Here at College Hill, we create a great deal of designs intended for screen print on a variety of apparel. We wanted to share with our fellow graphic design enthusiasts - students, budding designers or just curious folks - a trick we use to reduce the number of colors used to make a more aesthetically pleasing design in print.

Halftones are the key.

Halftones are the perfect way to create the illusion of mid-colors and various shades without actually adding any colors to the design itself. A “halftone” is simply printing less than 100% of the color in a given area.

You can use halftones to:

1. Create Shading

When working with screen printing, the number of colors is an important variable to consider. This can be a limiting factor when trying to create detail such as shadows or shading, potentially leaving a design looking “flat.” With halftones, you can create the effects of shading and light on a design, bringing it to life without adding additional colors.

2. Create New Colors

In the same manner that halftones can be used to create the illusion of shading, they can also be used to create what looks like a new color. A halftone is essentially just filling up a fraction of a space with color instead of filling up the whole space. This allows you, as a designer, to create what looks like lighter or darker shades depending on what background color is used. Combining colors already in your pallet with halftones in a design will allow you to add detail and spice things up without complicating production.

3. Simplify Color Pallets

As both new and experienced designers know, it is often better to be simple than complex. Something about a very straightforward and clean design is so aesthetically pleasing. Using halftones can help you achieve that. Regardless of whether you are limited to a specific number of colors for a design, a simplified color pallet will always help. Combining existing colors with halftones instead of adding new colors will keep things looking clean and simple, bringing a level of professionalism to your work that can set you apart from the crowd.

Check out our design gallery to see how we use halftones to bring life to our designs!