How many ink colors should your screen print have?
Fewer than you think. Most of the best-looking shirts in Nevada City are one color on a well-chosen blank. Each extra ink color is another $20 screen and a higher per-piece rate, and it rarely makes the shirt better. Here is how Battle Born Clothing thinks about color count.
What a color costs
| Colors on front | Screens (one-time) | Per piece (light shirt) | Per piece (dark shirt) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20 | $10.38 | $10.63 |
| 2 | $40 | Quoted per job | Quoted per job |
| 3 | $60 | Quoted per job | Quoted per job |
The screen cost is easy to see. The per-piece cost is the part people miss: every extra color is another pass on the press and, on dark shirts, another flash. At 48 pieces that adds up faster than the screens do. The published $4.34 rate is for one color; multi-color jobs are quoted per job.
Light shirt, dark ink: the cheapest good shirt
A one-color print on a white, natural, ash or light heather shirt skips the underbase and the flash. Black, navy or a brand color on a light shirt is $10.38 each at 48 on a PC61. It is also the softest plastisol print we make because there is one thin layer of ink.
Dark shirt, one color
White or a bright ink on black, navy or forest. We print a white underbase, flash it, then the top color, or print the color straight if it is white. That is the $0.25 flash per location. Or we discharge the shirt on 100% cotton for a soft, dyed-in look with no flash.
Turning a label or a poster into one color
- Use the shirt color as the second color. A navy shirt with a white print reads as two colors.
- Drop the gradients. A solid version of a wine label or a beer can usually exists; if not we make one and show it on the proof.
- Halftones can fake shades in one ink. They work for texture, not for small text.
- Sponsor blocks on the back: one color, always. Sponsors agree to it when they see the price.
When two colors are worth it
A logo with a mark and a wordmark in different brand colors, a school mascot with an outline, a festival poster with a defined two-color palette. Two colors on the front and one on the back is a common, sensible order: $60 in screens and a quoted per-piece rate.
When to stop counting and use DTF
Photos, four-plus colors, or under 48 shirts: a DTF transfer prints full color with no screens and is quoted per job. The hand is heavier than water-based ink but the art is exact.
Color count and the proof
Every proof we send lists the ink colors by location. If you want to cut the count, say so and we send a one-color version next to the original. Nothing is printed until you approve.
Send your art for a color count
Questions
Can you match a Pantone?
Yes. Send the number and we mix plastisol to it. Discharge ink is less exact; we tell you when a color will shift.
Does white count as a color?
Yes. White ink on a dark shirt is one screen. White underbase under a color is the flash charge, not a second screen.
Is a front and a back the same as two colors?
They cost the same in screens ($40) but a back print also adds a second per-location rate per shirt.