Description:
To ensure you will get the shirt you want in a timely manner and with no added fees, make sure you read our guideline. DTG printing is the fastest and most economical method for printing t-shirts but it comes with very specific requirements that should be followed in order to achieve the best result. Read our design guidelines below to make sure you get it right. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us so we can answer your questions and guide you step by step.
TYPE OF FILE
- We only accept files in PNG or JPEG
- PNG files- for those with transparent background
- JPEG files- for other types of background but not transparent
REQUIRED FILE SIZE
- 300dpi is standard, sometimes 150 is acceptable but never lower. Artworks with less than 150dpi will have bad quality. Make sure you won’t go below it.
- Largest possible print size on DTG is 4500 × 5700 pixels or the equivalent of 15” × 19” at 300 DPI. If the artwork is larger, the mockup generator will automatically crop the image.
COLOR PROFILE
- Use sRGB color profile to ensure your design looks the same when printed as it does on screen. Otherwise, your red on your computer screen might look orange on the garment, for example. Use sRGB and you'll get great, accurate colors everywhere all the time.
TEMPLATES
- When submitting artwork using our templates, remove the guide layers so they will not show up on the print.
BLEED
- Bleed is a term that refers to printing of the design that goes beyond the final trim edge of any piece of printed artwork to ensure the main elements of an artwork is not cut off. When designing your artwork, make sure you won’t put very important design elements near the edges.
ZIPPERS, BUTTONS, POCKETS
- If you choose a shirt with zippers and buttons, or pockets, avoid placing the design near them where an automatic cutoff might occur.
TYPE OF FABRIC
- 100% cotton is best for DTG. It doesn’t matter what colour your t-shirt is, cotton will retain the ink much better giving you an exact copy of your design.
- Take note that the same design will look different depending on the material you print it on. A t-shirt may absorb the ink well and look sharp, whereas another product such as a hoodie might look faded out because it absorbs the ink differently.
A NOTE ON BLACK SHIRTS
- Black ink will appear gray on black garments because of the white underbase. Make sure you don’t design the artwork with black color if you will print it on a black tee. Leave these areas fully transparent and submit as a .png file.
SEMI-TRANSPARENT DESIGNS
- Unfortunately, DTG doesn’t produce good designs with lowered opacity. Use solid colors only or create an illusion of semi-transparency by halftoning.
COLORS
- Three colors or less is ideal. Color is always a big consideration when you make a design, and at times, due to enthusiasm, people tend to use too many colors. This should be avoided for too many colors give a chance for more colors to clash with each other, ruining your design and shirt.
- Light ink elements on bright-colored garments might look tinted. This is most evident on Red
- And again:
* Use solid colors only.
* Make sure you don’t design the artwork with black color if you will print it on a black tee.
SOME DESIGN TIPS
- Avoid having a perfect square or rectangle for your designs
For people who use photographs for designs on your shirts, this is a must. Have the background removed or have a border for it. Otherwise, your shirt will look like an iron-on instead.
- Design placements should be considered
There are some designs that are not symmetrical and at times we tend to find the center of the design. However, you should not look for the center based on the width. Place your design on the center that is based on what is visually the center.
- Typography and fonts
Make sure it’s readable! And remember, less is more. The advised number of fonts to be used in a single design is 3 fonts max.
- Low contrast
Contrast is the level of visual difference between the lighter and darker parts of an image. The highest contrast is not the goal of most, and if you are more on the subtle side of this then try to achieve a low-contrast instead of having no contrast at all.
- Pay attention to the inversion
Inversion is very crucial in designs that are in white ink, and are printed on black shirts. Unless you want your designs to look like x-rays, you should pay attention to this.