Screen angles measure how closely or loosely spaced halftone dots make up an image printed by an offset printing press and are counted as an angle from horizontal.
Screen angle can refer to the screen used to print an image or its placement of halftone dots. When used interchangeably, they refer to an angle at which dots are laid onto a printing plate.
Screen angles are created between the screen ruling and an edge perpendicular to the substrate and measured in degrees, typically between 0 and 90. Their purpose is to ensure proper dot alignment within halftone images. When misalignments occur due to incorrect screen angles, dots do not line up correctly and thus create fuzzy or distorted effects in an image.
Screen angles are used in printing and publishing to ensure ink dots are appropriately aligned on paper – particularly important when printing images or photographs. Publishing also utilizes screen angles, mainly to ensure ink dots are correctly lined up on a printing plate – again, this should be considered when publishing images or photographs.
Printing and publishing require accurate screen angles; otherwise, images will appear distorted. If this happens, they could turn out fuzzy or unclear.
Screen angles are essential in printing and publishing because they determine how images appear on paper. Too shallow of an angle results in blurry images, while too steep can create grainy ones; typically, 55 to 65 degrees is considered optimal for printing purposes.