# Problems with printing 4 color process on dark shirt



## willyindep (May 19, 2007)

Hey everybody,
If someone could help me i would appreciate it.
I just printed my first shirt using 4 color process, for my band . it was on a dark shirt. the design looked way better than i had anticipated, it being my first attempt. but there were some problems with it as well. 
i enclosed a pic of the shirt. it was taken with a camera phone, so the colors are a little off.

1) the print was a little dark. some of the detail was lost. it seems that when i laid down the magenta, it darkened everything up quite a bit. and the yellow didnt seem to be as bright as i wanted to. im assuming i would need to go back and fix the artwork?

2) the print was real thick. it seems like the process inks i used started out thick, as well as the white underbase.can these be thinned down? is there a certain white to use specifically for process? or is there a certain brand that i should use over another for printing on a dark shirt?

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s30/willyindep/2.jpg


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## willyindep (May 19, 2007)

oh yea i forgot to say that i used 305 retentionable yellow mesh screens for the colors, and a 200 mesh for the white,,
thanks


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

switch the order of the yellow and the magenta and see if this helps. Might also need to double stroke the yellow to make it pop more.

I would not recommend modifying your 4-clr process inks.
True 4-clr process on darks is the hardest type of printing out there. Are you using a halftone underbase or solid? If solid you may need to flash between each color.


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## willyindep (May 19, 2007)

Fluid said:


> switch the order of the yellow and the magenta and see if this helps. Might also need to double stroke the yellow to make it pop more.
> 
> I would not recommend modifying your 4-clr process inks.
> True 4-clr process on darks is the hardest type of printing out there. Are you using a halftone underbase or solid? If solid you may need to flash between each color.


 
hey fluid,
thanks for the info! ill give it a try with the switching of the order or yellow and magenta. i used a halftone underbase, 55 lpi, with an angle of 15 degrees. 

oh yea i forgot to ask as well- if this type of printing is hard on darks, what would be another way to print? i have a 6 color press, so it would have to be limited to that.
thanks for your great advice.


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

Simulated or Index depending on the design at hand. That design looks like you could have done either simulated or Index and have an easier print.
Are you printing 15 angle for all your cmyk plates? If so tis is part of the problem. All the plates should have different angles. Every shop seems to have their own that work best for them. Also since that design isnt too critical as far as being more photorealistic I would have printed at 45 lpi for easier dot control. 55 is fine just not totally necessary on a more cartoonist design - just my opinion


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## willyindep (May 19, 2007)

Fluid said:


> Simulated or Index depending on the design at hand. That design looks like you could have done either simulated or Index and have an easier print.
> Are you printing 15 angle for all your cmyk plates? If so tis is part of the problem. All the plates should have different angles. Every shop seems to have their own that work best for them. Also since that design isnt too critical as far as being more photorealistic I would have printed at 45 lpi for easier dot control. 55 is fine just not totally necessary on a more cartoonist design - just my opinion


 
hey fluid,
your idea with the changing of the print order actually made it print way better. also from what i read from you, as well as other places on the board, your supposed to print wet on wet. the first few i printed i flashed between each color.
wet on wet made it print also better (besides the white underbase). i actually used these angles: Cyan 15, Magenta 45, Yellow 75, Black 75, underbase 15. i got them from from an article on usscreen.com. im definitely gonna look into those other methods you mentioned though. 
thanks for your help!
willy b


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

Glad it worked better for you. Some times when the art/seps are not perfect you will need to double stroke a color or change up the print order to get the best print. Not the norm yet works. many are afraid to change things up but manually its easy to do a test print to see what works best.
Thanks for the update and your angles seem fine. I do believe those are the one's Scott recommends even with his Fast Films addon
Good Luck and happy printing


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