Overview of Single Pass Underbase and Highlight White
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- Use Digital Factory single pass underbase and highlight white technology to improve white coverage and color vibrancy.
- Apply this technology to DTG, DTF, and UV printing workflows.
- Understand that this method eliminates the need for a second printing pass.
Traditional Underbase and Highlight White Printing
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- Recognize that traditional workflows print white underbase first.
- Rewind the printer to print CMYK colors and highlight white.
- Understand that most DTF printers cannot rewind.
- Note that CMYK plus white configurations often result in weak white highlights.
- Acknowledge that second-pass white printing is not possible on most DTF machines.
Benefits of Single Pass Highlight White Technology
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- Print underbase and highlight white in a single pass.
- Achieve whiter whites and more vibrant colors.
- Reduce overall print time.
- Increase white coverage in highlight areas.
- Improve visual quality without requiring a second pass.
- Note that results depend on film type, ink, and underbase percentage.
Sample Comparison Explanation
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- Compare standard underbase printing to highlight white printing.
- Observe the original underbase-only sample.
- Observe the highlight white sample printed at 100%.
- Use this comparison to demonstrate the visual improvement.
Preparing a Print Mode for Underbase and Highlight White
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- Create a new print mode before importing the file.
- Use any printer that supports white ink.
- Optionally edit an existing print mode:
- Open the Devices menu.
- Select Manage Print Modes.
- Edit an existing print mode.
- Alternatively select an existing print mode from the bottom-right print mode list.
- Example: Select 720 x 1200 Color Opaque.
Accessing Processing Options
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- Open the Q menu.
- Select Properties, or
- Double-click the Q tab.
- In the Q Properties dialog, select the Color Layer group.
- Click Processing Options.
Configuring Underbase and Highlight White Settings
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- Locate the White Underbase Highlight option.
- Confirm it is set to Underbase by default.
- Use Maximum Ink Percentage to define underbase strength.
- Enable the Underbase and Highlight option.
- Observe that Highlight White Strength becomes available.
- Set Highlight White Strength to 100%.
- Set Underbase strength to 50–60% to prevent white bleeding into colors.
- Understand that highlight white prints only in white areas of the design.
Creating and Saving the New Print Mode
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- Click Create Print Mode.
- Name the print mode.
- Click Save.
- Click OK.
- Select the new print mode from the bottom-right print mode drop-down list.
- Example: 720 x 1200 Color Opaque 100 Highlight
Ripping and Previewing Output
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- Import the file into the queue.
- Confirm the queue is set to mirror the file for DTF output.
- Right-click the job in the queue.
- Select Rip Only.
- After ripping completes, right-click the job again.
- Select View Raw Data.
Viewing Underbase and Highlight White in Raw Data
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- Enable View All Colors as Black.
- Disable CMYK planes.
- Observe gray areas representing underbase white.
- Observe black areas representing combined underbase and highlight white.
- Use this preview to verify increased white coverage.