MoreTranz DTF Halftone Tool

Convert artwork into a print-ready halftone PNG for DTF transfers. It runs entirely in your browser — your artwork is never uploaded to us or anyone else.

1) Choose image

Remove the background first. Cutting one out after halftoning leaves a halo around every dot, and those halos print badly. Open the background remover

2) Settings

Dot coverage. Higher is bolder.

Below 100% the ink goes translucent and the garment shows through.

Preview

Original
Halftone

DTF Halftone Generator for Gang Sheets

Use the MoreTranz DTF Halftone Tool to convert full-color artwork into a print-ready halftone PNG with transparency. Halftones help create a vintage look, reduce heavy ink coverage on large fills, and can improve flexibility on prints. Export your halftone PNG and place it on your gang sheet for production.

This tool works best for:

  • Photographic images and gradients
  • Large color fills you want to “break up” for a softer print
  • Vintage / distressed / textured looks
  • Artwork you want to keep transparent around the edges

Quick recommendations:

  • Start at Strength: Normal (150)
  • Try Cell size 10–14 depending on detail
  • Use 3600px max width for a 12" print at 300dpi
  • Download and place the PNG on your gang sheet at the same size

Halftone FAQ

Which Color setting should I use?

Full color is the one to start with. Every dot takes the color of the artwork beneath it, so the halftone stays closest to your original. This is what the tool has always done.

Full color, CMYK separated splits the artwork into cyan, magenta, yellow and black and screens each one at its own angle, the way a press does it. It looks denser and shows a rosette pattern up close. Worth trying on photographs; usually too heavy for flat logo art.

Black only throws the color away and screens the brightness alone. Use it for one-color artwork, or for a distressed look where you want the garment color coming through the gaps.

What does Ink opacity do?
It sets how solid the ink is. At 100% the dots print solid. Below that they go translucent and the garment shows through them, which softens the whole print and lightens the hand. Strength changes how big the dots are; opacity changes how solid they are.
What does Strength do?
Strength controls dot coverage. Higher values produce a bolder halftone (more coverage). Use these exact presets: Light = 100, Normal = 150, Bold = 200, Extra Bold = 250.
What does Cell size do?
Cell size controls dot “resolution.” Smaller cells create more detail but increase processing time. For most DTF artwork, 10–14 is a good range. If your image looks too busy, increase cell size.
How should I prepare artwork before halftoning?

Remove the background first. This is the one that costs people a reprint. A halftone is thousands of small dots with softened edges, so a background removed afterwards has to cut around every one of them and leaves a faint halo on each. On DTF those halos still take a white underbase, so they press as a haze around every dot, and the thinnest of them come out as speckle. Take the background off while the artwork is still solid, then halftone the clean file.

Then:

  • Start from a high-resolution source. A small JPEG pulled off a website will not improve by being screened.
  • Sharpen lightly if the artwork is soft.
  • Try Normal (150) first, then adjust Strength and Cell size.
Will my downloaded PNG be full size and 300dpi?
The tool exports a PNG with 300dpi metadata. Pixel dimensions follow your Max width setting (e.g., 3600px for 12" at 300dpi). Place it into your gang sheet at the intended print size.

Once your halftone is ready

Download the PNG first. The halftone is made in your browser and we never receive a copy, so it is gone the moment you leave this page.

Then upload it to the gang sheet builder and place it at the size it came out — it carries 300 DPI, so it will land correctly.

Not sure it will hold up at press size? Send it to artwork services and we will check the file before it goes on a sheet.

The other prep tool, and the one to run before this one: background remover.