White DTF prints can look great on bright and dark shirts, but only if enough white ink goes down to stop the shirt color from showing through.
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Here’s how to set up a solid white design in Silhouette Studio, choose the right white percentage in xTool Creative Space, and press it so it comes out solid without feeling stiff.
Printing a white-only DTF design from Silhouette Studio
White-only DTF designs start in Silhouette Studio. Fill the design with white in the Fill panel. Then set the line color to white, which thickens the edges slightly, or to transparent for no line at all. Select the design and use File > Save Selection > Save to Hard Drive to export it as an SVG. Exporting SVGs requires the Silhouette Studio Business Edition upgrade, which is a one-time purchase.
Bring the SVG into xTool Creative Space and it comes in as a solid white design. It’s hard to see on screen, but that’s normal. For a women’s small sweatshirt, about 11 inches wide is the most you’ll want for the chest.
For the full process of setting up print-ready files, see How to Make DTF Transfers: Step-by-Step for Print-Ready Files for Any DTF Printer.
How much white ink should you use on a colored shirt?
The default is 100% color and 75% white. For an all-white design on a bright or dark shirt, click Adjust and raise white to 100%. Changing the color setting does nothing here, since the design has no color in it. On a bright red shirt, 75% white can let the red bleed through and turn the design pinkish. On a lighter shirt, like gray, 75% usually works, and a lower amount can also give a softer, vintage look.
When you hit print, the first pass may look like nothing is happening, but it’s printing the color test strip on the right edge of the film. The white prints on the second pass. The whole design took about 2 minutes to print before going through the powder and into the heater for about 10 minutes.
Pressing white DTF and layering HTV on top
Press the transfer at 306–308°F for 12 seconds. To add an HTV detail, apply the DTF first and let it cool, then peel the film. Next, press the HTV (brick HTV in the video) on top at about the same time and temperature. Put Teflon or another protective sheet over the design so the DTF doesn’t get direct heat. At 100% white, the print came out solid and opaque but not thick or crunchy.
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