# About those tshirts with big Dog faces on the front? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2017, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603 "2017-12-05T04:43:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/1 "2017-12-05T04:43:43Z")
I see lots of web ads for [tshirts with great big dog faces](https://clothingmonster.com/en/109-animal-t-shirts-clothing-the-mountain?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing_Search_USA_3D_Partners&utm_term=3d+dog+t-shirts&utm_content=Bing_Partners_3D_Exact) printed on the front. Does anyone know what technology the company uses? The confounding element is that much of the animal’s face seems lighter than the shirt color. That’s a tough trick using traditional printing techniques. Printing dyes are transparent — you can’t print white on a dark shirt — and it seems the company would have to color the entire shirt but leave the front white, and then print that part with dyes that blend into the rest of the shirt. Possible, but not easy. Alternatively, silk screen inks are opaque—you can print white on a dark shirt—but photographic silk screened images are usually coarse and grainy, And integrating white ink in with the CMYK inks would be a challenge. Does anyone know how the shirts are produced? ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/2 "2017-12-05T04:55:33Z")
You can certainly print white on a black t-shirt, where did you get that idea? I have several black t-shirts with white images or writing on them. These look kind of cool, but remember we are just looking at the pictures. But it looks like they match the t-shirt to the dominant color of the breed in question. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/3 "2017-12-05T05:06:07Z")
In the examples you link to, the darkest part of the shirt is the darkest part of the dog, rather than some darker shirt color. They could have started with a white shirt. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/4 "2017-12-05T08:25:57Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > In the examples you link to, the darkest part of the shirt is the darkest part of the dog, rather than some darker shirt color. They could have started with a white shirt. Agreed - these seem like regular prints onto white shirts that have just been bled right off the edge (maybe before the fabric was cut - hard to say) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/5 "2017-12-05T14:13:28Z")
Not much to add, except I have [this t-shirt](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61qzz8ZiWpL._UL1001_.jpg). \*Weeick! ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/6 "2017-12-06T02:18:52Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Agreed - these seem like regular prints onto white shirts that have just been bled right off the edge (maybe before the fabric was cut - hard to say) I think that’s the answer: the cloth is printed and then cut/sewn into a tshirt. My mind just instinctively thought of printed tees as being printed after manufacture. I’ve owned a lot of printed (non-tee) shirts, but they’re mostly made from fabric with small repetitive patterns — like an hawaiian shirt. Sewing a tee from a piece of fabric with a large element that requires somewhat careful placement is unusual, which is a big reason the shirts seem so striking. ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/7 "2017-12-06T13:07:10Z")
And after seeing this post, I just ordered a chihuahua one. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/8 "2017-12-06T14:50:57Z")
I thought it said “big Dog feces”. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/9 "2017-12-06T18:54:23Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Not much to add, except I have [this t-shirt](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61qzz8ZiWpL._UL1001_.jpg). > > \*Weeick! Awesome Alert! I would have to have many, so I could wear another one when one gets dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/10 "2017-12-06T22:11:45Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Does anyone know how the shirts are produced? [Sublimation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye-sublimation_printer) would be my guess. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/11 "2017-12-06T22:20:29Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > [Sublimation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dye-sublimation_printer) would be my guess. Me too. [Here’s one video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYmsb_mfsIw)out of many that I found showing the print process for these full coverage shirts. It’s essentially a modern day version of an iron-on transfer. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/12 "2017-12-06T23:30:18Z")
Yeah, looks like sublimation to me, too. My company sells promotional products (“swag”), and shirts are part of that. [Our sublimated shirts](http://www.allearspromos.com/p/product/3742abb8-c911-4240-a2fb-59500fc0b214/full-sublimation-athletic-performance-tee-shirt) look like those dogs; if you need, like, 25 of them with your brand on them, let me know! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/13 "2017-12-07T00:26:32Z")
[evil clown shirt. . .yikes!](https://clothingmonster.com/en/dark-fantasy-t-shirts-clothing-the-mountain/1762-graphic-clown-cut-t-shirt-8853611959128.html?gmc_currency=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs6v23ND21wIVCAs3Ch3Vjw79EAEYASACEgK00_D_BwE) ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/14 "2017-12-07T01:22:10Z")
Thanks you Messrs **Spiderman, Rind &Diddy**. Does the inside of the shirt stay mostly white? And **Jackmanni** , are there some small unprinted areas around the armpits of your rodent shirt? ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-those-tshirts-with-big-dog-faces-on-the-front/803603/15 "2017-12-07T03:48:22Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > Thanks you Messrs **Spiderman, Rind &Diddy**. > Does the inside of the shirt stay mostly white? Yes > [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > And **Jackmanni** , are there some small unprinted areas around the armpits of your rodent shirt? If there are, it’s a cheap design. The sublimated shirts I have all have the same color in the armpit as the rest of the (base) color of the shirt.