Artwork Tutorial
It is very important to provide us with correct artwork. Providing artwork that is not to Screen Printing Standards only prolongs the production time on your order. Need help with your artwork? Let our knowledgeable Graphic Art Team help you out.
1: Art file size and resolution
Make sure your artwork is sized to the largest desired size you would like it printed. This means if you want it to be printed at the size of 15″ width by 18″ height, then it needs to be sent to us in that size.
Important Note: We may have to shrink your design to fit the T-shirt or garment you selected for the artwork to be printed on. (For example: Some ladies T-shirts are so small that they only allow a print at the max size of 9″ width by 16″ height. So in this case we will size your artwork to fit 9″ width by 16″ height.)
The other important factor to remember is the resolution of your artwork. We will not accept files that are smaller than 300 resolution or vector. 300 resolution files are usually created in a program called Adobe Photoshop (.psd). Vector files are usually created in a program called Adobe Illustrator (.ai). Nothing will be fixed by putting a low resolution image into a 300 resolution canvas. It must be created in 300 resolution or vector from the start.
Why This Is Important: Trust us; our goal is for your prints to come out as professional as possible.We pride ourselves on the quality we can produce. When we are provided with a poor resolution file, it will show in the final product as a poor quality print which then results in you as well as us not being happy. We will not accept a file that is lower than 300 resolution. Don’t give up though, we do offer the service to take your file and turn it into a professional print ready vector file for a very affordable rate. If you are interested in this , just ask!
View below are our Artwork Printing Templates
Use the following templates for your artwork to assure you submit the correct artwork print size
Screen Printing Templates |
Jumbo Printing Templates |
AS SHOWN BELOW ARE SAMPLES OF PRINT SIZES BUT NOT EXACT AS SHIRT STYLES VARY IN SIZE.
MAX PRINT SIZES FOR SHIRT SIZES:
2: FILE FORMATS WE ACCEPT
We use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop as our main programs for art.
The file types we accept using these programs are: ai, .eps, .tiff, .pdf, .psd, .jpeg <(FOR 1 COLOR PRINTS ONLY)
3: Fonts CREATE TO OUTLINE – NOTE: Adobe Illustrator Users
We have many fonts in our database but to have every font is impossible. So please do us a favor and when using fonts/text in Adobe Illustrator convert the font/text to outline.
4 : OVERLAPPING LAYERS
If your art requres more than one color, please make sure each color is not overlapping one another. There should only be one layer per color and they should fit together like a puzzle peice in order for the finished product to fit your desired look and feel. (For example: In a smiley face design with black and yellow: When clicking off of the “eyeball” tool on black smile and eyes, you should be able to see a negative space indented in the yellow face).
(DONT WORRY ABOUT OVERLAPPING LAYERS IF YOUR ARTWORK IS VECTOR)
5. COLOR SEPARATED
Please make sure your design is separated by each different color if you require more than one. There should only be one layer per color. ( For example : In a green and blue design , we should only see three total layers; one blue layer , one green layer, and one background layer.) There should only be one layer per color and they should fit together like a puzzle peice in order for the finished product to fit your desired look and feel.
(DONT WORRY ABOUT COLOR SEPARATION IF YOUR ARTWORK IS VECTOR)
SUMMARY OF WHAT WE REQUIRE
File Resolution: If your file is anything but a vector file we require your art to be at least 300 resolution.
Size Your Art: Make sure you send us the size you want your art printed.
File Type: ai, .eps, .tiff, .pdf, .psd, .jpeg
Color separated with only one layer per color and no layers should overlap one another.
WHAT NOT TO DO
Do not resize a file that is in a low resolution and convert to a higher resolution. All this does is expand the pixels giving the file a very blurry and choppy edged effect. It’s not pretty and we can easily tell when this is done. The same goes for vector art, don’t take a jpeg image and import it in illustrator, this does not make the file a vector format. You must start fresh at the size you want printed and in 300 resolution or vector.
Do not place a .jpeg file in a illustrator template and save it as an .ai file thinking this is what makes it vector. Trust us it doesn’t and we will only ask you to send the file again the correct way.
Please do not send a file with each and every peice of the artwork. There should only be one layer per color. ( For example : In a green and blue design , we should only see three total layers; one blue layer , one green layer, and one background layer.)
Have you viewed our T-shirt 101 page?
VIEW OUR T-SHIRT 101 PAGE