Mesh Formulas to Know for Screen Printing with Halftone Dots

In order to select the right mesh for the correct job it should depend on the type of ink you use, garment you print on, and the artwork that needs to be printed onto the garment.

Basic Recommendations:

30 Mesh: Glitter Ink
60 Mesh: Athletic Wear (Football Jersey’s)
86 Mesh: Heavy Ink on Dark Garments, Puff Ink, Transfers
110 Mesh: Underbase
156 Mesh: General Prints on Light Garments
196 Mesh: Multi-Color Prints on Light Garments
230 Mesh: Underbase for Simulated Process
305 Mesh: Process Inks for Light Garments

The Halftone/Mesh Formulas

Halftone dots offer perception of a solid color. The small dots must contain the proper mesh count.

Formula #1: Dot Size * 4 or 4.5= Mesh Count

For example, if we have artwork that is 35 lines per inch (LPI) we must multiply that number by 4.5 to get our mesh count of 157.5.
Mesh must be at least 157.5 or higher for 35 LPI.

Formula #2: Mesh Count/ 4 or 4.5= LPI

In order to determine the maximum dot size we can hold and print on the screen we can reverse the formula. For example, if we only have a limited number of screens available and the highest mesh count on hand is 196. We can then divide that by 4 or 4.5 to determine halftone dot size to use. Lines per inch can be determined by dividing the mesh count that you are using by 4 or 4.5.
In this case, the smallest dot that you can have would be : 196/4 or 196/4.5 to get your LPI.