How to Prep an Art File So It Prints Right the First Time

The single biggest cause of a delayed or disappointing print isn't the printing — it's the file that got sent in. Most of this is fixable in five minutes if you know what to check before submitting.

Vector vs. raster: know which one you have

Vector files (AI, EPS, SVG, some PDFs) are built from mathematical paths, so they scale to any size with zero quality loss — this is what screen printing and embroidery digitizing need. Raster files (PNG, JPG) are made of pixels, and only look sharp at the resolution they were created at or smaller. A logo saved as a small JPG will look blurry or pixelated blown up to shirt size.

For screen printing

Vector art is strongly preferred — it lets us separate your design into exact color layers for screen burning with clean edges. If all you have is a raster logo, we can often recreate it as vector, which may carry a small art fee depending on complexity.

For embroidery

Any image works as a starting point since digitizing rebuilds the design as a stitch path regardless of source format — but a cleaner, higher-contrast source image digitizes more accurately and faster.

For DTG and DTF

A high-resolution PNG with a transparent background is ideal. As a rule of thumb, the file should be at least 150 DPI at the actual print size — a 10-inch-wide print needs roughly 1,500 pixels of width to look sharp, not 300.

• Transparent background (PNG, not JPG) so the design doesn't print with a white box around it
• At least 150 DPI at final print size
• RGB color mode is fine — we handle color conversion on our end

What to do if your only file is low-res

Send it anyway. We'll tell you honestly whether it'll print sharp as-is, needs a quick cleanup, or needs to be recreated from scratch — better to know before production than after.

Quick Questions

Do I need to pay extra if my file needs cleanup?

Minor cleanup is usually included. A full recreation of a low-quality logo as clean vector art may carry a small design fee, which we'll always quote before doing the work.

What if I don't have a design at all, just an idea?

That's fine — describe what you're picturing on the quote form and we'll help develop it into something print-ready.