Mode 3 · four process films · white garments
CMYK halftone color separation online
Separate full-color art into cyan, magenta, yellow and black halftone films at 15°, 75°, 0° and 45°, check the smallest dot on 305 mesh, and preview the wet-on-wet print on a white shirt.
Your artwork or a worked example — load one, then change anything
Design file cmyk-pop-art-process
Print simulation
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- 1:1 film PDF, one page per plate, with registration crosshairs, plate headers and a 10-step exposure strip
- 600 DPI 1-bit transparent PNG films with 0 grey edge pixels, including the choked white underbase
- Plate-grouped true vector SVG: real circle, path and polygon dots at print size
- Unlimited designs while your pass is active
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Recommended · Mesh ÷ 4.5 = 34.7
Emulsion and print size
Shadow clip
Knock-out threshold
WASH-OUT SAFE Min Dot Diameter: 146 μm Limit 96 μm = 1.5 × 64 μm thread
- Mesh
- Screen Mesh: 156T
- Output
- Output LPI: 35 LPI @ 22.5°
- Thread
- Thread: 64 μm · Opening: 99 μm
- Emulsion
- Emulsion: Dual-cure
- Risk
- Risk zones: 0 cells
- Vector nodes
- Vector Nodes: 0 dots
- Knock-out
- Knocked out: 0% of artwork
- Output size
- 11.00 × 13.75 in · 6600 × 8250 px @ 600 DPI
600 DPI 1-Bit · Grey pixels: 0Vector SVG ready
Free vs Pro, file by file
- Proof PNG Free
- Opaque shirt mockup up to 1000 px, stamped CLIENT MOCKUP PROOF ONLY — NOT FOR SCREEN EXPOSURE
- Settings TXT Free
- Mesh, LPI, angle, gain and clips to pin next to the press
- 1:1 Film PDF Pro
- One page per plate with crosshairs, plate header and a 10-step strip
- 600 DPI PNGs Pro
- Transparent 1-bit films with 0 grey edge pixels
- Vector SVG Pro
- Plate-grouped circle, path and polygon dots at print size
Settings sheet preview
Settings appear here.
How it works
From artwork to film in four steps
- 01
Load full-color art.
Start from the 4-Color CMYK Wet-on-Wet Process Print or upload your own; transparent areas print nothing.
- 02
Keep Mode 3.
Each film takes its process angle automatically: C 15°, M 75°, Y 0°, K 45°. The angle field locks.
- 03
Set mesh and LPI.
305 mesh recommends 65 LPI; the preset runs 60 LPI for a little more safety on a manual press.
- 04
Check four plates.
Click each thumbnail to inspect its dots in the loupe, then export the four films.
Angles
Process angles vs single-color angles
The angle that is best for one film is not the angle set for four.
| Job | Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard CMYK (this page) | 15° | 75° | 0° | 45° |
| Single color, elliptical | 22.5° — keeps chains off the threads | |||
| Single color, round | 45° | |||
Mesh
Mesh and LPI for process work
Process dots are small, so the mesh has to be fine and the emulsion thin.
| Mesh | Mesh ÷ 4.5 | Recommended | Run at | Smallest dot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 196 | 43.6 | 45 LPI | 45 LPI | 113 μm |
| 230 | 51.1 | 50 LPI | 50 LPI | 102 μm |
| 305 | 67.8 | 65 LPI | 60 LPI | 85 μm |
196 and 230 mesh can print process art at 45–50 LPI, but the rosette becomes visible at arm's length. 305 mesh at 60–65 LPI is the usual target for photographic CMYK on shirts.
On press
Wet-on-wet order and garment
Four translucent inks, printed without flashing, on a white or very light shirt.
- Yellow, 0° first: the lightest ink, least affected by the others on top.
- Magenta, 75° next, with soft squeegee pressure so the wet yellow does not pick up.
- Cyan, 15° builds the greens and blues.
- Black, 45° last for shadows and line work, then cure the whole print once.
The garment preview defaults to white for this preset. Switching to black is allowed so you can see why it fails: the translucent process inks disappear into the shirt.
Where it fits
Jobs this page is built for
Full-color illustration on white
Pop art, posters and photo-like art printed with four screens instead of eight spot colors.
Open the main studioEditing one plate by hand
The vector export keeps cyan, magenta, yellow and black in separate groups.
See the SVG plate groupsProofing for a client
Send the free mockup proof PNG to approve colors before you burn four screens.
Then print the filmsSpot color instead
If the art has two or three flat colors, single-color films at 22.5° are simpler.
Use the pattern generator
Shop questions
Frequently asked questions
Why are the angles 15°, 75°, 0° and 45°?
Cyan, magenta and black sit 30° apart, the spacing that turns their interference into a fine, even rosette instead of visible moiré. Yellow is the least visible ink, so it takes 0°, only 15° from cyan.
Which mesh and LPI do I need for CMYK?
Use 305 mesh. It recommends 65 LPI (305 ÷ 4.5 = 67.8, capped at 65); many shops run 55–60 LPI for safety. At 60 LPI with 15% dot gain and a 5% highlight clip the smallest dot is 85 μm against a 51 μm limit.
How is the art separated?
With a simple gray component replacement: K = 1 − max(R, G, B), then each of C, M and Y is (1 − channel − K) ÷ (1 − K). It is predictable and RIP-free, though it does not apply an ICC profile for a specific ink set.
Can I print CMYK on a black shirt?
Not with this separation. Process inks are translucent and need a white or very light shirt. For dark garments, a white underbase plus simulated process colors is a different workflow that this studio does not generate yet.
What print order should I use?
Wet-on-wet, light to dark: yellow, magenta, cyan, then black, with no flash between colors. Some shops print cyan before magenta; keep whichever order your test print favors and note it on the settings sheet.
Why does each plate use the same dot shape?
A matching shape keeps the rosette even. Round dots are the usual choice for process work; elliptical dots can soften skin tones but make the rosette less regular.
How many dots does a CMYK job have?
Up to four times a single film. A solid 10 × 10 inch area at 60 LPI holds 360,000 dots per plate, so up to 1.44 million across four plates. The preflight shows the real total for your art.
Will moiré show on the shirt?
The process angles prevent plate-to-plate moiré. Fabric texture and mesh can still beat with the screen; if you see it on a test print, lower the LPI by 5 or stretch the mesh at a slight angle on the frame.
Same engine, other jobs