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The theoretical halftone dot, at left, does not print at its true
value. Instead, a tiny amount of ink surrounds the dot, and
causes it to grow slightly. The greater the circumference, the
greater the amount of gain. In addition, ink can spread on
the paper, or be absorbed into the paper, adding additional
area to the dots, and causing the measured and illusory dot
gain to be greater.
In today’s world of computer art generation, those
who scan or manage images inherit the
responsibility for managing dot gain. A printer The plotting of dot gain on glossy paper. As the halftone
cannot control dot gain if the film for printed percentage rises, dot gain rises. The circumference of the 50
halftones is generated ahead of the printer’s percent dot is greatest, and thus the gain is greatest at that
processes. size. Higher halftone frequencies have more dots in the same
area. As the number of dots increases, the gain increases –
What causes dot gain? because there are more circumferences to gain.
Dot gain is caused by ink spreading around
halftone dots. Factors contributing to this increase surrounded by a tiny extra circumference of ink.
in halftone dot area include: Each halftone dot has microscopic relief, and ink
✔ Ink absorbing into the paper will fall-off the edge before being eliminated
✔ Ink spreading out onto the paper entirely by the fountain solution (in the case of
✔ Circumferential ink “rimming” standard offset printing).
✔ Halation at any stage in exposure Press problems can contribute to dot gain. In
addition to the gains already described; a press in
Different papers cause dot gain from absorption to bad condition can make matters worse. Improper
a varying degree. Coated papers resist absorption, press packing can make these normal gains greater,
while uncoated sheets allow a great deal of and press feed problems, like slur (a twisting of the
absorption – and thus show more gain. sheet from improper press condition) can make
On coated sheets, the ink is actually squeezed dot gains grow excessively.
outward of the dot shape by the pressure of
printing. This in turn can be affected by varying Dot gain is caused by optical illusion, too!
viscosities of ink, and varying tack, or stickiness, of The factors contributing to dot gain are both
the ink. More solid inks, and inks with a higher mechanical and physical. But there is an illusory
tack will resist the squeezing effect, while lighter component in the equation. Called optical dot gain,
inks will show more gain. this effect is measurable and must be factored into
The viscosity of the ink, as well as the tack, are any measurement of press gains.
not set by gain considerations alone; these factors Optical gain is created by the optical illusion
are set by printing order, press type, and operator when squares or other masses are in close
experience. proximity to one another (as shown in the
“Rimming” is a tendency for all dots to by illustration on the next page).
This is the 100-step gray test that is used to measure both imagesetter linearity and press gains and losses. It is made in any
application that can create a square with a finite dot area. For this example, I used Adobe Illustrator. The output halftone
frequency should be the same as that intended for final reproduction, as dot gains are different for each halftone frequency.
Next, move up into the 30s, and seek the The results of our test require no complicated
square that printed at 50 percent (plus or minus math, and no translations. These CheckPoints are
1). Make another check mark above this reading. solid evidence of the press and paper performance,
This is the 50 percent CheckPoint and is a critical and are reliable for making dot gain controls.
value in our corrective action. To put our CheckPoint values to work, we will
Last, look for the square that printed at 75 build a curve in Photoshop with the values we
percent dot area. This is the last value we need to have collected. Photoshop offers the best tool for
build a perfect corrective curve for our images on this correction, though it is possible to use similar
this press and paper combination. control in other applications.
Make note of the five CheckPoint values. QuarkXPress, for example, offers a Calibration
Armed with this information, we now return to XTension that allows curves to be built for
the program where photos are processed – Adobe individual imagesetters (and, we presume, paper
Photoshop – for the adjustments needed to make and press combinations). But Quark’s XTension
our printing better. does not allow you to control highlight and
shadow dots, so it is not as useful as the curve
Throwing a few curves control in Photoshop.
Since we now know what happens to halftone dot If we plot the effects of press gains and plate
values when they are printed, a corrective curve losses, the chart would look like this:
can be built that will counteract the effects of gain The curve that corrects for these gains is
on the press.