Halftone Generator
Turn any image into a printing-press dot screen or a vintage comic-book pattern.
How to use the Halftone Generator
Three steps, all processed in your browser.
Add an image
Upload or paste a photo or illustration.
Shape the dots
Adjust the dot size and spacing and choose monochrome or original colors.
Download the result
Export a PNG, or an SVG that stays sharp at any size.
What a halftone effect is
Halftone is the printing technique that makes newspapers and old comic books look the way they do. Instead of printing shades of gray, the printer uses dots of one ink: big dots close together read as dark, small dots far apart read as light. From a normal viewing distance, your eye blends them into tones.
The generator recreates this by sampling your image on a grid and drawing a dot at each point, sized by the brightness underneath.
- Dot size and spacing control how coarse the pattern is. Large spacing gives a bold pop-art look; tight spacing looks more like a photo.
- Monochrome gives the classic black-ink newspaper style; original colors keeps the image's colors in each dot.
Export an SVG for posters and merchandise: each dot is a vector shape, so the print stays sharp at any size.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between halftone and dithering? ▼
Halftone varies the size of dots on a regular grid. Dithering keeps every pixel the same size and varies how many are switched on. Halftone looks like print; dithering looks like early computer graphics.
Can I use the halftone image for screen printing? ▼
Yes. Export a monochrome SVG — vector dots scale cleanly and can be separated into a single ink color.
Is my photo uploaded? ▼
No. The halftone pattern is generated in your browser, and the image stays on your device.