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Convert Color Prints To White With White Ink Only Print Modes!

White Ink Print Modes CADlink RIP

White Ink Only Print Modes

The RIP has a white underbase with a manual curve. Color data is printed as white, as if converted to a grayscale (based on the amount of CMYK ink being printed, with more CMYK = less white ink).

This ensures that any images with transparency do not get white in transparent areas and the color data is printed as white.


To set this up:

  • Select Underbase in the processing options and select manual curve for underbase strength.
  • The Maximum White Ink % will still be applied so this can be set as for your normal underbase and adjusted in Color Adjust in the SmartBar.
  • As no color is printed you can disable the Choke feature.
  • You can use either the Manual curve or the Separation curve to adjust the amount of white used in the highlights, midtones, and shadows.

For more information, check out our other post on manually adjusting curves for white underbase.


Other methods that depend on device type

Print the underbase only

The first method is to just print the underbase and stop (not print any color), the white is generated the same way as the underbase would have been.

You can duplicate a print mode and remove the color layer (or disable the color channels) for a single pass machine.

Advantages:

  • Block and solid graphics, such as lettering
  • Simple design approach (working with transparency) as any other color or black shirt
  • Able to use White Ink Wizards and Maximum White Ink % to adjust the white ink (like any other print mode using white ink)

Drawbacks:

  • White gradients or a blend, such as photographs
  • Setting up the transparency is more difficult

For example:

The above image can be printed on a black shirt queue.

However, if the CMYK channels are disabled, the image may look more like the above. The blend is lost. The CMYK is used for the lighter gray areas and enables better control over the blend and tonal accuracy.

White ink only grayscale

These print modes may not be named exactly with this convention, however, they are all designed to work with grayscale images. They are not designed to work with transparency, but they can work with any color images.

There are a few applied differences as well:

  • You must remember not to use transparency (this is a different set up with black inverted and mapped to white channels)
  • Depending on the device and the configuration of the color model, the adjustments to white density must be made directly in Color Adjustments and/or Separation Curves