Computer with digital image.
Halftone patterns are found in printed images. Halftones simulate color, light and shadow through the use of dots placed at varying degrees of proximity. This is usually unnoticeable; however, this effect can be undesirable, and can even be made worse by photo scanners.
Luckily, many scanners have descreening functions that smooth out halftone patterns. If your scanner doesn't have such capabilities, or you don't have a scanner to work with, you can improve your images with Adobe Photoshop. You may not be able to delete the halftone completely, but you can definitely mark and conceal it to a great degree.
Instructions
1. Pre-scan the halftone image if it is not already in digital format. Turn on your scanner's descreening options, if available, and examine the results after the pre-scan. Descreening repairs the halftone. If you are happy with the results, you need only export the image into Adobe Photoshop and save it.
2. If you are not happy with the descreening results or if your scanner does not have descreening capabilities, scan the halftone image at the highest resolution possible. Import the image into Adobe Photoshop and adjust the viewing size, as it will be very large. Do not change the image size yet.
3. Experiment with image adjustments and filters to improve the image. The settings will depend on your personal requirements. Start by adjusting the contrast levels, if your image includes drastically light and dark areas. Click on the Image drop-down menu, and select "Image Adjustments," then "Brightness/Contrast." Drag the contrast slider to the left to decrease the level of contrast.
4. Click on the "Filter" drop-down menu and select "Noise" and "Despeckle." Alternately, you can click on "Blur" then "Gaussian Blur" in the "Filter" drop-down menu to achieve similar results. Apply a small amount of blur to your image until the halftone pattern fades.
5. Take your now-blurred image and size it down. Click on the "Image" drop-down menu, select "Image Size" and make your image any size you desire. It should now be sharper and free--or mostly free--of the halftone pattern.
6. Sharpen your image if it is too blurry. Click on the "Filter" drop-down menu, select "Sharpen" and "Sharpen Edges" for the best results. Save and enjoy your repaired image.
