DTG includes any Direct-to-Garment printing. One of its peculiarities is the usage of white ink which is similar to applications in the DTF emerging market. This option is licensed-based.
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Open DTG document
When opening a document, the option Open as has to be selected. From the other options, DTG is shown with an icon. If instead of opening a document, you choose to open a new document, the window that will appear is the following. In the case of DTG-type documents, the design will appear repeated in such a way as to cover the whole of the surface that is to be printed.
When loading an image in DTG mode, you can perform typical modifications like cropping, rotating, resizing, and more. For duplicating or copying images, utilize the Mosaic option under Properties, where you can also specify the media size in width and length, along with setting the 'Media Color' to preview the effect of applying color to media sizes, especially useful for images with white or transparencies in formats like PNG, PSD, and TIFF.
White Ink
The management of white ink layers, including modes and shapes, is handled within the specific printing scheme settings accessible in the Ink Setup by clicking on a White color patch and navigating to 'White...' in the ink-set menu.
Alternatively, you can access these options by opening a DTG document, and then heading to 'Properties > White Layer,' enabling you to make adjustments to the active print document and apply them to the scheme.
Methods
The options allow the white ink to have different distributions on the printed media.
- Off uses the image file embedded spot color channel. A white mask needs to be prepared beforehand during design. White ink won't be used unless we define an area where to make the substitution.
- Flat will always create a full background in the areas where we have the color. Flat will avoid the media color merging with the colors we print on top. This is the option we will use as a standard in any t-shirt with any color, not black or white.
- White for black media will use the media color to create black and black ink will never be used. Grayscale will be done by subtraction of white. Gray is produced only with white ink and can cause dithering. This option should be used as standard in any black t-shirt.
- White for gray media will use both black and white inks. Grayscale will be done by subtraction white and increasing of black at the same time. Note that in some areas the color of the media can merge with the color printed on top. The results are good and consumption is less than a flat option for colored media, but as the media color can change, one calibration has to be done for each media color.
- Dynamic is the mode to have a smoother transition between the pixels in the white layer.
- Highlight white is an option that can be used when we have a second white channel. It will affect the whiter areas. The sequence would be a White mask, Color, and White on top to give a blinking effect. We can increase or decrease the effect with the amplitude option.
Other options on the menu:
- Intensity defines the quantity of white ink we will use, by default, it is set up at 100%.
- The extra option to "Put ink in white pixels" below the modes reduces the pixels that are in the images by adding white ink.
Choke
To reduce rendering border using shapes you need to apply the 'Choke' function. It reduces the amount of ink around the edges of the printed color. To apply choke on white ink, add the size that will be removed from the border. With 'Round' and 'Smooth', you can soften the borders and reduce the pixelized effect. See the choke samples attached.
This is managed in the individual scheme under the ink set when selecting White ink and White curves.
Alternatively, you can access the Choke options by opening a DTG document, and then heading to 'Properties > Punch/Choke ' enabling you to make adjustments to the active print document and apply them to the scheme.
Halftone and Punch
neoStampa has the possibility to apply effects of a hole pattern (Punch) or halftone to gradients (Modes) combination to the white mask to allow the garment to breathe and have a softer touch.
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