Colour management in DTF printing

Your design glows on screen but looks different on the textile? That is usually down to the colour space: monitors show colours in RGB, printing uses CMYK.

Here you will learn how to convert RGB to CMYK in a controlled way, install an ICC profile on Windows and macOS and set up greys without a colour cast.

How to make your colours predictable

A monitor mixes colours from light, while printing works with ink on film and textile. A printed reference is therefore more reliable than any screen view.

• Set up your file in CMYK with the ISO Coated v2 (ECI) profile
• Define brand colours with the DTF colour chart, and there is a separate UV colour chart for UV DTF
• Do not convert colours back and forth between RGB and CMYK several times
• For colour-critical runs, test a small quantity first

Why does the same colour not look identical everywhere?

The textile plays a part too. Although there is an opaque white underbase beneath the colours, they look slightly different on smooth and textured fabric or under different lighting. For important colours, it is worth testing on the original textile.