Learn · 3 min read · updated 2026-10-24

What color text shows up on which shirt color

Navy on black and yellow on white are the classic mistakes. Here's every shirt colour we sell against every ink, scored for contrast.

The short answer

Dark shirts take white, cream, lemon, pale pink or sky blue; light shirts take black, navy, charcoal, forest or brown. Heathers and mid-tones are where people go wrong: on a grey or tan heather, white and pastels nearly vanish. The table below shows the best, the quiet and the invisible inks for 12 common shirt colours.

The table

Scored with the WCAG contrast ratio between the ink and the shirt colour, the same check our makers run before you order. Under 1.45 the ink disappears and our sites refuse it; under 2.2 it reads quietly, which can be a nice tone on tone look if it's on purpose. The full data for 75 shirt colours and 18 inks is in ink-contrast.json.

Ink colours on common shirt colours
Shirt	Reads best	Reads quietly	Disappears
White classic tee	Black, Navy, Charcoal, Forest, Brown	Mustard, Sky, Bubblegum	Lemon, Cream, White
Black classic tee	White, Cream, Lemon, Bubblegum, Sky	Forest, Charcoal	Navy, Black
Navy classic tee	White, Cream, Lemon, Bubblegum, Sky	Cobalt, Brown, Forest	Charcoal, Black, Navy
Pepper heavyweight tee	White, Cream, Lemon, Bubblegum, Sky	Hot pink, Navy, Red	Charcoal, Forest, Cobalt, Brown
Forest classic tee	White, Cream, Lemon, Bubblegum, Sky	Black, Cobalt, Brown	Navy, Forest, Charcoal
Maroon classic tee	White, Cream, Lemon, Bubblegum, Sky	Red, Black	Navy, Cobalt, Brown, Forest, Charcoal
Athletic Heather classic tee	Black, Navy, Charcoal, Forest, Brown	Tomato, Orange, White	Lilac, Cream, Mustard, Sky, Lemon, Bubblegum
Sport Grey crewneck	Black, Navy, Charcoal, Forest, Brown	Kelly green, Tomato, White, Orange	Lilac, Cream, Mustard, Lemon, Sky, Bubblegum
Heather Dust classic tee	Black, Navy, Charcoal, Forest, Brown	Orange, Lilac, Mustard	White, Sky, Bubblegum, Cream, Lemon
Sand crewneck	Black, Navy, Charcoal, Forest, Brown	Orange, Lilac, White	Mustard, Sky, Bubblegum, Cream, Lemon
Mustard classic tee	Black, Navy, Charcoal, Forest, Brown	White, Cream, Hot pink, Lemon, Kelly green, Tomato	Orange, Bubblegum, Sky, Mustard, Lilac
Pink classic tee	Black, Navy, Charcoal, Forest, Brown	Orange, White	Lilac, Mustard, Cream, Sky, Bubblegum, Lemon

Why heathers are tricky

A heather is a mix of light and dark fibres, so it sits in the middle of the range where neither black nor white is a sure thing. Black and navy still read on light heathers. White on Athletic Heather or Sport Grey reads only quietly, and pastels vanish. On dark heathers it's the reverse.

Swatches are screen colours, and real heathers print a touch lighter and more textured than they look. If a combination is borderline on screen, it will be borderline on fabric.

Colour on colour

Two strong colours of the same lightness (red on royal blue, orange on kelly green) look loud on screen and blur together from a few feet away, because the eye reads lightness first. Pick inks that are clearly lighter or darker than the shirt, then pick the hue.

Printing on a dark shirt also uses a white underbase under the ink, so light inks on dark shirts come out bright and solid, while dark inks on dark shirts can look muddy.

Questions people ask

What color text looks best on a black shirt?

White, cream and lemon read strongest, then pale pink and sky blue. Charcoal and forest read only faintly, and navy disappears.

What color text goes on a grey shirt?

On light greys like Athletic Heather and Sport Grey: black, navy, charcoal, forest or brown. White reads only faintly, and pastels and yellow disappear.

Can I use the contrast data for my own shop?

Yes. The JSON file is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with a link back to this page.

Sources

Checked 2026-10-24. Policies and rules change; follow the source before you rely on a detail. This is general information, not legal advice.