Colour & Resolution Guide
How colour profiles, DPI, and resolution affect your DTF transfer output. Practical advice for predictable, consistent colour.
Colour profiles explained
A colour profile defines the range (gamut) of colours a device can reproduce. Your monitor, your phone, and a DTF printer all have different gamuts. When a file is created in one colour space and printed in another, colours can shift.
sRGB
The standard for web and most digital devices. Predictable, widely supported.
Recommended for DTF
Adobe RGB
Wider gamut used in professional photography and pre-press. Can cause shifts if converted incorrectly.
Convert to sRGB before export
Display P3
Used by Apple devices and modern monitors. Wider gamut — colours may not reproduce exactly in print.
Convert to sRGB before export
Why we recommend sRGB
sRGB is the safest choice for DTF printing because:
- Predictable across devices — sRGB is the default for web browsers, Windows, and most design tools. What you see on screen closely matches what we can print.
- No unexpected conversions — if your file is sRGB and our workflow is sRGB, there's no gamut compression or mapping that could shift your colours.
- Consistent results across runs — sRGB produces the most repeatable colour output between different batches.
Colour matching expectations
DTF printing uses CMYK + White ink. While the results are vibrant and detailed, there are physical limitations to what any printing process can reproduce.
What to expect
Prints well
- Standard brand colours (most Pantone coated)
- Photographic imagery with natural tones
- Clean gradients and colour transitions
- Black, white, and neutral greys
- Bold, saturated primary colours
More challenging
- Neon / fluorescent colours (outside CMYK gamut)
- Very specific Pantone spot colours
- Extreme colour accuracy for brand guidelines
- Metallic or reflective effects
- Very dark colours that should look distinct from black
DPI explained (without the myth)
DPI (dots per inch) describes how many pixels fit into each inch at a given print size. The key insight is that DPI is relative to size.
A 1000 × 1000 pixel image is:
- 333 DPI at ~7.6cm wide (sharp for text and logos)
- 100 DPI at ~25cm wide (fine for photos, poor for text)
- 50 DPI at ~50cm wide (visibly pixelated)
Quick DPI calculator
To calculate the DPI of your image at a specific print size:
Example: A 3000 × 3000 px image printed at 25cm wide = 3000 ÷ (25 ÷ 2.54) = ~305 DPI
Small text & fine detail
Small text and thin lines are the first things to break down at lower resolutions or small print sizes.
Type
Outline all fonts. Keep text bold or medium weight. Minimum ~6pt at print size.
Lines
Avoid hairlines. Minimum stroke width of ~0.5pt. Thin strokes disappear first in printing.
Scale
Design at final size. Don't create small and enlarge later. Resolution doesn't scale up.
Neon & spot colours
Fluorescent and neon colours exist outside the printable CMYK gamut. When you design with these colours on screen, they look electric — but the printed version will be the closest reproducible equivalent.
- Expect desaturation — neon green, hot pink, and electric blue will print less vivid than they appear on screen.
- Build inside the edge — design with slightly less saturated versions of neon colours for a more predictable result.
- Pantone spot colours require physical ink mixing and can't be exactly matched with CMYK process printing. We'll get close but not identical.
White ink and how it works
DTF printing uses a white ink underbase. This is what makes DTF transfers vibrant on dark garments. Here's how it works:
- White is printed first — a layer of white ink is laid down as a base, then CMYK colours are printed on top.
- Transparent areas get no white — this is why proper transparency in your file is critical. Where the file is transparent, no ink is printed.
- White in your design = white ink — if your design contains white elements (white text, white fill areas), those will be printed with white ink and will be visible on dark garments.
- Coverage affects feel — areas with heavy ink coverage (full white + full CMYK) will have a slightly thicker feel than areas with lighter coverage.