DTG Separation Tool
Using the DTG Separation tool in Editor
The DTG Separation tool, accessible in PrintFactory Editor, is crafted to eliminate unnecessary colors from the image. Its purpose is to enable effective printing on colored garments, preventing overinking or the use of ink that isn't required, based on the garment color. Additionally, the tool offers features such as applying White choke and highlighting specific channels for special effects. Ensure you have already created your DTG profile for your printer before creating your DTG Separation presets.
First you need to open Editor, open your artwork and head to the Extra menu, here you will find the DTG Separation option:
First you need to open Editor, open your artwork and head to the Extra menu, here you will find the DTG Separation option:
A pop up window will appear showing you your Cloud-shared list of DTG Separation presets. You can edit an existing preset here, delete an existing preset, or create a new one:
Clicking the plus button will open the DTG Separation tool on screen:
Garment: Material and preview color
Material: This is showing the color of the material. If the material is Black, then the option "Black" will be selected by default. If the PMM(profile) you have selected in Editor is a created with a coloured garment, like red, green etc, then the material color will be pre-filled using the LAB value of the 0% patch in your profile.
You can click the color selectors to change the material color. You can enter the material color in CIELab, AdobeRGB, or sRGB color space. It is recommended to measure the garment color with a spectrophotometer to get an accurate LAB value if not using the pre-defined black or colored options. It is crucial as this color will determine which parts of the image are removed in the knock-out.
Clicking the "Auto" button will return the values to how they are defined in the selected PMMs 0% patch.
Clicking the "Auto" button will return the values to how they are defined in the selected PMMs 0% patch.
Note: Select the PMM in Editor before opening the DTG separation tool.
Preview Color: This is the on-screen background preview color which can act as a visual aid whilst determining the configuration of your DTG preset.
Choke: Applying choke to the PMM White underbase
Tolerance: Set in millimeters the amount of choke to be applied to the White underbase. A typical amount of White choke is around 0.1-0.2mm for most modern printers.
​
No choke: This functionality enables content-aware choke. When you activate 'White only ink,' choke is eliminated in areas where only white ink is present. The idea behind this is straightforward—if there's no color overlaying the white ink, there's no need to choke the white. This becomes particularly important for preserving the clarity of thin white-only text or lines, preventing them from disappearing or showing defects. Alternatively, you can opt for "Under spot colors," which removes choke under spot colors for the same reason as under white. Choosing "none" applies choke universally across the design.
Highlight: Printing an extra highlight layer
Range: The higher the range percentage, the more highlight ink will be printed. It is directly correlated with the luminance of the component parts of the image.
Amount: The percentage of ink that will be printed. The actual ink that is used is determined in the channel selector.
Channel: Selecting the channel from the inkset that the highlight parameters will apply to.
Note: The highlight channel is a lesser used part of the DTG separation tool as it will increase the ink usage and slow the production speed due to the extra layer printing. In most cases it is not required except for when special effects are required.
Amount: The percentage of ink that will be printed. The actual ink that is used is determined in the channel selector.
Channel: Selecting the channel from the inkset that the highlight parameters will apply to.
Note: The highlight channel is a lesser used part of the DTG separation tool as it will increase the ink usage and slow the production speed due to the extra layer printing. In most cases it is not required except for when special effects are required.
Black Knockout: Removing black from the image for printing on black garments
Tolerance: This slider is deciding the level of black knockout. The higher the percentage the more black is removed from the image. This tool negates the requirement for third party applications such as Adobe Photoshop, to remove the black:
Chroma: This slider will decide the amount of dark ink that is also removed around the edges of black and shadow areas to better utilise the black garment color and create a feathering effect, this will help to avoid a hard edge where ink is used instead of the garment color. It will create a more visually pleasing end result when printing on black/dark garments:
Color Knockout: Removing color from the image for printing on colored garments.
To enable the color knockout tool you must input a material color in the Garment option:
Tolerance: This slider is deciding the level of color knockout. The higher the percentage the more color is removed from the image. This tool again negates the requirement for third party applications such as Adobe Photoshop, to remove the color. In this example I have set a red material color, therefore red knockout will be applied to the image & the material color will be used to create the red instead of unnecessary ink usage:
When you have completed the DTG Separation preset, click OK and give the preset a relevant name:
Linking the DTG Separation preset to a PMM
After creating the DTG Separation preset, it is stored both locally on your computer and uploaded to your Cloud resources. Subsequently, it becomes accessible across all installations of PrintFactory within your organization. To streamline the workflow, you have the option to link your DTG Separation preset to a DTG PMM. This linkage ensures that the separation settings are automatically applied to all jobs processed by the connected PMM:
1. Open Calibrator and select your DTG Printer
2. Select the media
3. Right click on the mode and select 'Link DTG Preset'
After selecting the required DTG preset & clicking OK, it will be linked. This association ensures that the chosen DTG Separation preset is consistently applied to all jobs processed by this specific PMM. This integration facilitates workflow automation through features like RIP Queues, PrintFactory Workflow, and other automation tools. The key benefit is the elimination of the need for manual application of the DTG Separation in PrintFactory Editor. Now, let's take a closer look at a processed end-result:
In this preview, we observe a processed job intended for printing on a black t-shirt. Thanks to the DTG Separation preset linked to the PMM, the black color from the original image has been eliminated, allowing the black of the t-shirt to serve as the backdrop. The White underbase will be printed beneath the remaining colored elements of the image. This strategy minimizes ink usage where unnecessary, ensuring a high-quality printed result while optimizing efficiency.
From V6.8.2 onwards, you will also see the garment color in the RIP preview image. For example, this job printed on a light blue T-shirt:
Related Articles
Creating a direct-to-garment (DTG) pmm
In this step-by-step guide, we'll walk through the process of creating media profiles(*PMMs) tailored for DTG printing. Whether you're a seasoned printer or a newcomer, understanding how to optimize media profiles is crucial for achieving vibrant and ...Trim and Bleed Tool
The Trim and Bleed tool automates file preparation for True shape nesting. With this tool, Documents no longer require a CutContour or Spot for tool mapping to allow TSN. After Trim and Bleed tool below, the files are ready for the next step: True ...Annotation Tool
Reviews and Commenting The Annotation tool allows you to add text messages to your document. Annotations will not be printed or visualized in further processes and are for internal use in Editor only. How to create an annotation 1. Select the ...Cut Marks Tool
With the Cutter Registration Marks tool you can manually place cutter registration marks for use with Zünd Cut Center or iCut based systems. Select the Cutter Registration Marks tool from the Tools panel . Either place the marks randomly by clicking ...Dot Curve Editor Tool
The Dot Curve Editor Tool is a new addition to the Inkset-up dialog of a PMM. The button will only work when the screening is FM and more than 2 dot levels are in the print mode. This tool is in place for users with some knowledge on editing dot ...