Full Greyscale Image on white shirt... Underbase???

[im_mcguire]

I have a job coming up that is a greyscale image plus a couple spot colors (on a white shirt), and I was wondering if on the greyscale image, should I put a white underbase on it?  Would that allow for better blends, or would I be adding that for no particular benefit?

Thanks!

[ebscreen]

Depends on art, but can definitely help with creating tertiary tones using less printed colors.
Can help with fibrillation when using high mesh counts as well.

[SEPSINK]

Sometimes I will make a highlight white for white shirts, but never done a white base on white unless it was printing on multiple colored garments.

[blue moon]

Sometimes I will make a highlight white for white shirts, but never done a white base on white unless it was printing on multiple colored garments.

same here, but I can see cases where a white ubase would be beneficial to get better coverage or blends. It's artwork depended as eb said. . .

pierre

[kingscreen]

We always do a printed white, or CG1 or CG2.  Nothing is underbased though.

[Sbrem]

I've never done that, I like to run black and 2 grays, but I guess it would work. There are a lot of ways to skin the proverbial cat...

Steve

[Frog]

perhaps a posting of the particular image would really help put suggestions in the right context.

[im_mcguire]

Here is a mockup of the image that my client sent me...

[kingscreen]

2 Greys, Black, and Red should get it done nicely.

[Colin]

The only reason to do an underbase, be it white ink or clear, would be to assist in the "dot gain" of your inks and to increase how smooth your blends will be.  Also to add weight/smoothness to realllly crappy open weave fabric.....

When printing directly on a white shirt, your inks will more readily hold their shape/go right into the shirt.  This "can" make your blends a little rougher.  Most compensate for this in their seps.  Adding more saturation of ink in areas they wouldn't normally if printing a base screen. 

So, as was stated earlier; TLDR: Its artwork dependant.

[Dottonedan]

The only reason to do an underbase, be it white ink or clear, would be to assist in the "dot gain" of your inks and to increase how smooth your blends will be.  Also to add weight/smoothness to realllly crappy open weave fabric.....

When printing directly on a white shirt, your inks will more readily hold their shape/go right into the shirt.  This "can" make your blends a little rougher.  Most compensate for this in their seps.  Adding more saturation of ink in areas they wouldn't normally if printing a base screen. 

So, as was stated earlier; TLDR: Its artwork dependant.

This is along the lines of how I think about what I'm gonna do.

Now, while many don't "underbase" with white, consider taking advantage of a very light gray, and print it down first, (knock out the brightest areas) and from that. It's hard to differentiate a light ink fade to shirt color and not having white ink. It helps there.

Then, keep it all wet on wet and print a medium gray down but where you see that mid tone gray shest area, you mid that with about 60% Med gray and 20-30% light gray under that. This will soften that area up and moves it more towards a continuous tone. Follow thru with the same concept with Med gray to black.

[ABuffington]

All good stuff here.  Some great tricks.  We liked a clear base on cheap 4.8 oz for all the reasons eb said, If slightly out of register no one can tell.  Clear base also makes great prints on darks and mids where you are trying to get a vintage washed out antique look.  But Dan's suggestions are something I never tried and sure seems like a great way to handle tonals that often get grainy with voids and banding in the blends.
Al