Figure 4 Pushing the envelope and designing something extraordinary doesn't have to be a hassle or expensive. Figure 5 Applying the Pattern After outputting the patterns, it was time to apply them to images. I opened each pattern in Photoshop and then adjusted the grayscale, if needed, so the white in the image was 100% white and the black was 100% black. Next, I went into the "Edit" menu and used the "Define Pattern" command to transform each square graphic into a pattern file that would be stored inside Photoshop's pattern dialog box. Once the three patterns were loaded, I could convert the images into halftones by clicking Image > Mode > Bitmap and then selecting "Custom Pattern" from the dialog box.The final step was to play with the output's resolution to shrink or enlarge the halftone effect. Higher resolution resulted in smaller halftones, and vice versa. Using unique halftone patterns and understanding this process allows images to have halftone patterns with a custom look that is easy to print, but hard to duplicate (Figure 5). Thomas Trimingham has been helping screen printers for more than 25 years as an industry consultant, freelance artist and high-end separator. Thomas has worked with companies from small, family owned shops to some of the world's largest printers. Learn more about Thomas and screen-printing training at his website: screenprintingartist.com. Use Info*Action #16 at impressionsmag.com/infoaction MAY 2017 P.55http://www.rtpapparel.com http://www.rtpapparel.com http://www.imagearmorpt.com http://www.imagearmorpt.com http://www.screenprintingartist.com http://www.impressionsmag.com/infoaction