Halftone Effect Generator: what it does
Halftone is how printers reproduce photos with only ink and paper: the picture becomes a grid of dots, big in dark areas and small in light ones. Choose one ink (classic newspaper and comic look, in any ink and paper colour), CMYK (four overlapping screens of cyan, magenta, yellow and black at the angles printers use, like a magazine seen through a magnifier) or colour dots. Set how many dots fit across the image and the screen angle. The dots are drawn at your photo’s full resolution in your browser, and the photo is never uploaded.
How to use it
- Drop a photo into the box, paste it with Ctrl+V, or tap to choose one from your phone.
- See the effect straight away. The thumbnails show every other effect on your photo too.
- Adjust the settings, and hold “Hold to compare” to see the original.
- Download at full resolution as JPG, PNG or WebP.
Tips
- Fewer dots across (40–70) give a bold pop-art look; more (150+) look like real print from a distance.
- One ink on cream paper with a dark blue or red ink looks like a vintage poster.
- Halftone is a natural match for posters and merch. Save as PNG for clean dot edges.
- For pixel-grid shading instead of dots, try the dither effect.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a halftone effect?
Add your photo, choose One ink, CMYK print or Colour dots, set the number of dots across and the angle, pick the ink and paper colours, and download.
What angle should halftone dots be?
45° is the classic angle for a single ink, because the eye notices the pattern least. CMYK uses 15°, 75°, 0° and 45° for its four inks, which this tool sets automatically.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The halftone is drawn in your browser on your own device.