As you consider establishing yourself as a digital t-shirt printing business, you want to learn about the ins and outs of t-shirt pretreatment and other garments. Without pretreatment, you will face some serious trouble with your DTG inks. Keep reading and take a look at what pretreatment is, its significance to your business, and more.
What is t-shirt pretreatment?
Pretreatment is a solution that is typically used to help white ink adhere to the t-shirt you want to use. Mostly used on black and dark colored shirts, pretreatment is kind of like the glue that binds your ink to your garment and keeps colors on the surface.
To pretreat your t-shirt, you first begin by using a heat press combined with a heat-resistant sheet to make the surface smooth and flat. Next, you will pretreat your t-shirts in a well-ventilated area, preferably outside or in a dedicated room with adequate space. Be sure your pretreatment solution is properly diluted before use.
You are also encouraged to use a mask and gloves to protect your eyes and face against the chemicals in the pretreat solution. There are a number of application methods from which you can choose. You may apply the pretreatment using a paint roller and a handheld sprayer, or a pretreatment machine. The quality of the laydown will impact the quality of the print. A pre-treatment machine is the most consistent method. Finish your t-shirt off by using a heat press with another heat-resistant sheet to set your pretreat and create a nice flat surface.
Why is pretreatment important?
When you don’t use pretreatment on your t-shirts before printing, your t-shirts will look dull and lackluster. The pretreatment acts as a primer to the ink being used. Without it, your colors may soak in too much and fade into undesirable shades. For example, you might be trying to print a bright white on your t-shirt and instead, the white ink may end up looking gray or heavily muted. This can cause your shirt to become poor in print quality and hard to sell to customers. By using the proper pretreatment base, your inks will pop with vibrant color and your design will come out looking sharp.
Light vs. dark pretreatment
To break it down, using a pretreatment will help your white t-shirt print to look better. Even though your print may look okay on a white t-shirt without pretreatment, colors and designs will look more detailed and vibrant with a properly applied pretreatment base. To keep the dark shades looking sharp and clean, they need something to adhere to when they’re being applied.
You must use a t-shirt pretreatment when printing white ink on a dark t-shirt. The white ink, in particular, needs the pretreatment to maintain itself onto the surface of the shirt. This is necessary in order to have the proper surface on which the colors will then be printed. As a result, the white is brighter and more detailed, and like printing on a light-colored shirt, the details are sharper and more pronounced.
Incorporating a t-shirt pretreatment into your DTG print jobs is a must in order to be successful in your new business opportunity, and for producing a product that you can be proud of and that your customers will enjoy.
