Process Color (CMYK)

The Art Decides

The choice of what printing technique to use is determined by the artwork, the size of the print run, and what is being printed.

Image used with permission of
Don Sawyer.

Process Printing (CMYK)

Process Printing is printing a series of dots. The image gives the appearance of many colors, but it is actually just a series of blended dots that tricks the eye into seeing many colors. For example, a full color magazine, like National Geographic, with its rich photographs, is printed using only four inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (CMYK.)

This printing technique for paper can be replicated on a T-Shirt. The image below is a photograph of a 4-color process job. (CMYK)

The original artwork was a watercolor and this is a high quality reproduction of the original. Minimum order for a job like this is 288 pieces. Colors match the original best when printed on a white garment because process inks are transparent. Pre-press costs (the color separations and films required to print) generally run about $300.

Direct to Garment Ink Jet Printing (for Light colored shirts) now provides an inexpensive alternative to this printing technique, but for long runs screenprinting is still best.

It is possible to print 4-Color Process images on Dark shirts using a white underbase. Printing on dark with process inks drives up the cost, and usually requires additional colors and longer runs. For example, printing two whites is common, plus spot colors for any difficult areas.

A new way of printing 4-Color Process on Dark shirts is using Simulated Process. It uses standard opaque colors instead. See the link for more information.