# help with SEMO Imprints White underbase



## x2xalexx7x (Oct 6, 2012)

Hey, I just switched to heat pressing plastisol transfers. I got samples from SEMO imprints and they worked great. I used their color charts when designing and none of the colors I used required a white under base for dark garments which was great because it is cheaper. When I went to make a purchase the color chart changed and most of the colors now recommend a white under base including white. Is the under base really necessary. I'm heat pressing on next level 3600M T's and hanes 90/10 hoodies. I don't want to increase the price by adding the under base because we are purchasing quite a few designs but I also don't want to purchase and have the designs look bad.


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## CenCal559 (Nov 28, 2011)

x2xalexx7x said:


> Hey, I just switched to heat pressing plastisol transfers. I got samples from SEMO imprints and they worked great. I used their color charts when designing and none of the colors I used required a white under base for dark garments which was great because it is cheaper. When I went to make a purchase the color chart changed and most of the colors now recommend a white under base including white. Is the under base really necessary. I'm heat pressing on next level 3600M T's and hanes 90/10 hoodies. I don't want to increase the price by adding the under base because we are purchasing quite a few designs but I also don't want to purchase and have the designs look bad.


Why would you need a white underbase for white?


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## proworldmatt (Apr 29, 2007)

Any time you're printing on a garment other than white it's always best to back the transfer in white or some other backing color. This prevents the shirt color from bleeding through to the transfer. If there's bleeding the color(s) you picked for your transfers may not be truly representative of what you intended. Of course if your transfers are very dark (black and navy ink) and you're printing on pinks, yellow, light blue garments etc. you can get away without using a white backing sometimes.


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## coreyalderin (Apr 30, 2012)

The underbase is not needed for most colors, including white. You can takea look at my shirts to see what they look like without an underbase. All of my shirts on my site are from SEMO and the only color I used an underbase for is the yellow that is in 1 of the shirts. 

Hope that helps


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

I would check with Semo to see if they changed their ink formula and that is why they are now recommending an under base....


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## proworldmatt (Apr 29, 2007)

From our experience printing plastisol custom transfer. . . if the backing color is not used the accuracy of the ink colors cannot be guaranteed with "all: shirt colors, especially dark garments. A little too much pressure on the heat press can result in the shirt color showing through the ink color. If color accuracy is really important we recommend using a white backing. However, if you have some flexibility with color shifting by all means you can take this route.

We offer a line of plastisol transfers that has no backing and can be printed on lights and some darker colors depending on the color of the design. We printed these types of transfers on dark garments and the ink is simply not thick enough to not change the end result. Even a small change has resulted in complaints from our customers. Therefore we find ourselves recommending a white backing most of the time.


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## Trekker45 (Dec 2, 2012)

I use plastisol transfers from ACE with no white backing. I even use white on black 100% polyester. You do have to press it correctly though or the fabric color will migrate. It is a fine line between pressing the transfer so it will not come off in wash but not so much you lose the color. Good luck.


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## wormil (Jan 7, 2008)

It depends on what I'm doing but I rarely ever get a white underbase, it depends on the colors. For example on Halloween I was doing orange on black, that needed an underbase. But white on black, never needed it.


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## jamerican352005 (Nov 1, 2008)

x2xalexx7x said:


> Hey, I just switched to heat pressing plastisol transfers. I got samples from SEMO imprints and they worked great. I used their color charts when designing and none of the colors I used required a white under base for dark garments which was great because it is cheaper. When I went to make a purchase the color chart changed and most of the colors now recommend a white under base including white. Is the under base really necessary. I'm heat pressing on next level 3600M T's and hanes 90/10 hoodies. I don't want to increase the price by adding the under base because we are purchasing quite a few designs but I also don't want to purchase and have the designs look bad.


Get a free transfer pack from us and you can be the judge as to whether you think the white underbase is needed. We added the white underbase as an option because we have a lot of customers that do direct screen printing and use us for jobs when it is cheaper to use transfer than set it up themselves. They complained that when placing an online order we did not have an underbase option. I still have hundreds of customers that do not ever order the underbase and are happy. It is honestly a choice of preference of what you think looks good. We offer free transfer packs for this reason as well. Whether you are a first time customer or a return customer that is wondering if the white underbase will make a difference you can test our product for free  I tell all of my customers don't listen to me or anyone else, you are the best judge of what is right for your company and I'm here to help.


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

jamerican352005 said:


> Get a free transfer pack from us and you can be the judge as to whether you think the white underbase is needed. We added the white underbase as an option because we have a lot of customers that do direct screen printing and use us for jobs when it is cheaper to use transfer than set it up themselves. They complained that when placing an online order we did not have an underbase option. I still have hundreds of customers that do not ever order the underbase and are happy. It is honestly a choice of preference of what you think looks good. We offer free transfer packs for this reason as well. Whether you are a first time customer or a return customer that is wondering if the white underbase will make a difference you can test our product for free  I tell all of my customers don't listen to me or anyone else, you are the best judge of what is right for your company and I'm here to help.


Well said Brea.....


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## cowpuncher007 (Jul 4, 2008)

We just started using plastisol transfers a short while ago, and the several we've had done came from Semo. Great folks. As a noob in this, I've spoken to people at the company on each job to make sure I was "doing it right". Since we're printing on only black and dark colors, I wanted to make sure about the underbase. On some, they recommend the UB, and on some not. I was told that it depended more on the intricacy of the design than anything else. BTW, all transfers we've had done look great and last great.


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