If you have a printer with white ink, the software can create a layer of white ink between the printed area and the media.

Process

White management is at the preset level. The following parameters need to be configured for the White settings to appear:

1. When creating or editing a device, set the Custom Inkset with White undercoat ink:

   

2. In the preset's Main settings, you can choose a Color mode that includes white, like CMYKW. When selected, a White settings section will appear below, allowing you to customize how white is used:

   

White settings

Strategy

Select a Strategy for the white underlay:

• Color T-shirt (for films):
  • The "Color T-shirt" white strategy can be useful when working with films or transparent materials.

  • This strategy creates a white layer under the color layer to enhance color vibrancy, except under black areas. It does not apply ink under transparent sections, allowing for clear visibility where needed.

  • The density of the white ink applied depends on the opacity of the colors in the image: less dense colors receive more white underlay to boost contrast, while opaque or black areas require less or no white ink. This way, white ink is efficiently used, preserving transparency where needed.

• Transparency:

  • Used for printing on transparent materials (e.g., films or clear substrates).

  • This strategy creates a white layer under the color layer to enhance visibility on transparent materials. It does not apply ink under transparent areas that should remain clear.

  • The density of the white ink applied depends on the opacity of the colors in the image: more opaque colors require less white ink, while lighter or transparent colors receive more white underlay to ensure vibrant color reproduction.

  • This way, white ink ensures strong color visibility on transparent surfaces without unnecessary ink usage.

Minimal/Maximal white

Available when using the Color T-shirt (for films) strategy.

Adjust the minimum and maximum amount of white ink applied to the underlay. The values are in percent and are set to 0% and 100% by default.

They are often used as last-minute modifiers to improve adhesion and feel, based on visual and manual feedback from an already printed media.

• The minimum white ink amount is often used when the media requires a minimum amount of white to facilitate the adhesion of other inks.
• The maximum white ink amount is often used to achieve a better feel by reducing the total ink quantity.

White amount

Available when using the Transparency strategy.

• Used on transparent materials (e.g., films or clear substrates) for white ink generation.
• The amount is a percentage between 0 and 100.
• The white amount is applied in relation to the transparency values of the image to create white ink under the color layer: if an image has no transparency, the same amount of white ink is generated under the entire image.

White as transparency

Available as of V1.1.1.

The White as Transparency feature adds greater control over the white undercoat application when printing PDFs with spot colors.

When enabled, the software will treat white or low-color areas as transparent. This is particularly helpful when working with PDFs where white backgrounds or light areas should not receive white ink.

White as transparency (color threshold)

Available as of V1.1.1.

Sets the minimum ink quantity required for the software to apply white undercoat ink. By adjusting the percentage of this threshold, you can fine-tune how much ink on top is necessary for the undercoat to be printed.

For instance, setting a low threshold will apply the white undercoat to light colors, while a higher threshold ensures that only more saturated colors receive the undercoat.

Spread (+) / Choke (-)

The white ink may occasionally bleed or absorb, leaving white lines surrounding the printed area or edges that appear less saturated. The solution is to spread or choke the white ink generation by a few millimeters to eliminate these effects.

Spread	Choke
Increases edges	Reduces edges

Smart choke

This setting enables or disables the automatic reduction (choking) of the white ink layer beneath colored areas.

• Enabled: Enabling this option removes white pixels if there is no other color on top of them. This helps prevent white ink from showing around the edges of colored areas due to slight misalignments during printing, avoiding unwanted white outlines or halos in the final output.
• Disabled: The white underlay remains the same size as the color layer, which may risk visible white edges if perfect alignment is not maintained.

Smart choke (color threshold)

This setting allows you to specify the percentage by which the white underlay is reduced when Smart Choke is enabled. It is especially useful when your images contain non-pure white (RGB [255, 255, 255]).

Set as a percentage (e.g., 0% to 100%), this value determines how much the white layer is choked relative to the color areas—a higher percentage results in a greater reduction of the white underlay's size.

Opacity reduction coefficient

Available when using the Color T-shirt (for films) strategy.

To eliminate white halos created by small remaining drops in badly designed transparent files.