Ken Styles

I got an order to print grey ink on 100% cotton T-Shirts.

Would I need a white underbase? Or could I just do a few print > flash > print layers with the grey ink?

this would be my first red shirt order and I know red shirts have given people problems in the past.

Ken

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coolkyle

You seriously don't need a white underbase with a grey. You can burn two screens if you are using an automatic press, and print grey twice so no white sticks out if it goes out of reg. A good way to make PFP grey is to start with a good underbase white and tint it. Greys from mixing systems are not as nice.

 

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Greatzky

i print light grey ink for a peace design on black shirts all the time and I just print/flash/print/cure them.. I would think you could do the same for the red shirts. THe black/grey go well together so if the black showed through it wouldn't be as noticeable as the red shirt.
I would say try it out first then decide after a test print?

-Scott Lewis

 

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Nostalgic Ray

Light grays on reds and blacks are fine without the need of an underbase.

 

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Ken Styles

Thanks for the great tips guys!

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torodesigns

No underbase needed just make sure you get a good layer the first print and the second print will pop.

 

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Dan K

I definitely think you need an underbase to get your print consistent and opaque. It's a good standard to set for your shop and you will need it anyway when printing other colored inks on shirts at some point in time. If registration is an issue, practice and get better at registration. Printing light gray on black you certainly may be able to get a good print with two hits of gray, but we typically use white as an underbase.

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coolkyle

Just one funny note I just realized: Rutland's Dyno Grey and Wilflex's Underbase Grey are grey inks designed to be super low-bleed, opaque underbases. I haven't used them, but I imagine they could affect some of those brighter translucent top colors in the marine and magenta range.

 

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