Printing on dark garments: methods and blanks

Ink that looks bright on a white shirt goes dull on black, because the dark fabric shows through it. Every method fixes that with a white layer or by removing the dye, and the blank decides which fixes you can use. Here's how underbase, discharge, DTG and DTF work on darks, and the shirts that suit each.

The shortlist

Eight cotton tees, a blend tee and a blend hoodie.

• Comfort Colors 1717 Garment-Dyed Heavyweight T-Shirt: 6.1 oz, 100% ringspun cotton, relaxed fit, garment-dyed, in darks like Black, Pepper, True Navy and Espresso. Best for retail tees on deep colors.
• Comfort Colors 6014 Garment-Dyed Heavyweight Long Sleeve: the same 6.1 oz garment-dyed cotton with long sleeves and rib cuffs. Best for dark long sleeves.
• Next Level 3600 Unisex Cotton Tee: 4.3 oz, 100% combed ringspun cotton, regular fit, side seams, sizes XS to 6XL. Best for DTG on darks with fine detail.
• Next Level 3900 Women's Cotton Tee: 4.3 oz, 100% combed ringspun cotton, longer body. Best for a women's cut that matches the 3600.
• Tultex 202 Fine Jersey T-Shirt: 4.5 oz, pre-shrunk 100% ringspun cotton, sizes XS to 5XL. Best for volume dark runs.
• Tultex 235 Youth Fine Jersey T-Shirt: the pre-shrunk youth version of the 202. Best for school and youth orders.
• Hanes 5180R Beefy-T Retro Street T-Shirt: 7 oz, 100% ringspun cotton jersey, oversized relaxed fit. Best for heavyweight DTG and screen print.
• Lane Seven LS16005 Urban Heavyweight Tee: 7.6 oz, 100% combed ringspun cotton, oversized boxy fit, in solid and pigment-dyed colors. Best for streetwear drops.
• Next Level 6210 Unisex CVC Tee: 4.3 oz, 60/40 combed ringspun cotton/polyester. Best for DTF or underbased screen print on a blend.
• Gildan 18500 Heavy Blend Hooded Sweatshirt: 8 oz, 50/50 cotton/polyester, classic fit, sizes XS to 5XL. Best for team hoodies in dark colors.

Why do dark shirts need an underbase?

Most print ink lets some light through. Red on white reads as red, but the same red on black turns muddy. There are two fixes. Print a white layer first, called an underbase, so the colors sit on white. Or pull the shirt's own dye out with discharge, so the colors sit on bare cotton. An underbase adds a layer and a little hand. Discharge stays soft, but it needs cotton dyed with reactive dye.

Screen print: underbase or discharge?

A white underbase is the default because it works on any fiber. Flash it, then print your colors on top. On 100% cotton tees like the Tultex 202 and Next Level 3600, a standard plastisol white does the job.

Blends need one more step. Polyester dye can bleed into a white print under heat, so on the Next Level 6210 and the Gildan 18500, run a low-cure white and a gray blocker base under it on dark colors. On the 18500, Heather Dark Green, Heather Dark Maroon, Heather Dark Navy, Heather Deep Royal and Heather Scarlet Red are 60/40 polyester/cotton, so they need the blocker most. The guide to decorating polyester covers those inks.

Discharge is the soft-hand route on cotton. Every tee on the list except the 6210 is 100% cotton in its solid colors. The Lane Seven LS16005's pigment-dyed colors don't discharge, so use its solid Black, Navy or Forest Green for discharge. Heathers are often blends, so check the color first. The discharge printing guide covers which dyes lift and how to test.

How does DTG work on dark shirts?

DTG on a dark shirt prints a layer of white ink first, then the color on top. The shirt needs pretreatment so the white sits up on the surface instead of soaking in. Cotton holds pretreat evenly, so 100% cotton is the fabric to pick.

A smooth face helps the white lie flat. The Next Level 3600 and 3900 are combed ringspun cotton at 32 singles, a fine yarn. Hanes says its Clean Canvas process on the 5180R gives a print surface for screen and DTG. The Gildan 18500 is 50% polyester, so DTF or screen print suits it better than DTG. The DTG blanks guide covers pretreat and cure.

Where does DTF fit?

DTF is the simplest path to opacity on darks. The white is printed into the transfer, so one press lays down art that's already opaque, with no separate underbase to register. It sits on top of the fabric, so it works on cotton and blends alike. That makes it the easy pick for the 6210 and 18500. The DTF blanks guide covers press settings.

What about garment-dyed darks?

The Comfort Colors 1717 and 6014 are dyed after they're sewn, and the Lane Seven LS16005 comes in pigment-dyed colors. Cure to your ink maker's spec and print one test shirt per color before the run, since garment-dyed and pigment-dyed colors vary from lot to lot.

Shrink matters here too. Cotton that isn't pre-shrunk can move in the first wash. Comfort Colors says its garment dyeing gives minimal shrinkage. On any style, wash and dry one sample and measure before you lock sizes. The Tultex 202 and 235 are pre-shrunk, so they're the pick when a size run has to stay true.

Which dark blank should I start with?

For retail on deep colors, start with the Comfort Colors 1717. It's 100% ringspun cotton at 6.1 oz, so an underbased screen print, DTG and DTF all work on it, and discharge works too once you've tested the color. It comes in many dark colors, and the 6014 matches it in long sleeves. For other jobs:

• Volume run: Tultex 202, with the Tultex 235 for youth
• DTG with fine detail: Next Level 3600, or the 3900 for a women's cut
• Heavyweight: Hanes 5180R or Lane Seven LS16005
• Blend tee: Next Level 6210, printed with DTF
• Hoodies: Gildan 18500

For more Comfort Colors styles and colors, see the Comfort Colors buyer's guide.