Dull, washed-out DTF colours: seven causes and how to check them in order

First, make a test that tells the causes apart

Print one small swatch: solid cyan, magenta, yellow and black, a grey ramp and one skin tone. Press it on a black shirt and on a white shirt. Dull on both means the colour layer is the problem. Dull only on black means the white is. Write down your settings before you change anything.

1. The file is converted twice

If Photoshop converts the file to a printer profile and the RIP converts it again, greys shift and colours wash out. Keep the file in sRGB, or in AdobeRGB with its profile embedded, and let the RIP convert once. See ICC profiles for DTF.

2. The profile does not match the print

A profile describes one ink, one film, one resolution and one press temperature. A profile made for another mode gives blue greys and greenish browns. No profile at all still works, but you will tune saturation by hand. If you sell colour-critical work, make your own profile.

3. The ink limits are too low

Too much ink pools and cracks. Too little looks washed out. If the film looks dry and pale, raise the per-channel limits in steps of 10 % and stay under the total ink limit. The values to start from are in ink limits and cracking.

4. A channel is weak or wrong

A clogged nozzle or a wrongly mapped channel mutes one colour and shifts all the others. A dead yellow turns black purple and makes orange muddy. Print the channel test on film and run a nozzle check. Then follow the maintenance routine.

5. The white under the colour is too thin

White is the base the colours sit on. Too little white makes colours dull on dark garments. On black and dark shirts use white density 100 % and highlight white 10 %. On light shirts 60–70 % is enough. More in white underbase for dark and light garments.

6. Black generation is too high

GCR replaces the grey part of a colour with black ink. Too much of it makes dark colours flat and greyish. If that is what you see, lower GCR from 60 % to 40–50 %.

7. The finish and the screen

A screen glows, and ink on film reflects light. Some bright RGB colours, such as neon greens and electric blues, are outside what CMYK ink can print. The second press also changes the look: parchment gives a matte finish and a Teflon sheet leaves a slight sheen. Press the same print both ways before you change the RIP. See heat press settings.

Quick reference

• Everything pale and the film looks dry: ink limits too low (cause 3).
• Dull only on dark garments: white too thin (cause 5).
• Blue or green cast in the greys: double conversion or the wrong profile (causes 1 and 2).
• One colour weak, or black looks purple: a weak channel (cause 4).
• Dark colours flat and greyish: black generation too high (cause 6).
• A logo turns pink, blue or grey the day after pressing on polyester: that is dye migration, not a RIP problem. See DTF on polyester.

ZoroPrint converts colour once, in the RIP, with ink limits per channel and a white layer you can tune. Read about the RIP or download it and print the swatch above.