# White underbase showing through



## jlanga (May 29, 2008)

I am printing white/red on black hoodies. I am using the white as a full underbase and the red on top. IT looks great however i have couple spots of white showing through the red. Literally little spots. Help pls. I am not flashing the white enough? I dont' think it is too much white as i have to have a good coat of white for the text. I have adjusted my off contact more and less and this didn't work. Please help.


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## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

if it's not the ink staying in the screen then it's possibly a curing issue. When you flash cure the underbase, do you let it cool before printing the next color on top? i'm not positive but i believe if the underbase is still hot it can cause this problem.


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## tlbays (Apr 9, 2008)

Hi Jan

Welcome to the TSF!

It's often an advantage to consider White as a "color".

In that POV, the underbase can then be slightly thinner,
since we're going to "cap" it with the next "color" going ontop.

Because the underbase just "seals" the garment as a first layer,
it still has a "knap" to it that is more receptive to the next color layer,
just like the P/F/P layer of white that gets you the nice text as stated.

So, instead of initially layering up the underbase to get your final spot white, just print and flash it,
then print the two capping _colors_ (red, white) ontop of the priming/sealing underbase layer.
This technique will eliminate the mottled ink symptom.
You'll often hear this second white capping layer referred to as a "highlight" white.

Although we've turned this 2-color print into a "3-color" job,
note that the white and red areas are now only made up of two layers each,
and the print and image quality will benefit as a result.

Happy trails!


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## jlanga (May 29, 2008)

Thanks so much - so i need to burn another screen for the white that actually shows up in the design? We did something very similar with our trainer when he was here and did not have this issue......but of course now that we are on our own we are learning as we go. Tshirt forums has been wonderful for this type of thing.....


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## tlbays (Apr 9, 2008)

.....sounds like a good plan:

-one screen for the entire base 1st layer.
-one screen for the spot area white 2nd layer.
-one screen fot the spot area red 2nd layer.

No worries, you'll get the hang of this.

Have a good evening!


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## jlanga (May 29, 2008)

I hope - I knew it would be a learning curve but wow.....


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## inkwerks (Jun 29, 2008)

Post up a pic so we can see. Sounds like you are laying down the red before your underbase is cool enough. The heat can cause small bubbles to form when the heat is trying to escape. When they pop you can get some small voids. Sweats heat up alot faster and retain more heat then a shirt so you have to account for that.


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## jlanga (May 29, 2008)

That is one of the issues i thought of, i did let it cool down quite a bit and i really thought that had fixed it but when i tried it the second time.....they came back. I will post a pic when i get to the office - thanks to all of you - wonderful to take time out to help me.


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## red514 (Jul 21, 2009)

If you're going with using an underbase, you will want to choke the underbase a bit, this will help keep the underbase from peeking around the top colors.


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## djrprintit3 (Feb 11, 2009)

try using a higher mesh for your white underbase to get a smooth thin coat of white.sharp squeege to.a lot of times your underlay looks smooth and feels smooth but if you look very closely you will see tiny craters in the white underlay, so when the red is printed on top the ink doesnt make it all the way down in those small craters and gives you those annoying dots. good mesh tension if important as well.i would print white throught 156 flash and print white again and be sure to clear screen completly or you will get dots.be sure its completly dry,flash and hit your red throught 156 or higher usind a harder squeege to get those crisp lines.try it out it always works for me


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## jlanga (May 29, 2008)

I did try that without much luck - I think we are still struggling with the light on dark. I felt we had it under control but than this.....

I have attached a copy of the artwork....we tried the white with a 110 - print, flash, print and then red. This worked the best but still had small holes.

Then we tried a 230 underbase, flash, 110 white coat, flash and then red - and this really looked bad.

Another person mentioned doing the white final stroke as another screen so i am going to try that this morning - 

I have good off contact, and letting it cool after flashing also.....

Wow - 

See artwwork attached.


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## thutch15 (Sep 8, 2008)

If I was doing this job I would have used 156 mesh and printed red, white, flash, red, white. I rarely use an underbase.


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## igs1070 (May 28, 2008)

What white ink are you using? I had a customer with the same problem.
Certain white inks have blowing agents in them.
Sometimes the overprint color will show white spots showing through.

You might be overcuring the white base.


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