Theory of the halftone process. III. Dot size and halftone density

Abstract The theoretical and experimental quantitative relationships between the dot diameter, dot area, and density of a halftone are given. Experimental results do not agree exactly with the theoretical relationships except for screen negatives and positives with sharp dots.For accurate rendering, highlight dots in a reproduction must increase extremely rapidly in size for small density increments in the highlights of an original. A “emi-dark-field” densitometer is described which eliminates the effect of dot fringe in measuring densities of screen positives. The relationship between density of screen positive and density of proof is briefly discussed.