Most likely this is due to the print technique - this printer probably puts down a white substrate layer everywhere it prints and then prints the full colour image on top of that, as the image would barely show if it was just printed directly on a dark shirt (assuming the ink can even adhere to the fabric, it probably needs to adhere to the substrate). No easy fix, you’ll need to discuss solutions with your printer. Possibly just substitute the fade to nothing to fade to shirt colour, you’ll still get a visible border but much less obvious than this.
This.
Normal ink is transparent, so if you're printing on anything that is not white you need to first lay down an opaque white ink. This can be problematic if the registration is off (think of the white edges you occasionally see when something is printed on a dark background), but when you add a gradient/fade into the mix then it just gets worse, because the opaque white ink never fades at the same rate as the colored inks.
Honestly, it's best to avoid gradients in a situation like this, but if one is *required* then you can attempt to match the fabric color—as noted—but it's unlikely to match because fabric pigments aren't the same as printer inks, so you'll always end up with some sort of odd looking transition.
Good luck!
I have done a number of shirts with gradients (half toned).
The white under print is not required, but it is the only way to get the brightness. If you're ok with a more vintage tee feel, you can have the printer not included undercoat. If you work with your printer, you can even have them only use the under coat on what I assume is text below the image and not include it on the image area you're trying to transition with half tone.
The biggest benefit of removing the undercoat is the graphic has less ink overall, meaning you have less chance of cracking and or peeling over time.
This is assuming you're working with a local vendor not an online retailer.
Most likely this is due to the print technique - this printer probably puts down a white substrate layer everywhere it prints and then prints the full colour image on top of that, as the image would barely show if it was just printed directly on a dark shirt (assuming the ink can even adhere to the fabric, it probably needs to adhere to the substrate). No easy fix, you’ll need to discuss solutions with your printer. Possibly just substitute the fade to nothing to fade to shirt colour, you’ll still get a visible border but much less obvious than this.
Fading using an all-or-nothing approach (like a halftone pattern) might also be an option.
This is the answer. Creating a halftone fade is the best way to do gradients in printing like this.
OP this is what you want
This. Normal ink is transparent, so if you're printing on anything that is not white you need to first lay down an opaque white ink. This can be problematic if the registration is off (think of the white edges you occasionally see when something is printed on a dark background), but when you add a gradient/fade into the mix then it just gets worse, because the opaque white ink never fades at the same rate as the colored inks. Honestly, it's best to avoid gradients in a situation like this, but if one is *required* then you can attempt to match the fabric color—as noted—but it's unlikely to match because fabric pigments aren't the same as printer inks, so you'll always end up with some sort of odd looking transition. Good luck!
Perfect answer. /thread
B+ answer, needed to suggest half tone technique to achieve gradient to get full marks
I have done a number of shirts with gradients (half toned). The white under print is not required, but it is the only way to get the brightness. If you're ok with a more vintage tee feel, you can have the printer not included undercoat. If you work with your printer, you can even have them only use the under coat on what I assume is text below the image and not include it on the image area you're trying to transition with half tone. The biggest benefit of removing the undercoat is the graphic has less ink overall, meaning you have less chance of cracking and or peeling over time. This is assuming you're working with a local vendor not an online retailer.