How to prepare artwork that prints first time.

The single biggest cause of slow quotes and reprints is bad artwork. Not bad design — bad files. Files that look fine on screen but explode at print size, files in the wrong colour mode, files where the "transparent background" isn't actually transparent.

This is the artwork checklist we wish every brand had read before sending us their first file.

Vector vs raster — and why it matters

Vector files (.AI, .EPS, .SVG, .PDF made from vector software) describe shapes mathematically. You can scale them to any size with zero loss of quality. Logos, text, simple illustrations should always be vector.

Raster files (.PNG, .JPG, .TIFF, .PSD) are made of pixels. They have a fixed resolution. Scale them up beyond their pixel count and they get blurry. Photographs, complex artwork with gradients, distressed textures are usually raster.

If you have a logo as a JPG, you don't have a logo. You have a snapshot of one. Get the vector source from your designer.

Resolution — the rule that catches everyone

For raster files, the rule is: 300 DPI at the actual print size.

"At the actual print size" is the bit people miss. A 1000×1000 pixel image at 300 DPI is 8.5 cm wide — fine for a chest logo, useless for a 30 cm full-front print.

Practical guide for raster files:

Colour modes — RGB vs CMYK vs Pantone

Three colour systems, three different purposes:

• RGB — what your screen uses. Bright, vivid, broad colour range. Don't print from RGB; the colours shift unpredictably.
• CMYK — what most printers use as a base. Smaller colour range, but predictable.
• Pantone (PMS) — a standardised colour-matching system. The only way to guarantee an exact colour match across multiple jobs.

For brand consistency, send Pantone references for your key colours. "Pantone 185 C" is unambiguous. "A sort of bright red, like in the logo" is not.

The transparent background trap

You exported your logo as a PNG with a transparent background. The white parts of the design look white in Photoshop because they sit on Photoshop's grey checkerboard.

When we receive that file, the "white" parts are actually transparent, which means on a black t-shirt they'll print black (i.e., not at all). The white shows on screen because of the transparency overlay, but the white pixels don't exist.

Fix: if your design has white that should print white, the white must exist as a solid white fill in the file. Easy to check: open the PNG, change the background colour to bright magenta — anywhere that's still white is real white; anywhere that turns magenta is transparent.

Fonts — outline everything

If you send us a vector file with live text, we need the same fonts you used. We probably don't have them. The text will substitute to something else (Arial, usually) and the design will look wrong.

The fix takes 30 seconds in any vector editor: select all text, "Create Outlines" or "Convert to Paths." Now the text is shapes, not text, and works on any computer.

Bleed — usually not needed

Bleed is the practice of extending your design 3–5mm past the trim line so there's no white edge on a printed page. Garment printing doesn't usually need it, because we're not cutting your design at the edge.

The exception: edge-to-edge sleeve prints, all-over prints, or jobs where the design is meant to wrap around a hem. In those cases, give us 5mm extra all around.

The five-second pre-flight check

Before you send any file, ask:

1. Is the file at the size I want it printed?
2. If raster, is it at least 300 DPI at that size?
3. Are all fonts outlined?
4. Are colours specified (Pantone for brand-critical, CMYK or RGB for everything else)?
5. Are transparent areas actually meant to be transparent (not "white that the printer will figure out")?

Five yeses and you'll get a fast quote. One no and you'll get back an email asking questions before we can quote.

The forgiving file formats

If you only know one thing, send us a vector PDF or AI file for logos and graphics, or a high-resolution PNG with proper transparency for raster artwork. Both work for almost every print method, both tell us what we need to know without ambiguity.

And when in doubt, send us the file and ask. We'd rather check before printing than reprint after.