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Dye Migration: The Answer to "Why did my white print turn pink?"

  “Wow! I ordered a red shirt with a cool white ink design on it and when I received it, the ink was pink! What the heck happened to my shirt I paid good money for?”  Dye Migration is what happened to his shirt. Dye migration occurs when the dye from the polyester fibers gets released and bleeds into the ink applied for decoration. This happens when the garment is 100% polyester, and after the ink goes through the curing process (heat)   it can change the color of the ink. Essentially the dye in the polyester is getting sublimated by the heat. The sublimated dye stains the ink. Cotton garments typically do not experience dye migration as the dye will absorb into the cotton fibers. Even a 50/50 cotton/polyester blend will not migrate unlike 100% polyester tends to do. Red, dark green, and maroon are the main colors that must be treated with caution during the decoration process. This is not to say these colors can’t be decorated; we know millions of polyester garment...
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Screen Print 101: The Underbase

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  What is an underbase? The underbase or underlay color is the first color printed before the design is printed on top. Usually this color is white, but in some instances, the printer may opt to print a black underbase instead.  What is the underbase used for? The underbase is the first ink barrier between the garment and the actual design. There are several reasons to use an underbase ranging from dye migration mitigation and to ensure colored inks print correctly. Screen print inks are semi-transparent, so they show the garment or design underneath to a limited extent. If you want your colors to appear true, you should underbase in white. If you have a sublimated shirt that has a pattern (like camo), you should underbase in black. The "barrier black" as we call it, does a better job of hiding the sublimated pattern than white does.  How do I know if my shirt needs an underbase? Ask yourself a few questions. Is my print any color other than black or white? Is m...
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Why Am I Being Asked for Vector Art?

  In the art world, there are two main types of art. There is raster art (pixel or dot based) and there is vector art (paths and object based). Raster art is art that is not editable and is usually grainy or blurry. Files like .jpg and .png are examples of raster art. When we get raster art files, we are not able to use them in the proof making or production process and if we receive one of these files from you, we will email you asking for vector art. What is vector art? Vector art is editable art that is at a much higher quality than raster art. These are completely scalable images. They have the same amount of image information at 1" x 1" as they do at 100" x 100". We can use these vector art files to edit the art as needed to make it ready for the production process. Raster and vector art are not just defined by their file types. Sometimes, raster art can be found in vector art files. This happens when a raster art file is saved as a vector art file or is plac...
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Location: 9535 Monroe Rd # 140, Charlotte, NC 28270, USA
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