Preparing your artwork for printed clothing

For printed clothing, you send us your design and we print and apply it to the garment. Unlike embroidery, this is ink not thread, so full colour, photographs and fine detail are all fine. This page is about the artwork you send. Placement and sizes are on the product pages.

Your design is printed onto a DTF (direct-to-film) transfer and then heat-pressed onto the garment in house. DTF lays down a white underbase, so your colours print true whatever colour the garment is.

What to send

  • Vector (EPS, AI, PDF or SVG) is ideal for logos and text, since it stays crisp at any size.
  • High-resolution raster is welcome too (PNG or TIFF), saved with a transparent background. Because it is printed, photographs and detailed, full-colour images are no problem.
  • Supply raster artwork at 300 ppi at the size it will print on the garment.
  • Transparent background: if your design is not a solid rectangle, send a PNG with a transparent background, so only your design prints and not a box around it.

Colour

  • We print in full colour, so photographs, gradients and rich colour all reproduce well. This is the opposite of embroidery, where those have to be simplified.
  • Using Pantone or spot colours? These will be converted to CMYK, so it is best to convert them yourself before sending, to keep control of the result.
  • Because DTF prints a white underbase, your colours stay true on any garment colour, including dark ones. The garment colour does not show through or dull your design.

What prints well

  • Full colour, gradients and photographs are all fine.
  • Keep raster artwork high-resolution so it stays sharp at print size.
  • The one thing to watch is very fine detail and very thin lines, which can be lost. Keep small elements a little bolder so they hold.

Reproduction rights

By sending us a design to print, you are confirming that you own it or hold the right to have it reproduced.

Approval and turnaround

  • Before we press, we send a PDF proof showing your design on the chosen garments, in the positions you have picked, with the sizes, so you can check everything first.
  • Please check it carefully, especially any names and spelling. What you approve is what we print. Approval is given in writing and is binding for the work. Full details are in our terms and conditions.
  • Turnaround is usually about 3 working days for the proof, then 5 to 10 working days to complete once you approve it.