The Science of a 10 Color Separation for T-Shirt Printing

The simplicity of the art can sometimes make it very complex on the press.  The variations in color are subtle and we have to be real thorough for this to show in the final print.

The images below will demonstrate how each color is printed on the press and how it changes as the other colors are added. Think of this process like the transporter beam on Star Trek. Something being beamed up has to go through a break down to the atomic level, then transported to another location and put back together as it was before. Same concept here.

We must first analyze and determine how many colors it will require to make the print look like the original.  Then we must break apart all of these colors in Photoshop into individual channels in black and white. 

The First color is a mixing red to blend with other colors to make oranges, purples, browns an so on. . .

Next is a yellow.  Yes, you can already see the oranges being created.  This is how it appears on the press.

Even though there is not a lot of blue, there is still enough to justify it to make the final look like the original.

A second red is required for the more solid areas.  The first red can be modified on the press to a different shade to compensate for the dot gain and blending that will take place.  This red only works on the pure reds.

Green can be made with blue and yellow,  but not with the shade of blue we are using.

Next is the first of two blacks.  This is a thinned black that is used for mixing and blending.

The nest black is a stronger pigment for the outlines and dark areas.

A highlight white is added for blending back the  higher areas in the art and gives the art more dimension.

After the seps are made we import into a vector program and add the type registrations, and a legend of information. Then we send each color to it's own plate of film.  A screen is made of each of these and set up on a press.

After many hours of pre-press work, you have a T-Shirt!

Actual print on a shirt.

The Art of Making Your Art work on a T-Shirt

This is what we do to make art look good on a shirt.  It's taking a design and breaking it apart into individual colors and then combining them together to re-build a composite of the original image. Each of these are made into a screen, then set up and printed by a screen printing press on to a T-shirt.  

The following images is a demonstration of the process to give you an idea of the steps that a design goes through to be applied to a T-shirt.

Click the image to see a bigger picture.

This is the original art supplied by the customer to be

printed on a black shirt.

First, we break apart the design into colors that we know

when blended together on the press will make the design

come together when it is finished.

The first color to go down on a black shirt is the base white,

which is flash dried on the press before the other colors are

printed. This is needed to simulate a white background for 

the more transparent colors to show. Without this you would

not see the design.

The next color is a red shade orange.  the design on the 

left is there to simulate how the shirt will print on the press.

The one on the right is the film positive that is "Burned"

on to the screen.

The next color is blue. There are different contrasts to the

blue and this is created by the light and dark areas of

the base, where some of the black shirt will come through.

Yes.  Almost rocket science!

Then yellow is printed to blend with orange for different

shades.

Sometimes a grey is made with blends of black and whites.

This design has quite a bit and requires a color to be dedicated

to make it perfect.

Next is the highlight white.  This blends in to smooth colors and to

strengthen the white areas of the design.

The last color is black. This color is to sharpen the details 

that weaken during the printing process with the other colors.

The final image is the actual print on the shirt to show

the final payola of all the hard work that goes into

making a great T-shirt!

Sunline Art Updates

Here are a few designs created this week at Sunline Products.  Duane Eaves is the newest artist on the Sunline team and a few of these are his creations. 

    

Look for more new designs in the next couple of weeks!