Artwork Requirements, Tips & Tricks

Make sure your artwork meets our requirements for the best print quality on your products.

Written by Print Your Cause

Updated 9 months ago

All artwork should be a minimum of 300 dpi. This may also be listed as "Resolution" at 300 Pixels/Inch depending on your graphics program or image viewer.

Most design programs and image viewers will list the dpi or pixels/inch. You can find this under Image Size, Image Properties, File Info, etc. If you are not able to find this information, zoom in closely on your artwork to check if it appears blurry or pixilated (slight pixilation is okay in most cases).

Pro Tip: Make sure your artwork is scaled to the proper size before saving or exporting the file. We like to scale our artwork to at least 10" in size so it can be used for both small and large prints. For example, if you export your artwork at a small 2" x 2" size, it could become pixilated if you set the product design size to a larger 10" x 10" size.

For Self-Service Accounts, our Product Builder will let you know if your file is under 300 dpi when you build your product designs.

All artwork should be submitted with a transparent background.

There are free programs you can download to help with this. paint.net is a great option. Steps: 1) Open your file in paint.net. 2) Select the Magic Wand Tool. 3) Click on the white background areas that you do not want to print and press Delete on your keyboard. 4) Save your new file.

When to use Artwork with Transparencies & Opacities

The only Decoration Methods that will print artwork with transparencies & opacities properly is Direct to Garment (DTG) and Sublimation. These print methods will allow the base product color to show through partially transparent graphics.

What are Transparencies & Opacities? - The ability (or inability) to "see through" one or more layers in an artwork or a design. This is commonly seen in background layers and in drop shadows to create depth.

In the example below, the "P" design element is set to an Opacity of 30% for it to appear faded into the background of the shirt. The Left, DTG Printing image is how the design is meant to print. The Right, DTF Printing image is how the design will print with the improper DTF printing method. You can see the DTF print is no longer transparent because this method requires a solid white ink base layer.

Check your line weights

For most decoration methods, all lines need to be a minimum weight of 1 pt. All negative spaces need to be a minimum thickness equivalent to 2 pts. Details that fall under this recommended spec may not print consistently or at all. *This rule does not apply to Laser Engraving or Sublimation.

For products with textured material or material that doesn't lay perfectly flat, we recommend a 2 Point minimum of positive printing space. Examples: Hats, Totes, Canvas material

Any artwork in vector format should have all text converted to "outlines."

Make sure your fonts are not “live fonts” they should be converted to non-editable vectors. If you don't know how to do this, export your artwork to a .png file instead.

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