But funny things happen to normal halftone screens when scaled up to these high frequencies. First, the non-dot area can have peculiar shapes. For example, the non-dot area of a round dot is actually an inverted diamond. Users select the cell pattern of choice along with other attributes of the job. In-Rip software tells the cell patterns to be imaged in solid areas and normal halftone screens to be imaged in contone areas.
Cells transfer through the reproduction process from digital file to film to plate.
Because cell patterns are made of relatively few pixels at these high frequencies, best results are obtained if the imagesetter is calibrated for flexo. This result is a smoother cell with higher density and harder edges. This cell enlargement compensates for the fact that the cell will shrink on the final plate. Another benefit of the high frequencies of plate cell patterns is the ability to have plate cells in fine type and line work. Smoother Looking Solids.