Dot Gain Compensation

Dot gain compensation is a transfer curve that lies to the press on purpose. Print a step wedge in 10% increments, measure what comes back, and a file 50% typically reads 65-70% on a cotton tee, meaning 15 to 20 points of gain from stencil, ink spread, and fiber wick. The curve pulls that 50% down to 32-38% in the RIP so it lands near 50% on the garment. Endpoints stay anchored, 0 to 0 and 100 to 100, with the shadow usually capped near 85% and highlights floored at 3-5%. The curve is steepest through the midtones, where gain peaks, and nearly flat at both ends.

This is why one separation file prints differently at two shops. One has a measured curve loaded per mesh and ink system; the other sends the file raw and wonders why a customer's soft gray portrait came back charcoal. Dot gain compensation is the highest-leverage half hour in a screen shop: one afternoon printing wedges on the actual garment, and every simulated-process job afterward lands closer to the proof.

Pros build one curve per combination that matters, meaning mesh count, emulsion, ink series, and substrate. Athletic polyester and ring-spun cotton do not gain alike, and a 230 mesh and a 156 do not gain alike. Curves live in the RIP, whether that's AccuRIP, FilmMaker, or Separation Studio, and get rechecked when emulsion or squeegee durometer changes. The trade-off is honesty about scope: a curve measures one setup, not a universal setting to copy off a forum post.

The misconception is that dot gain compensation reduces gain. It doesn't. Ink spreads exactly as much as it always did; the curve just starts the dot smaller so the spread ends up where you wanted it. A 110 mesh and a soft blade will still out-gain any curve you can build.