots; higher density looks closer to the original photo.
- Angle rotates the dot grid. 45° is the traditional single-screen angle because it is the least visible to the eye.
- Contrast pushes tones toward black or white before screening, which thickens or opens up the dots.
Duotone
A duotone remaps the shadows to one colour and the highlights to another, with a smooth blend between. Add a midtone for a tritone and you get richer transitions — useful for editorial portraits and cover art. Use the contrast and brightness sliders to set where the tones land before they are coloured.
Exporting for print or web
Export PNG at 2× or 3× for crisp results on screen and for most digital printing. For the mono halftone, the SVG export gives you resolution-independent vector dots — ideal for large-format work, screen printing or laser cutting, and it stays sharp at any size.