Screen Printing - Underbasing

While shopping for a screen printer, you may have come across the term “underbase.” To put it simply, an underbase is a first layer of ink printed onto a garment (usually a dark colored garment) in order for all of the other colors printed on top of it to stand out brightly.

For example, if a bright red was printed onto a dark garment (in this example, a black shirt), the ink would look like a brick red due to how the ink sits in the shirt. However, if a white layer is printed under the top red, the color would be bright and stand out on top of the first layer that was printed.

Having no underbase allows you to see some of the fabric texture through the ink, while having an underbase gives the image a bright, crisp look.

One of the reasons you might consider an ink to be printed without an underbase is to give it a more vintage style look/feel to the print. This still has its limits depending on the color of the garment and the color of the ink.

On all of our orders we automatically apply an underbase to dark garments to ensure a high quality top image. If you would like to remove the underbase from your order, simply request it from your Client Care Representative and they will help you with that process.
An underbase does include an extra screen fee and another color print service charge in the printing process.

You can see an example of how white ink on a black garment looks with and without an underbase below:
Printer’s Comments:
If you are looking for a grungy/distressed/vintage look, we would suggest going without an underbase where possible. But if you want crisp, bright images, go with an underbase (it will be worth it). Having (or not having) an underbase does not affect the longevity of the print.
Screen Printing Menu:
The Process - ​Products - Inks and Methods - ​Basic Pricing GuideBasic Pricing Guide - Artwork requirements - ​Consider This!
---
Embroidery Menu:
The Process - Products - Colors and styles - Basic Pricing Guide - Artwork requirements
Copyright © 2015