Why do black T-shirts cost so more than white shirts?
Black T-shirts cost more than white ones for two basic reasons. Manufacturers price their shirts in three or four categories based on color: Neutrals like White, Lights with colors such as Ash, Light Blue and Pink, Darks like Navy, Red and Black and, sometimes, Premiums which include Forest Green and Maroon. The reason given is the cost of the dyes used to color the fabric. That’s the first reason. The second has to do with the printing. The fibers of the garment are porous. They both absorb the ink and affect the color. Putting white on a black shirt gives a dingy gray look–sort of like painting a dark wall at home white. It takes two coats to give you a clean, bright image. Chesapeake Logos doesn’t charge you for the second coat or for the extra screen often required to create the first coat–called an under base. Now it’s only the shirt manufacturer who causes dark shirts to cost more than white.
