Kornit’s Digital Printing Glossary
Underbase Definition
Underbase Definition
An underbase is a layer of ink (generally white or other light colors) that is printed as a “base” on a dark fabric for other colors to sit on. This gives the top colors more brilliance and explains why printing to darker pieces takes a bit more time than printing to lighter ones. Underbase helps prevent the garment from absorbing the colored ink and leaves it on top, so the perception of that color remains as it is. Depending on the piece, the underbase needs to be thicker or thinner, and in semi-transparent parts of the design, the actual garment color will show through. Printing on white t-shirts is easy because they already define the color. If you print a cyan design on top of a yellow t-shirt, without a white underbase, the appearance of that design would be green because the garment absorbs that color.
Visit Kornit Digital to learn how the brand’s single-step print process incorporates underbase to achieve the most vibrant graphic design and brilliance on most fabric textures and colors.
