How many ink colors are in my design?

To print a design on a t-shirt using the screen printing method, each ink color in the design is printed through it's own screen. Here are some explanations on how to determine how many colors your design may have.

	One color on a light shirt This is pretty simple. It's just one color printed on a light shirt.
	Two colors on a light shirt This is a two color print on a light shirt. Black and green are printed. The white of the shirt can be incorporated into the design by using black and green printed outlines.
	Three colors on a light shirt Here we have three colors printed on a light shirt. Black, green, and blue are printed. The white of the shirt could still be incorporated into the design if necessary.
	Three colors on a light shirt with shades Here there is black, green, and blue with shades of blue and green as well. There are two ways to incorporate shades of a color when screen printing. One way is to make a seperate screen with a lighter colored ink. This method will produce a smooth look, but will cost more. The second way to deal with shades of color is to use halftones. Halftones are small dots of the original color which create the illusion of a different shade. Newspaper images are printed this way. Using halftones means that you don't have to pay for an additional color. This does not work as well for small images and text.
	One color on a dark shirt This is one color printed on a dark shirt. Usually when you print on colored shirts you need an underbase (we'll explain what an underbase is in a minute). Black will print fine without an underbase layer, so this is a one color print.
	One color on a dark shirt with an Underbase This looks like one color printed on a dark shirt. However, in order for the white to show up as true white on a dark shirt, an Underbase layer is required. An Underbase is a thin layer of white ink that is printed first. Then the other ink colors are printed on top. The underbase allows light and bright colors to look light and bright on a dark shirt. Without the underbase, colors will look darker because the shirt color will leach through. One color printed on a dark shirt with an underbase is actually a 2 color print and will require 2 screens.
	Two colors on a dark shirt with an Underbase This would be 3 screens total. White and green ink, with an underbase.
	Three colors on a dark shirt with an Underbase This would be 4 screens total. White, green, and black ink, with an underbase.