i have seen alot of confusing information. my understanding is that with heat transfers when you print on to the carrier paper it will not produce white colours so if your printing onto a black shirt what happens to the white ? a clear up on the whole issue would be appreciated thank you
There are two main types of transfer papers: light and dark transfer papers. A light transfer paper has a polymer that when heated up, turns clear. When you print on a light transfer paper, you mirror image your design so that when you flip the paper on to your garment... it looks straight after your press / peel the paper backing on the transfer paper. A dark transfer paper has a white backing that will separate from the paper backing. When you print on a dark transfer paper, you will print the design regularly (not mirror image) and then peel the white backing from the transfer paper. You then set the white backing on the garment straight up and will typically use a cover sheet to protect the top of the transfer paper while you press it. The white backing makes the feel of a dark transfer paper heavier because it has to block out the color of the garment. The inks you will use are transparent. So it you try to print a blonde caucasian girl on a light transfer paper and apply it to a pink shirt... she will look like she has a sunburn and has pink hair. The same principles apply to dtg printing / screen printing and whether to print a white underbase or not.
Think of it like this. If you are transferring your image onto a white T, the T itself becomes the white in the image. Any other colour if you have to have white, you need to use dark colour transfer because the white paper becomes your white in the image. It is almost like applying a sticker.
i have seen alot of confusing information. my understanding is that with heat transfers when you print on to the carrier paper it will not produce white colours so if your printing onto a black shirt what happens to the white ? a clear up on the whole issue would be appreciated thank you
I think the easiest way to understand it is like this:
If you use your printer to print on a white sheet of paper you can tape that white sheet of paper with your design onto any color and you will be able to see it. This is what it is like printing on transfer paper for darks.
If you use your printer and print on a colored sheet of paper, i.e. red, the red will show through anywhere the white would have been on a white piece of paper and the other colors will all look duller. There isn't any white ink. Imagine what your design would look like printed on a color sheet of paper. That's what it will look like on a colored shirt. Get a multi-color pack of paper or some different colors that are similar to the color of the t shirts you'd like to print on. Do your test prints on those and it will give you a much better idea of what your t shirts will look like. Hope this helps!!!
Doesnt Print White!?!?!?! 
Hope this helps!!!
