This article explains how to generate a white undercoat beneath printed colors when using a printer configured with white ink.
Access white settings
White settings are configured at the preset level. To display these settings:
-
When you create or edit a device, configure a Custom Inkset that includes White undercoat ink.
- In the preset's Main settings, select a Color mode that includes white, such as CMYKW. The White settings section then appears below the color-mode options.
Good to know
You can also adjust White settings directly in the Destination module.
Select a strategy
Select the strategy used to generate the white undercoat.
Color T-shirt
Use this strategy for colored garments, except black garments.
It generates a white undercoat beneath colored areas, but not beneath black or fully transparent areas.
White-ink coverage varies according to the density of the image colors. This helps reduce unnecessary white-ink usage.
Black T-shirt
Use this strategy for black garments.
It generates a white undercoat beneath colored areas, but not beneath black or fully transparent areas.
White-ink coverage varies according to the density of the image colors. Also, the garment color is used for black areas of the image, so black ink is not printed. This helps reduce white- and black-ink usage.
White T-shirt
Use this strategy for white garments.
It generates a white undercoat beneath colored areas while leaving fully transparent areas unprinted.
White-ink coverage is based on the image transparency and the selected White amount. The white undercoat helps other inks adhere to the garment.
Settings available with Color and Black T-shirt
Minimal white and Maximal white
Set the minimum and maximum white-ink coverage for the undercoat. Values are expressed as percentages and default to 0% and 100%.
Use these settings to fine-tune ink adhesion and print feel after evaluating a printed sample.
- Minimal white: Set a minimum white-ink coverage when the garment requires a minimum amount of white ink to support the adhesion of other inks.
- Maximal white: Reduce the maximum white-ink coverage to lower the total ink quantity and improve the feel of the print.
Opacity reduction coefficient
Use this setting to reduce white halos caused by residual low-opacity pixels in poorly prepared transparent files. Enter a value from 1 to 10 to control the strength of the opacity reduction.
Settings available with White T-shirt
White amount
Set the white-ink coverage generated for white garments. Enter a value from 0% to 100%.
The White amount is applied according to the image’s transparency values to create white ink beneath the color layer:
- If an image pixel has 50% transparency, the white ink beneath that pixel is 50% of the selected White amount.
- If an image has no transparency, the selected White amount is generated beneath the entire image.
Settings shared by all strategies
White as transparency
White as transparency gives you more control over white-undercoat generation when printing PDFs with spot colors.
When enabled, the software treats white or low-color areas as transparent, so no white undercoat is generated in those areas.
Spread (+) / Choke (-)
White ink can spread into the garment or become visible around the edges of colored areas. Use Spread with a positive value or Choke with a negative value to adjust the size of the white undercoat and reduce these effects.
| Spread | Choke |
|---|---|
| Expands the white-undercoat edges | Reduces the white-undercoat edges |
Considerations
- Spread is limited by the bounding box of the input image and cannot extend beyond the image edges. If white ink already exists beneath all pixels, increasing Spread has no effect.
- Spread works best with images that contain transparency within their image bounds, such as transparent PNG files.
- Choke is unaffected by this limitation because it removes white ink while remaining within the image bounds.
Smart choke
Enable Smart choke to automatically remove white-undercoat pixels that are not covered by color. This helps prevent visible white outlines or halos around colored areas when slight print-registration misalignments occur.
- Enabled: Removes white-undercoat pixels in areas without color above them.
- Disabled: Keeps the white undercoat at its original extent. This may result in visible white edges if the white and color layers are not perfectly aligned.