Dropdtf
Make a design

Dropdtf guide

How do I fix a white halo on DTF transfers?

A halo is the white underbase showing past the color. It has two causes: pale or half-clear pixels at the edge of the file, and a RIP that does not pull the white in. Fix the file first, then the choke setting.

Describe your designOne sentence is enoughMake a design

Free preview, no account. Pay only to download.

A skull wrapped in red roses, on a dark shirt color
A file made here. The shirt is a drawing.

Before you start

You need
One sentence that describes the design.
You get
A transparent PNG with the edge cleaned for film, up to 2048 pixels.
Time
Usually under a minute.
Cost
The preview is free, five a day. The print file is one from a pack.

Step by step

  1. A crop of a raw cutout on black with a pale ring along the edge
    01Check the file on black.

    If the art already has a pale ring on a black background, the halo is in the file.

  2. The same crop after the edge pass, with no pale ring
    02Clean the edge.

    Remove the half-clear pixels so the edge is ink or nothing. Files made here have this done before you download.

  3. 03Then set the choke.

    In your RIP, pull the white layer in by a pixel or two so it sits under the color. That setting is the printer's side of the job.

  4. A skull wrapped in red roses, on a dark shirt color
    04Print one and look.

    Press a test on a dark offcut before a run.

Where the pale pixels come from

A cutout made for screens keeps a soft edge so it blends into any page. That soft edge is exactly what the underbase turns white.

See a cleaned edge on black before you print.

Describe your designOne sentence is enoughMake a design

Free preview, no account. Pay only to download.

More guides

A round eagle badge with spread wings, on a dark shirt colorSizeIs my artwork 300 DPI?It depends on how large you print it. Divide the pixels by the inches: a 2048 pixel file is 300 DPI at about 6.8 inches wide and 150 DPI at about 13.6 inches.Read the guide A ghost in a cap riding a skateboard, on a dark shirt colorSizeHow do I prepare customer artwork for DTF?Take the background out, make the edge hard, clear faint pixels and specks, then check the size against the print. The upload beta here does the first three for art with a clear outline.Read the guide A koi fish among waves, in orange and teal, on a dark shirt colorThe fileWhy do soft shadows and glows print badly on DTF?Because a fade is made of partly clear pixels, and the printer lays white ink under each of them. On a dark garment the soft shadow you saw on screen comes out as a pale smear around the art.Read the guide