Printing Gradient

[Logoman]

I am printing a rectangle and would like for it to fade from white to Black (Black is the color of shirt) but when I do this the white has a solid line and then changes to halftones instead of gradually fading. How do I fix this?

[Frog]

Folks are going to want to know what program you are using.

[Frog]

This is how I do it in CorelDRAW. The white is halftones, but not starting abruptly like you describe

[Dottonedan]

At what stage of the process do you see the line and then the halftone (at press in print)   In the screen washout, or in films at output?


Sounds like could be the output devise may need linearized or, in your art file, you may need to open up (lighten) the shadow tones.
Sounds like GAIN and filling in your shadow tones.  A screen shot or picture will help.

[Logoman]

Thank, I use Illustrator

[Logoman]

in the positives

[Logoman]

.

[ebscreen]

In the Illy gradient slider make sure your colors are at the extreme ends, and then slide
the middle adjuster towards the solid side. You can also use just one color and set the opacity
of the opposite end to zero.

That also looks like tones are being clipped maybe though, are you using a RIP at all?

[Logoman]

Printing using Xante Screenwriter 5

[Frog]

In the Illy gradient slider make sure your colors are at the extreme ends, and then slide
the middle adjuster towards the solid side. You can also use just one color and set the opacity
of the opposite end to zero.

That also looks like tones are being clipped maybe though, are you using a RIP at all?

Printing using Xante Screenwriter 5

Okay, that is real honest to goodness postscript for halftone manipulation strictly within Illy.

[Dottonedan]

Yea, old school techniques. Not that it's bad, just not used much these days. I think there is a setting in your preferences to increase the gradation blends. Here, you have the default steps like 16 shades of grey. You want o increase that...and then do what Eb said about sliding the middle tone back.  I just don't remember the details of those settings. Where they are etc.

[ebscreen]

Okay, that is real honest to goodness postscript for halftone manipulation strictly within Illy.

Which makes me wonder if its up to the task of holding high percentage reversed out tones.

OP if you want to eliminate that variable make a number of squares and set their opacity to
%95-%65 and print them out and make sure you can see dots not solids.

[ZooCity]

Quick and dirty:

Print out an array of some boxes from 0 to 100% in 1% increments on either end (from 0-10 and from 90-100), 10% increments or to taste thorugh the middle.  Also toss in a a gradient rectangle.

See where your output device is essentially filling in to solid on the high end, i.e., what percent does the film output solid black? 
Same on the other end- what percent do you still see a dot that looks like something you can hold on the screen you are printing on?

Let's say it's solid black at 95% and you think you can hold what your device is outputting in the 10% box.

Set what would have been the 100% gradient swatch to 95% in Illustrator and what would have been zero to 10%.   Output and adjust swatches and sliders to taste to get a nice transition through the middle. 

To clarify on the values, use a single, spot color swatch in the gradient and adjust it's spot fill percentage .

[Dottonedan]

See attached.