Halftone is the dot pattern that old print used to fake tones with a single ink. On posters it reads as risograph, screen print or newspaper, and it is one of the few effects that still looks good at any size. Here are the three ways to do it in Photoshop and what each one costs you.
1. Filter → Pixelate → Color Halftone
The fastest. Set max radius 6–12 px and all four channel angles to 45 for a single-ink look. Problem: it is destructive and the dots are the same size everywhere, so you lose the gradient that makes halftone feel printed.
2. Bitmap mode
Flatten, Image → Mode → Grayscale, then Bitmap with Halftone Screen. This gives real tonal dots (big in the shadows, small in the highlights) but destroys your layers and colour. Fine for a final export, useless while you are still designing.
3. Gradient map + threshold on a Smart Object
Convert the artwork to a Smart Object, add a Gaussian Blur as a Smart Filter, then a Pattern overlay of dots set to Multiply, then a Threshold adjustment clipped on top. The blur feeds tone into the dots and the threshold snaps them clean. Everything stays live, and you can recolour the ink and paper afterwards.
The script version
Method 3 is what AMRE Halftone Dissolve builds for you: a Photoshop script that breaks shapes, logos and type into printed dots with an editable mask, recolourable ink and paper layers, and a dissolve control so the dots can fade out across the shape. One click, non-destructive, any file size.
Want to try the engine first? Ink Bleed 01 is free and uses the same install.
Requirements
Adobe Photoshop 2022 or newer. Commercial licence, print-on-demand allowed.