hello.  i have been given the task of finding images to get printed
onto t-shirts.
my plan is to find color images and reduce them to B and W so they can
be printed with one ink color on a shirt.
i am not sure the best way to do this in photoshop.
i brought in a jpg image and changed it to greyscale.  i then messed
with the "levels' a bit under the image-adjustment option-i then used
"posterize" to change the image to B and  W.  i had to go back and mess
with the levels a bit to find a fairly satisfactory setting that left a
reasonable amount of detail in the now B and W image.
my question is-am i going about this wrong?  are there other settings
which allow me to save even more detail on my image besides simply
'levels'.  something having to do with curves maybe?
also now that my image is B and W is there a way to change the black to
another color so i might be able to see what the image would look like
printed in various colors?
and also...should i be using "multichannel" to change the two colors or
using the duotone function rather than the posterize function?
i am sorry-it is strange-i know flash and illustrator but i never
learned anything but the basics of photoshop.
thank you very much for any input and advice.

tom_chambers3000@hotmail.com wrote:

>hello.  i have been given the task of finding images to get printed
>onto t-shirts.
>my plan is to find color images and reduce them to B and W so they can
>be printed with one ink color on a shirt.
>i am not sure the best way to do this in photoshop.
>i brought in a jpg image and changed it to greyscale.  i then messed
>with the "levels' a bit under the image-adjustment option-i then used
>"posterize" to change the image to B and  W.  i had to go back and mess
>with the levels a bit to find a fairly satisfactory setting that left a
>reasonable amount of detail in the now B and W image.
>my question is-am i going about this wrong?  are there other settings
>which allow me to save even more detail on my image besides simply
>'levels'.  something having to do with curves maybe?
>also now that my image is B and W is there a way to change the black to
>another color so i might be able to see what the image would look like
>printed in various colors?
>and also...should i be using "multichannel" to change the two colors or
>using the duotone function rather than the posterize function?
>i am sorry-it is strange-i know flash and illustrator but i never
>learned anything but the basics of photoshop.
>thank you very much for any input and advice.

Start with a greyscale image then
either
play with Image->Adjustments->Threshold" (Move the small triangle at
the bottom left and right
or
try Filter -> Sketch -> Halftone Pattern, with the Contrast parameter
set to the highest level.

HTH, Peter

To preview a colour, you could convert your mono image back to CMYK and add
a spot channel (channels palette, pullout tab - new spot channel).  Copy
your black channel to your spot channel and play with the colour...

Cheers, Jason  (remove ... to reply)
Video & Gaming: http://gadgetaus.com

>since this post i have been messing with the bitmap function in
>photoshop.  if i turn a greyscaled photo into a bitmap, is that then
>silkscreenable even though it is greyscale rather than firmly black and
>white?

A bitmap image (Image->Mode->Bitmap) is never grayscale. It is always
completely black and white.

However, depending on who is doing your screen printing, it should not be
necessary; any reasonably competent screen printer can print a grayscale ima
ge.
Ranges of tone are simulated by a process known as "halftoning."

--
Art, literature, shareware, polyamory, kink, and more:
http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

Hi,
To get an idea what the image will look like in different colors, you
can open the jpg image, and then go to the Image - Adjustments -
Desaturate. This removes the color. Next, go to Image - Adjustments -
Hue/Saturation. Once on that screen, check the Colorize box, and then
change the hue, saturation, and lightness to you preference. You
should be able to achieve nearly any color you wish to see:)