Best Practices for DTG on Dark Fabrics
Printing on dark fabrics with a DTG printer requires special care and preparation to achieve vibrant, high-quality prints.
Here are some best practices for DTG printing on dark fabrics that can help you achieve better results:
1 – Apply the Pretreatment Properly
– Why it’s important:
Pretreatment is essential for printing on dark fabrics, as it ensures that the white ink adheres properly and guarantees vibrant colors.
– Tips:
– Apply an even layer of pretreatment using a spray gun or automatic pretreatment machine.
– Allow the pretreatment to penetrate the fabric, but avoid oversaturation as this can lead to bleeding.
– Dry the pretreatment using a heat press or conveyor belt dryer, following the manufacturer’s recommended temperature and time settings.
2 – Optimize Your White Underbase Layer
– Why It’s Important:
On dark garments, a good white underbase layer is crucial to make the colors pop.
– Tips:
– Master your RIP software to fine-tune the white underbase layer. A thinner but dense white base, can improve vibrancy while reducing ink usage.
– You can reduce overspray or unnecessary spreading of white ink by using highlights whenever possible.
3 – Know your Garments
– Why It’s Important:
Not all garments are suitable for standard water-based DTG inks, especially coated and blended compositions fabrics.
– Tips:
– You can opt for high quality cotton blends. Some ring-spun cotton has a smoother surface which may ensure better ink adhesion.
– Avoid garments with a high percentage of synthetic fibres content, as these may absorb ink poorly and can lead to faded prints or poor wash test results. Or both.
4 – Create Colour Profiles
– Why It’s Important:
– The right amount of ink and the right pretreatment laydown of the individual garment colour/composition can ensure rich, long-lasting print colours without oversaturation. Make sure that your designs are high-resolution and have been created in a color profile optimized for your printer.
– Tips:
– Adjust your RIP software settings to optimise ink usage for dark garments. This may involve increasing the amount of white ink underbase while balancing the colour ink layers.
– Perform test prints to determine the ideal ink density for your design.
5 – Fine-tuning the Curing Settings
– Why It’s Important:
Proper curing ensures that prints adhere to the garment and are wash resistant while maintaining colour vibrancy
– Tips:
– Set the heat press and belt dryer to the recommended temperature and duration for your inks and fabric types.
– Calibrate the heat press pressure so that the print cures without damaging the garment.
– Check that the temperature of your belt dryer is consistent from start to finish, as much as possible.
6 – Carry out preventive maintenance on all machines
– Why It’s Important:
White ink is thicker and tends to clog. The same can happen with the type of pretreatment solutions you use. Always check with your suppliers to see which inks and fluids are compatible with the machines they sold to you.
– Tips:
– Run cleaning routines for all machines involved in your printing process.
– Check with your suppliers for care and storage instructions for inks and fluids to ensure consistency.
7 – Extra recommendations
– Handle White Ink Carefully: Make sure that the white ink is well mixed to avoid separation, which can lead to inconsistent printing.
– Try Different Materials: Not all materials react in the same way. Test different materials to find out which ones offer the best print quality and color vibrancy on dark backgrounds.
– Test Prints Regularly: Evaluate the test print for color accuracy, vibrancy and wash resistance.
– Inform your customers about the washing instructions: Correct washing ensures a long durability of the prints and can prevent the colors from fading.
These practices are suggestions that can be used as a reference. If you take these suggestions to heart and optimise your machines and processes in your print shop, you may also be able to produce consistently high-quality prints on dark garments that look vibrant, durable and professional.
8 – Wanna learn more?
Have a look at our DTG printing online course for more info on DTG printing business and t-shirt design. Also, you will find lots of useful information, for free, in our YouTube channel
9 – Even more learning with these DTGMerch online courses:
Check out this online course that might help you: How to Put Your Art on a t-shirt. In this online course, we will talk about which file formats are suitable for the different t-shirt printing methods.
You may also be interested in these other courses from us:
Complete Guide to DTG – Free E-book Beginners Guide to DTG
And that’s about it!
Again, I hope you find the information useful. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me at hello@dtgmerch.com
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and we wish you success!
The DTGMerch Team