How to achieve this dot-matrix-printed/pixelated effect?












7















Windows 95 setup.bmp black/white



The above image is a Windows 95 default background. I wanted to know how they achieved this effect and was wondering if it is possible in Photoshop or if I need a dot-matrix printer or maybe a graphic-design program from the 90's to replicate it.










share|improve this question





























    7















    Windows 95 setup.bmp black/white



    The above image is a Windows 95 default background. I wanted to know how they achieved this effect and was wondering if it is possible in Photoshop or if I need a dot-matrix printer or maybe a graphic-design program from the 90's to replicate it.










    share|improve this question



























      7












      7








      7


      3






      Windows 95 setup.bmp black/white



      The above image is a Windows 95 default background. I wanted to know how they achieved this effect and was wondering if it is possible in Photoshop or if I need a dot-matrix printer or maybe a graphic-design program from the 90's to replicate it.










      share|improve this question
















      Windows 95 setup.bmp black/white



      The above image is a Windows 95 default background. I wanted to know how they achieved this effect and was wondering if it is possible in Photoshop or if I need a dot-matrix printer or maybe a graphic-design program from the 90's to replicate it.







      adobe-photoshop pixelation






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Feb 9 at 10:03









      Wrzlprmft

      10.9k44474




      10.9k44474










      asked Feb 8 at 19:09









      jomojomo

      382




      382






















          5 Answers
          5






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          7














          Open a photograph in Photoshop



          Do Image > Adjusments > Desaturate



          Then Image > Mode > Indexed color, and use the settings shown below.



          enter image description here



          Note: Afterwards, you can switch back to other modes such as RGB for further editing, by using Image > Mode > RGB






          share|improve this answer

































            6














            It's not dot-matrix printing simulation. It's stipple effect - a form of halftoning. It's well possible that some older software could use dot matrix printers this way to make greyshades with halftoning. As far as I know, generally the results of greyscale printing with dot matrix printers resembled much more the computer+hands image that user Danielillo has attached to his explanation. White was got by no hit, light grey = one hit, dark grey = two hits at the same place.



            Photoshop is already discussed well, so I insert other possiblities:



            The finest results I have seen were produced by using Astute Graphics plugin Stipplism for Illustrator. It costs some money, but free raster image editors have usable methods, too.



            In GIMP you can convert a desaturated RGB image to Indexed mode (Image > Mode > Indexed) with certain settings and get quite good results. The key is to use Floyd-Steinberg Dithering method. Start with 1 bit black and white coloring. You can also experiment with a few more colors to get more possible shades of grey with the same number of dots.



            This is an example of the results in GIMP:



            enter image description here



            This is the original and the conversion dialog:



            enter image description here



            The resulted image is indexed, but you can convert it back to RGB or normal grayscale, if needed and you do not lose the quality. But the file size grows.



            In Krita you can use BW > Dithering effect of the included G'MIC filter pack and get quite same final result See a screenshot:



            enter image description here



            You should note that the simulated greyscale isn't complete nor fully linear, so you probably must experiment with curves tool to get well transformable greyscale. In G'MIC package's BW > Dither you have gamma, contrast and brightness sliders which partially do the same.



            NOTE: If you have too high resolution in the original image, the result is easily so dense that it fights with the display pixel grid producing weird interference patterns. Printing also needs some care for the same reason.






            share|improve this answer

































              4














              Image from unsplash.com



              enter image description here



              From Photoshop:




              • Menu Image → Mode → Grayscale

              • Menu Image → Mode → Bitmap → Method Use: Halftone Screen


              Bitmap




              • Shape: Square


              Square



              End






              share|improve this answer


























              • Bless you Danielillo! :)

                – jomo
                Feb 8 at 19:35











              • That looks like Fax, not like Dithering

                – Thomas Weller
                Feb 9 at 21:42



















              3














              It is a black and white dithering effect you can have in many graphics software. For illustration I used the G'MIC filters which can be used for free online, or as a plugin to Gimp.



              enter image description here
              Source:Pixabay



              Filter > Black & White > Dithering



              enter image description here



              For more options there also is a filter Pattern > Halftone which is available in the plugin only.






              share|improve this answer































                3














                This technique is called dithering. It's not primarily used as an effect, but as a method of choosing the pixel values used when doing colour reduction on an image (e.g. conversion to an indexed palette).



                There are many dithering algorithms available. Some produce an obvious regular pattern, while some - like this one - produce a more scattered effect. The above page on dithering provides many examples.



                I remember that image - it's a black-and-white copy of the setup.bmp image that came with Windows 95 (it was originally black and blue, but otherwise exactly the same).



                It's hard to know the exact algorithm that was used on it, but it looks quite a bit like Floyd-Steinberg dithering:



                Michaelangelo's David (original)Michaelangelo's David (Floyd-Steinberg dithering)



                This algorithm can be chosen in GIMP when converting an image to use Indexed mode.






                share|improve this answer

























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                  5 Answers
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                  active

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                  5 Answers
                  5






                  active

                  oldest

                  votes









                  active

                  oldest

                  votes






                  active

                  oldest

                  votes









                  7














                  Open a photograph in Photoshop



                  Do Image > Adjusments > Desaturate



                  Then Image > Mode > Indexed color, and use the settings shown below.



                  enter image description here



                  Note: Afterwards, you can switch back to other modes such as RGB for further editing, by using Image > Mode > RGB






                  share|improve this answer






























                    7














                    Open a photograph in Photoshop



                    Do Image > Adjusments > Desaturate



                    Then Image > Mode > Indexed color, and use the settings shown below.



                    enter image description here



                    Note: Afterwards, you can switch back to other modes such as RGB for further editing, by using Image > Mode > RGB






                    share|improve this answer




























                      7












                      7








                      7







                      Open a photograph in Photoshop



                      Do Image > Adjusments > Desaturate



                      Then Image > Mode > Indexed color, and use the settings shown below.



                      enter image description here



                      Note: Afterwards, you can switch back to other modes such as RGB for further editing, by using Image > Mode > RGB






                      share|improve this answer















                      Open a photograph in Photoshop



                      Do Image > Adjusments > Desaturate



                      Then Image > Mode > Indexed color, and use the settings shown below.



                      enter image description here



                      Note: Afterwards, you can switch back to other modes such as RGB for further editing, by using Image > Mode > RGB







                      share|improve this answer














                      share|improve this answer



                      share|improve this answer








                      edited Feb 8 at 22:12

























                      answered Feb 8 at 21:29









                      Billy KerrBilly Kerr

                      27.4k22058




                      27.4k22058























                          6














                          It's not dot-matrix printing simulation. It's stipple effect - a form of halftoning. It's well possible that some older software could use dot matrix printers this way to make greyshades with halftoning. As far as I know, generally the results of greyscale printing with dot matrix printers resembled much more the computer+hands image that user Danielillo has attached to his explanation. White was got by no hit, light grey = one hit, dark grey = two hits at the same place.



                          Photoshop is already discussed well, so I insert other possiblities:



                          The finest results I have seen were produced by using Astute Graphics plugin Stipplism for Illustrator. It costs some money, but free raster image editors have usable methods, too.



                          In GIMP you can convert a desaturated RGB image to Indexed mode (Image > Mode > Indexed) with certain settings and get quite good results. The key is to use Floyd-Steinberg Dithering method. Start with 1 bit black and white coloring. You can also experiment with a few more colors to get more possible shades of grey with the same number of dots.



                          This is an example of the results in GIMP:



                          enter image description here



                          This is the original and the conversion dialog:



                          enter image description here



                          The resulted image is indexed, but you can convert it back to RGB or normal grayscale, if needed and you do not lose the quality. But the file size grows.



                          In Krita you can use BW > Dithering effect of the included G'MIC filter pack and get quite same final result See a screenshot:



                          enter image description here



                          You should note that the simulated greyscale isn't complete nor fully linear, so you probably must experiment with curves tool to get well transformable greyscale. In G'MIC package's BW > Dither you have gamma, contrast and brightness sliders which partially do the same.



                          NOTE: If you have too high resolution in the original image, the result is easily so dense that it fights with the display pixel grid producing weird interference patterns. Printing also needs some care for the same reason.






                          share|improve this answer






























                            6














                            It's not dot-matrix printing simulation. It's stipple effect - a form of halftoning. It's well possible that some older software could use dot matrix printers this way to make greyshades with halftoning. As far as I know, generally the results of greyscale printing with dot matrix printers resembled much more the computer+hands image that user Danielillo has attached to his explanation. White was got by no hit, light grey = one hit, dark grey = two hits at the same place.



                            Photoshop is already discussed well, so I insert other possiblities:



                            The finest results I have seen were produced by using Astute Graphics plugin Stipplism for Illustrator. It costs some money, but free raster image editors have usable methods, too.



                            In GIMP you can convert a desaturated RGB image to Indexed mode (Image > Mode > Indexed) with certain settings and get quite good results. The key is to use Floyd-Steinberg Dithering method. Start with 1 bit black and white coloring. You can also experiment with a few more colors to get more possible shades of grey with the same number of dots.



                            This is an example of the results in GIMP:



                            enter image description here



                            This is the original and the conversion dialog:



                            enter image description here



                            The resulted image is indexed, but you can convert it back to RGB or normal grayscale, if needed and you do not lose the quality. But the file size grows.



                            In Krita you can use BW > Dithering effect of the included G'MIC filter pack and get quite same final result See a screenshot:



                            enter image description here



                            You should note that the simulated greyscale isn't complete nor fully linear, so you probably must experiment with curves tool to get well transformable greyscale. In G'MIC package's BW > Dither you have gamma, contrast and brightness sliders which partially do the same.



                            NOTE: If you have too high resolution in the original image, the result is easily so dense that it fights with the display pixel grid producing weird interference patterns. Printing also needs some care for the same reason.






                            share|improve this answer




























                              6












                              6








                              6







                              It's not dot-matrix printing simulation. It's stipple effect - a form of halftoning. It's well possible that some older software could use dot matrix printers this way to make greyshades with halftoning. As far as I know, generally the results of greyscale printing with dot matrix printers resembled much more the computer+hands image that user Danielillo has attached to his explanation. White was got by no hit, light grey = one hit, dark grey = two hits at the same place.



                              Photoshop is already discussed well, so I insert other possiblities:



                              The finest results I have seen were produced by using Astute Graphics plugin Stipplism for Illustrator. It costs some money, but free raster image editors have usable methods, too.



                              In GIMP you can convert a desaturated RGB image to Indexed mode (Image > Mode > Indexed) with certain settings and get quite good results. The key is to use Floyd-Steinberg Dithering method. Start with 1 bit black and white coloring. You can also experiment with a few more colors to get more possible shades of grey with the same number of dots.



                              This is an example of the results in GIMP:



                              enter image description here



                              This is the original and the conversion dialog:



                              enter image description here



                              The resulted image is indexed, but you can convert it back to RGB or normal grayscale, if needed and you do not lose the quality. But the file size grows.



                              In Krita you can use BW > Dithering effect of the included G'MIC filter pack and get quite same final result See a screenshot:



                              enter image description here



                              You should note that the simulated greyscale isn't complete nor fully linear, so you probably must experiment with curves tool to get well transformable greyscale. In G'MIC package's BW > Dither you have gamma, contrast and brightness sliders which partially do the same.



                              NOTE: If you have too high resolution in the original image, the result is easily so dense that it fights with the display pixel grid producing weird interference patterns. Printing also needs some care for the same reason.






                              share|improve this answer















                              It's not dot-matrix printing simulation. It's stipple effect - a form of halftoning. It's well possible that some older software could use dot matrix printers this way to make greyshades with halftoning. As far as I know, generally the results of greyscale printing with dot matrix printers resembled much more the computer+hands image that user Danielillo has attached to his explanation. White was got by no hit, light grey = one hit, dark grey = two hits at the same place.



                              Photoshop is already discussed well, so I insert other possiblities:



                              The finest results I have seen were produced by using Astute Graphics plugin Stipplism for Illustrator. It costs some money, but free raster image editors have usable methods, too.



                              In GIMP you can convert a desaturated RGB image to Indexed mode (Image > Mode > Indexed) with certain settings and get quite good results. The key is to use Floyd-Steinberg Dithering method. Start with 1 bit black and white coloring. You can also experiment with a few more colors to get more possible shades of grey with the same number of dots.



                              This is an example of the results in GIMP:



                              enter image description here



                              This is the original and the conversion dialog:



                              enter image description here



                              The resulted image is indexed, but you can convert it back to RGB or normal grayscale, if needed and you do not lose the quality. But the file size grows.



                              In Krita you can use BW > Dithering effect of the included G'MIC filter pack and get quite same final result See a screenshot:



                              enter image description here



                              You should note that the simulated greyscale isn't complete nor fully linear, so you probably must experiment with curves tool to get well transformable greyscale. In G'MIC package's BW > Dither you have gamma, contrast and brightness sliders which partially do the same.



                              NOTE: If you have too high resolution in the original image, the result is easily so dense that it fights with the display pixel grid producing weird interference patterns. Printing also needs some care for the same reason.







                              share|improve this answer














                              share|improve this answer



                              share|improve this answer








                              edited Feb 9 at 8:56

























                              answered Feb 8 at 20:16









                              user287001user287001

                              22.5k21237




                              22.5k21237























                                  4














                                  Image from unsplash.com



                                  enter image description here



                                  From Photoshop:




                                  • Menu Image → Mode → Grayscale

                                  • Menu Image → Mode → Bitmap → Method Use: Halftone Screen


                                  Bitmap




                                  • Shape: Square


                                  Square



                                  End






                                  share|improve this answer


























                                  • Bless you Danielillo! :)

                                    – jomo
                                    Feb 8 at 19:35











                                  • That looks like Fax, not like Dithering

                                    – Thomas Weller
                                    Feb 9 at 21:42
















                                  4














                                  Image from unsplash.com



                                  enter image description here



                                  From Photoshop:




                                  • Menu Image → Mode → Grayscale

                                  • Menu Image → Mode → Bitmap → Method Use: Halftone Screen


                                  Bitmap




                                  • Shape: Square


                                  Square



                                  End






                                  share|improve this answer


























                                  • Bless you Danielillo! :)

                                    – jomo
                                    Feb 8 at 19:35











                                  • That looks like Fax, not like Dithering

                                    – Thomas Weller
                                    Feb 9 at 21:42














                                  4












                                  4








                                  4







                                  Image from unsplash.com



                                  enter image description here



                                  From Photoshop:




                                  • Menu Image → Mode → Grayscale

                                  • Menu Image → Mode → Bitmap → Method Use: Halftone Screen


                                  Bitmap




                                  • Shape: Square


                                  Square



                                  End






                                  share|improve this answer















                                  Image from unsplash.com



                                  enter image description here



                                  From Photoshop:




                                  • Menu Image → Mode → Grayscale

                                  • Menu Image → Mode → Bitmap → Method Use: Halftone Screen


                                  Bitmap




                                  • Shape: Square


                                  Square



                                  End







                                  share|improve this answer














                                  share|improve this answer



                                  share|improve this answer








                                  edited Feb 8 at 19:31

























                                  answered Feb 8 at 19:24









                                  DanielilloDanielillo

                                  22.7k13378




                                  22.7k13378













                                  • Bless you Danielillo! :)

                                    – jomo
                                    Feb 8 at 19:35











                                  • That looks like Fax, not like Dithering

                                    – Thomas Weller
                                    Feb 9 at 21:42



















                                  • Bless you Danielillo! :)

                                    – jomo
                                    Feb 8 at 19:35











                                  • That looks like Fax, not like Dithering

                                    – Thomas Weller
                                    Feb 9 at 21:42

















                                  Bless you Danielillo! :)

                                  – jomo
                                  Feb 8 at 19:35





                                  Bless you Danielillo! :)

                                  – jomo
                                  Feb 8 at 19:35













                                  That looks like Fax, not like Dithering

                                  – Thomas Weller
                                  Feb 9 at 21:42





                                  That looks like Fax, not like Dithering

                                  – Thomas Weller
                                  Feb 9 at 21:42











                                  3














                                  It is a black and white dithering effect you can have in many graphics software. For illustration I used the G'MIC filters which can be used for free online, or as a plugin to Gimp.



                                  enter image description here
                                  Source:Pixabay



                                  Filter > Black & White > Dithering



                                  enter image description here



                                  For more options there also is a filter Pattern > Halftone which is available in the plugin only.






                                  share|improve this answer




























                                    3














                                    It is a black and white dithering effect you can have in many graphics software. For illustration I used the G'MIC filters which can be used for free online, or as a plugin to Gimp.



                                    enter image description here
                                    Source:Pixabay



                                    Filter > Black & White > Dithering



                                    enter image description here



                                    For more options there also is a filter Pattern > Halftone which is available in the plugin only.






                                    share|improve this answer


























                                      3












                                      3








                                      3







                                      It is a black and white dithering effect you can have in many graphics software. For illustration I used the G'MIC filters which can be used for free online, or as a plugin to Gimp.



                                      enter image description here
                                      Source:Pixabay



                                      Filter > Black & White > Dithering



                                      enter image description here



                                      For more options there also is a filter Pattern > Halftone which is available in the plugin only.






                                      share|improve this answer













                                      It is a black and white dithering effect you can have in many graphics software. For illustration I used the G'MIC filters which can be used for free online, or as a plugin to Gimp.



                                      enter image description here
                                      Source:Pixabay



                                      Filter > Black & White > Dithering



                                      enter image description here



                                      For more options there also is a filter Pattern > Halftone which is available in the plugin only.







                                      share|improve this answer












                                      share|improve this answer



                                      share|improve this answer










                                      answered Feb 8 at 19:51









                                      TakkatTakkat

                                      9,61312341




                                      9,61312341























                                          3














                                          This technique is called dithering. It's not primarily used as an effect, but as a method of choosing the pixel values used when doing colour reduction on an image (e.g. conversion to an indexed palette).



                                          There are many dithering algorithms available. Some produce an obvious regular pattern, while some - like this one - produce a more scattered effect. The above page on dithering provides many examples.



                                          I remember that image - it's a black-and-white copy of the setup.bmp image that came with Windows 95 (it was originally black and blue, but otherwise exactly the same).



                                          It's hard to know the exact algorithm that was used on it, but it looks quite a bit like Floyd-Steinberg dithering:



                                          Michaelangelo's David (original)Michaelangelo's David (Floyd-Steinberg dithering)



                                          This algorithm can be chosen in GIMP when converting an image to use Indexed mode.






                                          share|improve this answer






























                                            3














                                            This technique is called dithering. It's not primarily used as an effect, but as a method of choosing the pixel values used when doing colour reduction on an image (e.g. conversion to an indexed palette).



                                            There are many dithering algorithms available. Some produce an obvious regular pattern, while some - like this one - produce a more scattered effect. The above page on dithering provides many examples.



                                            I remember that image - it's a black-and-white copy of the setup.bmp image that came with Windows 95 (it was originally black and blue, but otherwise exactly the same).



                                            It's hard to know the exact algorithm that was used on it, but it looks quite a bit like Floyd-Steinberg dithering:



                                            Michaelangelo's David (original)Michaelangelo's David (Floyd-Steinberg dithering)



                                            This algorithm can be chosen in GIMP when converting an image to use Indexed mode.






                                            share|improve this answer




























                                              3












                                              3








                                              3







                                              This technique is called dithering. It's not primarily used as an effect, but as a method of choosing the pixel values used when doing colour reduction on an image (e.g. conversion to an indexed palette).



                                              There are many dithering algorithms available. Some produce an obvious regular pattern, while some - like this one - produce a more scattered effect. The above page on dithering provides many examples.



                                              I remember that image - it's a black-and-white copy of the setup.bmp image that came with Windows 95 (it was originally black and blue, but otherwise exactly the same).



                                              It's hard to know the exact algorithm that was used on it, but it looks quite a bit like Floyd-Steinberg dithering:



                                              Michaelangelo's David (original)Michaelangelo's David (Floyd-Steinberg dithering)



                                              This algorithm can be chosen in GIMP when converting an image to use Indexed mode.






                                              share|improve this answer















                                              This technique is called dithering. It's not primarily used as an effect, but as a method of choosing the pixel values used when doing colour reduction on an image (e.g. conversion to an indexed palette).



                                              There are many dithering algorithms available. Some produce an obvious regular pattern, while some - like this one - produce a more scattered effect. The above page on dithering provides many examples.



                                              I remember that image - it's a black-and-white copy of the setup.bmp image that came with Windows 95 (it was originally black and blue, but otherwise exactly the same).



                                              It's hard to know the exact algorithm that was used on it, but it looks quite a bit like Floyd-Steinberg dithering:



                                              Michaelangelo's David (original)Michaelangelo's David (Floyd-Steinberg dithering)



                                              This algorithm can be chosen in GIMP when converting an image to use Indexed mode.







                                              share|improve this answer














                                              share|improve this answer



                                              share|improve this answer








                                              edited Mar 2 at 16:47

























                                              answered Feb 9 at 11:36









                                              mwfearnleymwfearnley

                                              1334




                                              1334






























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