How to Halftone Affinity Designs for DTF directly

How to Halftone Affinity Designs for DTF directly

A practical guide for creating clean, print-safe halftones directly in Affinity

STEP 1 — Set Up Your Affinity Document Correctly

(This step determines print quality and cannot be fixed later)

Affinity gives you full control over size and resolution — use it properly.

Create your document at final print size

In Affinity Designer or Affinity Photo:

• File → New

• Units: Inches

• Resolution: 300 DPI

• Color format: RGB

• Transparent background (recommended)

Common DTF sizes

• Shirt front: 15″ × 18″ @ 300 DPI

• 15″ wide print: 15″ wide @ 300 DPI

🔑 If you design too small and upscale later, dot quality will suffer.

STEP 2 — Prepare Your Artwork

• Use high-resolution images only

• Avoid screenshots or small web graphics

• If your artwork has a background:

  • Remove it now so transparency is correct before halftoning

At this point, your artwork should look exactly how you want it printed — just without halftones.

STEP 3 — Duplicate a Halftone Source Layer

1. Duplicate your artwork layer

2. Rename the duplicate: HALFTONE SOURCE

This keeps your original artwork untouched and mirrors professional workflows.

STEP 4 — Convert the Halftone Source to Grayscale

With HALFTONE SOURCE selected:

• Layer → Rasterize (if it’s vector-based)

• Document → Convert Format / ICC Profile

• Choose Grayscale

This ensures halftones are based on luminance, not color noise.

STEP 5 — Increase Contrast (Critical for DTF)

• Adjustments → Levels

• Push:

  • Blacks darker

  • Whites brighter

• Avoid muddy mid-tones

🎯 Goal:

• Highlights that fully break up into dots

• Shadows that hold strong dot density

• No gray fog

This step directly affects white ink coverage and dot clarity.

STEP 6 — Apply Halftones (Affinity’s Native Method)

With the grayscale HALFTONE SOURCE layer selected:

1. Filters → Colours → Halftone

2. Recommended settings:

   • Method: Intensity

   • Cell Size: Adjust visually

     • Smaller = smoother gradients

     • Larger = bolder texture

   • Angle: 45°

3. Apply

Affinity’s halftone filter produces true hard dots when applied to a grayscale raster layer — no bitmap round-trip required.

STEP 7 — Use the Halftone as a Mask (Optional but Recommended)

For the cleanest DTF output:

1. Copy the halftoned layer

2. Select your original artwork layer

3. Add a Layer Mask

4. Paste the halftone into the mask

5. Invert if needed

White prints. Black does not.

This ensures no semi-transparent pixels sneak into the final file.

STEP 8 — Final Export for DTF

• File → Export

• Format: PNG

• DPI: 300

• Transparency: ON

• Do not resample or resize after halftoning

Your file is now RIP-ready, with clean dots and no white haze.

A Better, Faster Option (Strongly Recommended)

Yes — Affinity can do halftones.
But this workflow is still manual, destructive, and easy to misdial. One wrong contrast setting or filter tweak can mean wasted transfers.

If you want faster, safer, and more consistent results, use DTPrep instead.

Why DTPrep is the smarter choice

• Built specifically for DTF / DTG

• Interactive halftone preview (no guessing)

• Eliminates common issues like white haze

• No grayscale conversion, no filters, no masking

• Accepts Affinity exports instantly, right in the browser

Same goal. Far fewer steps. Much safer output.

If you create DTF artwork regularly, DTPrep saves time, prevents reprints, and delivers predictable professional results every time.