Workaround for Semi-transparent Artwork On Dark Colored Tees

Direct-to-garment (DTG) printing alert for semi-transparent artwork on dark colored tees.

I originally had a beautiful gradient from orange to transparent, which would allow the text to gradient from orange to the color of the shirt.

Except direct-to-garment (DTG) printing can’t accommodate any transparency in the artwork when the artwork is being printed on dark tees. This is because DTG adds a base white layer on dark tees, then prints the artwork. And any place where there’s transparency in the artwork just shows up as grayish on the tee.

And it’s ugly!

My workaround is to add strokes to the artwork (that then get turned into an Erase Layer in Affinity Designer) – this knocks out that stroked section of the artwork and allows the color of the t-shirt to show through.