PalettePress
A drag-and-drop web app that converts full-color artwork into a chosen limited palette using the best dithering algorithm automatically, with separated channels ready for screen print, risograph, or pixel-art export.
Independent print shops, risograph studios, and indie t-shirt designers who regularly need clean limited-palette separations
- Drop in any image, pick a palette (2–16 colors), get clean dithered output in seconds
- Side-by-side comparison of dithering algorithms (Bayer, Knoll, Yliluoma) so the operator picks the look
- Export with each color on its own channel, layered PDF ready for screen-print or riso
- Palette extractor that suggests the dominant N colors from the source image
Pixel-art and risograph aesthetics are resurging in indie zines, gig posters, and small-run apparel; designers waste hours hand-tuning dither output or writing custom scripts.
Could not verify via web tools (search blocked, fetch blocked); relying on prior knowledge that limited-palette separation is a real but small workflow for riso/screen-print indie shops — no live confirmation available.https://www.google.com/search?q=risograph+color+separation+software ↗
Known free/cheap alternatives exist (Photoshop duotone actions, GIMP scripts, ImageMagick pipelines, Splatter, Risotto) but a streamlined dither+separate web app is not common; live verification unavailable.https://www.google.com/search?q=risograph+color+separation+software ↗
Target users are indie studios with thin margins and accustomed to free scripts/Reddit-shared tools; SaaS pricing likely feasible at low tiers ($5-15/mo) but conversion will be modest — no live pricing data obtained.https://www.google.com/search?q=risograph+color+separation+software ↗
Risograph and pixel-art aesthetics have been a steady niche for ~5+ years (zines, gig posters, indie apparel) and depend on analog/screen-print processes that won't be displaced by generative AI quickly.
Dithering algorithms (Floyd-Steinberg, Yliluoma ordered, Atkinson, Bayer) are well-documented and open-source; a browser-side MVP using Canvas + palette quantization is straightforward to build.