What is underbase?
An underbase is a layer of white ink laid down before the colours so that the design stays bright and opaque on a dark garment instead of being tinted by the fabric beneath. Screen printing screens it; DTG prints it; DTF prints it onto the film.
Why it matters
Without an underbase, a red print on a black tee looks brown. It adds a pass and a cost on dark garments in every method, which is why dark garments price slightly higher than white in DTG.
On our floor
In screen print, one extra screen. In DTG, pre-treatment plus a printed white pass. In hybrid, the screened white is the whole point.
Common questions
- Do light garments need an underbase?
- No — colours print directly onto white, natural and pastel fabric.
- Why is DTG on black more expensive?
- Pre-treatment plus a white underbase roughly doubles ink and time per piece.
- Does the underbase affect hand-feel?
- Slightly — it adds a layer. Discharge printing avoids it on dark cotton by removing the dye instead.
- Is the underbase visible?
- Not when registered correctly. On a screen print it is held fractionally inside the colour edge.
Related terms
hybrid printing
Hybrid printing screen prints a white underbase onto the garment, then prints full-colour artwork over it with a DTG head. Each method does…
pre-treatment
Pre-treatment is a liquid sprayed onto the garment before DTG printing. On dark garments it lets the white underbase sit on top of the…
discharge printing
Discharge printing uses an ink that bleaches the garment's own dye out of the fabric where the design sits, then replaces it with pigment.…
plastisol ink
Plastisol is the standard screen-printing ink: a PVC-based ink that sits on the fabric surface and cures under heat into a durable, opaque…
Where this applies
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