The Ottawa 67's Logo and the Pelican | Red?

Recently I was working on a project for a client and they wanted to create a half tone of red on black.  Normally because of the way T-shirts etc. are normally printed, you can’t fade colours in silk screening but in this case there was a way!  

The images showing the Ottawa 67’s logo and the pelican look like they’ve been printed with different colours but in fact the red is the same in both prints.

The difference is the red in the pelican print has 2 layers of white under it and the 67’s red is printed directly on the black…  Whaaat! 

This is a great example of why it cost more to print on dark colours then on white.  If the background colour is going to affect the colour being printed then they have to print, flash dry the ink, and print again on top of the first print.

This is a great example of why it cost more to print on dark colours then on white.  If the background colour is going to affect the colour being printed then they have to print, flash dry the ink, and print again on top of the first print.

In this example they put the white behind to bring up the red, however depending on the situation it could be that you’re simply printing the same colour twice to ensure the coverage is solid enough to hide the background colour.  

It’s amazing but true!  There are now new ways to print using digital transfers or even directly on the clothing that can make the colours even more accurate with half tones.  Depending on the design area and what’s being printed that may be the best choice but it will affect the costs.  Of course just about anything can be done if price is not a factor!  


The 67’s red is printed directly on the black background.

The 67’s red is printed directly on the black background.


The red in the pelican print has 2 layers of white under it

The red in the pelican print has 2 layers of white under it


Allan Stanley