How To Halftone DTF Artwork for Bootleg & Oversized T-Shirts

[@editsxd1]

Yes love this!

[@Streetwearapparelbrand]

Wow that's cool❤

[@transferexpress]

Thanks, and it sure is! The finished feel of these shirts is absolutely incredible too- for these large oversized prints to be so soft on the t-shirt makes them feel premium and incredibly wearable.

[@javoannikian391]

EXCELENT VIDEO THKS !

[@transferexpress]

Thanks, We're so happy we could help out!

[@djredline25]

Great vid, so glad you touched on this. I've been dabbling in bootleg style tees a lot lately. So fun to do. I wish I would have seen this on Sunday as I purchased some software that kind of does this process.. could have saved some money lol !

[@transferexpress]

Thanks! So happy we would help out. I've (Dave) been having way too much fun in prep for this video with bootleg tees- I don't know if its just the 90's nostalgia or the creating unique compositions, or just big full vibrant prints... but the bootleg tees are AWESOME for sure! What markets are you doing them for? Music? Sports?

[@djredline25]

@@transferexpress Yes all the above for me. Love the process. can't say I have a market yet. Still very small in my business journey, family & myself I've made em for so far. Just perfecting how to make em & testing wearing em out to see if I get any compliments & then ill know what to sell. Movie characters, some sports players & some music artists I've done so far. Keep the great vids coming !

[@transferexpress]

You've got the right strategy, it all starts with that first spark. Keep it up! We'd love to see what you're working on- Join our private group: Heat Press For Profit™ | Sponsored by Stahls' on facebook and give us a peek, you'll find a community of decorators there that can help inspire new ideas and markets too!

[@mydtfprints25]

Thanks for this! By far the best halftone instruction. Question, will it last longer like the standard solid print?

[@transferexpress]

Thank you for the kind words, we're so happy we could help out! Dave spent a lot of time testing different halftone methods and settings along with the wash testing with our Research and Development department for the minimum line requirements to ensure quality results before filming this video. With the dots set to the minimum size mentioned in the video (0.018") you should have the exact same durability as a solid print.

[@proy14]

It's actually way easier to make this effect with Affinity Photo. No need to duplicate the original file, it's non destructive and you have way more control.

[@transferexpress]

That's awesome Philippe, do you have a link to share that process? We'd love to try it out ourselves. Greater control of the halftone dot could eliminate a step or two here too! We did try to keep this tutorial as simple as possible for some decorators who may not know the ins-and-outs of photoshop. The best, non-destructive way would be to apply a clipping mask with the selection to the original file.

[@proy14]

@@transferexpress Well, I figure out the process myself, but it pretty obvious when you know the software. Affinity have live filter that are not destructives. There's a half tone layer filter in Affinity. So you can apply a black and white filter, adjust it with a curve filter as you wish, and you basically have your halftone screen live, right in the file and fully adjustable. You can change the white balance, the angle or the size of the dots, and the file is not even heavier. When you are happy, go into your channels and load any of them into your selection. Apply this selection to your design as a mask and that's it. Just disable the filters you used to create it, you can tweak them latter if you want to. The file is intact and fully editable. I use it for the three transfers I printed just today, and the are awesome. Photoshop is a great piece of software, but my opinion is that Affinity surpass it in most aspects. I use Photoshop professionally since 1995, and Affinity since the Beta version.

[@ShaKing777]

Best video showing how to half tone. I've watched a few.

[@transferexpress]

Thanks Sha! We tried to make it simple to follow for everyone, not just photoshop pros. With how incredible the results are with DTF it's too cool not to share.

[@ShaKing777]

@@transferexpress Yes indeed. Half tone is the game changer in DTF. Solves all the problems the usual suspects complain about.

[@transferexpress]

It sure does, and the ability to have all the detail printing within the dot is really great. You just BARELY feel the print on this, and while our UltraColor Max transfers are light and don't have that "crunch" other DTF transfers do, halftoned here they're just next level.

[@FACED2U]

Great tutorial, Dave!

[@transferexpress]

Thanks Ray! Always happy to help out decorators in any way I can, this definitely takes DTF printing to then next level, you have to feel these prints to believe it

[@dougsobel2571]

Nice! Should we maybe clean up the halftone areas that are not over the images?!

[@transferexpress]

Yes, in some images you may have to remove any elements that halftone outside of the main image area, but in many cases you can adjust how the bitmap halftone looks based on the levels like we show at 07:44 in this video. Even if the background may appear black, it might be a dark grey and pull a halftone pattern over all of it.

[@monococo4283]

Muchas gracias por el Tutorial! Ha sido de gran ayuda!!

[@transferexpress]

¡Fantástico! Estamos muy felices de poder ayudar. ¡Todo lo que ayude a las pequeñas empresas, los creativos y los emprendedores a prosperar es nuestro 100 %!

[@sh0rtaznant]

Only 14 dots per inch is crazy big

[@transferexpress]

Compared to the traditional screen printing LPI of 45-55, yes, these dots are larger and for smaller artwork may appear more stylized. With large, full-size designs like shown here, the halftoning effect is barely noticeable at a typical t-shirt viewing distance and dramatically improves the hand-feel of the print on the garment. For DTF Transfers, we've found the 14 LPI setting to be the smallest we could go to produce a dot size that will meet the minimum size for printing and long-lasting prints.

[@byndlmtsco]

Sorry if i missed it. What is the size of the design? Thanks!

[@transferexpress]

Great Question! This print ended up being 12.2" wide by 15" - While we didn't mention it, you can see the sizing details noted in the left hand side during that proofing step before ordering. Any print size 11" or larger will look great on any adult size t-shirt.