DAGuide

 One of the most popular questions when people are considering whether to purchase a CMYK Ink or a CMYK + White Ink printer is “What colored garments can I print only CMYK ink on?”.  Most prospective owners are just concerned that if they buy a CMYK only printer that they will be stuck to printing on just white garments.  However, this is not the case – in fact, it is far from that depending on the graphic you are printing. The key principle to understand when you are just printing CMYK is the inks are transparent.  In order to allow you to print a spectrum of colors, we have to use a multiple colors of ink layed on top of each other to create the desired color(s).  The CMYK model is the basic foundation for almost all types of printers.  This picture  illustrates how this process works.
                                  

However, the CMYK model works when you are printing on a white substrate (i.e. garment, paper, banner,…).  When you change the color of the substrate, you may start to change how the colors of the graphic will look.  In order to keep the accuracy of colors, the general rule is “The lightest color in your graphic must be darker than the color of your garment.”  Below are a series of graphics that will show design simulated on a white, yellow and blue garments.  The examples of yellow and blue garments are shown printed with just CMYK Ink and also with CMYK + White Ink to show the differences.
                                  
                                            
                                                  CMYK Ink on a White Garment
 
                            
     CMYK Ink on a Yellow Garment                 CMYK + White Ink on a Yellow Garment
 
                           
    CMYK Ink on a Blue Garment                        CMYK + White Ink on a Blue Garment

So the answer to the question of “What colored garments can I print only CMYK ink on?”  is really based off of the graphic you are printed and the desired finished garment.  Technically, if your graphic is all black – then you can print on any colored garment except a black garment.  In addition, some graphics may look good on dark garments depending on the desired look.  See the example below.
                                 
                                           

We hope this document answered the question thoroughly for you.  Feel free to continue a discussion about this question by clicking on the link(s) below.

•  http://www.t-shirtforums.com/brother/t66412.html

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Special thanks to Great Dane Graphics (www.greatdanegraphics.com) for the rights to use its graphics above in this technical support document.

What all new dtg owners need to do is install color management policies in your business that will allow you to match the customer’s color expectation with the output of your dtg printer.  One of the first things I would recommend you doing is printing a color chart out on different substrates and colors.  The color charts will help your client understand the colors achievable from your dtg printer and will show how colors can be affected if you don’t use a white ink underbase on a color garment.  Some dtg printers come with a built-in color charts in their printing software, but for those dtg printers that don’t have color charts…click on this link to download these two Color Charts packages – that contain a 510 color chart (size 8.5” x 11”), 2040 color chart (size 11” x 17”), a PDF of RGB Values and a corresponding color swatch / palette - http://www.multirip.com/colormanagement.html. 

PRINTING TIP:  When you print your color charts, make sure that you know exactly what settings you used in your printing software so you can accurately reproduce the same colors when you go to reproduce the customer’s artwork.  It is best to include the settings at the bottom of the color chart so you know what the exact settings were.  You will probably want to get the customer to select the color on your color chart or compare it to a printed sample from the customer.

Almost all graphic software programs allow you to adjust some color settings (i.e. mode, embedded profiles, rendering intent,…).  Some dtg manufacturers will have you turn off the color management engine in you graphic program and allow the printing software program (i.e. the print driver or RIP) to handle the color value conversions.  Please make sure that you speak with your dtg manufacturer or distributor to make sure that you know the appropriate color management settings to get the best colors.

Most people that are looking at buying a dtg printer have little to no experience or knowledge about graphic software programs.  So when someone starts to talk about vector or raster graphics, it becomes even more confusing as to which type of graphic software program to choose.  You will find a lot of posts that talk about how some people prefer one software program over the next.  Below are a couple of posts that compare the different graphic software programs:

• http://www.t-shirtforums.com/graphics-design-help/t38966.html
• http://www.inkjetgarmentprinters.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3004
• http://www.t-shirtforums.com/graphics-design-help/t22290.html

With the growth in desktop publishing, I believe that all dtg owners should have at least one vector and one raster graphic software program to handle the different types of files a customer will give to you.  Both types of files have their advantages and disadvantages when it comes to printing with a dtg printer.   Here is a link that talks about both of these types of graphics - http://www.t-shirtforums.com/graphics-design-help/t44020.html.

PRINTING TIP:  With most dtg printers, it is typically easier to hide banding when you print a raster graphic compared to a vector graphic due to the fact that banding is more noticeable when printing solid areas of the same color.  However, a vector file allows you to enlarge a graphic without pixelating it (i.e. making the graphic blurry).  You can also convert a raster graphic into a vector graphic.  Here is a post that provides you different options for doing this - http://www.t-shirtforums.com/graphics-design-help/t40258.html

 
Graphics provided by Great Dane Graphics - www.greatdanegraphics.com

I strongly recommend any new / novice user getting some graphic software training.  Training is typically done at an industry trade show, community / local college, online and other ways (i.e. CDs / DVDs).  Here are some links to some websites that offer either online training or training CDs.

• www.greatdanegraphics.com
• www.d2slearning.com
• www.lynda.com
• www.advancedartist.com
• www.coreldrawunleashed.com
• www.garmentgraphicsnetwork.com