How to prepare print ready artwork

Most artwork problems are caught before printing, which is good, but they still cost a day or two while files are rebuilt. This guide sets out what print ready actually means so that your file goes straight into production.

The 300 dpi rule, and why "at actual size" is the important part

The usual guidance is to supply artwork at 300 dots per inch. That figure only means something once you say at what size.

Resolution is a ratio, not a property of the image on its own. The same file is high resolution at 5 cm and low resolution at 30 cm. So the question is always: how many pixels does this file hold across the width it will actually be printed?

The arithmetic is simple. Pixels needed equals printed width in inches multiplied by 300, and one inch is 2.54 cm.

A few practical notes.

• Enlarging a small file in software does not add detail. It only spreads what is already there, so the result looks soft.
• Between 200 and 300 dpi at final size is usually acceptable for photographic images, because the eye is forgiving on gradual detail. Sharp edges and text want the full 300.
• If in doubt, send the largest original file you have and let us do the measuring.

Vector where you can, high resolution where you cannot

Vector artwork is drawn as shapes rather than pixels, so it can be printed at any size without losing quality. Supply it as AI, EPS, PDF or SVG.

Logos, type, badges, line work and flat graphics should all be vector. Photographs and painted or textured images cannot be, so those need the pixel dimensions above.

A PDF is only vector if it was exported from vector artwork. A PDF containing a screenshot is still a screenshot.

Backgrounds and transparency

Anything that is not part of the design should not be in the file. A white box behind a logo prints as a white box on a coloured garment.

Supply PNG, TIFF, PDF or SVG with a genuinely transparent background. JPG cannot hold transparency at all, so a JPG logo always arrives with a background attached.

Check the edges as well as the middle. Soft, feathered or shadowed edges are difficult to separate cleanly from a background.

Fonts

Type must be either outlined, sometimes called converted to curves or created as paths, or supplied with the font files. Otherwise the text can reflow or be substituted when the file is opened here, and you would not necessarily see it before printing.

Once type is outlined it can no longer be edited, so keep an editable copy for yourself.

Colour

Build print artwork in CMYK where your software allows it, and give brand colours as Pantone references rather than as an on screen appearance. Screens vary too much to be a target on their own.

If a specific colour is critical, tell us at the quoting stage rather than after production, because it can affect which method we recommend.

Line weight, small text and fine gaps

Very thin lines and very small text are the usual casualties at print size. A hairline that looks crisp on screen can drop out or come through broken.

Keep lines and gaps generous enough to survive the press, and check small text at real size rather than zoomed in. If a design carries a phone number or a website address, print it on paper first and read it at arm's length.

Sizes, placement and multiple garment colours

Tell us the intended printed width in centimetres and where the design sits, for example 25 cm wide on the front, centred 7 cm below the collar. That removes guesswork and matches what we set up.

If the same design is going onto both light and dark garments, expect to need two versions rather than one file used everywhere.

The checklist

• Vector file, or a pixel file with enough pixels for the finished width at 300 dpi.
• Transparent background, with clean edges.
• Fonts outlined, or font files supplied.
• Colours in CMYK, brand colours given as Pantone references.
• No hairlines, and small text checked at real size.
• Printed width in centimetres and placement stated.
• Design printed on paper at actual size and viewed from about two metres.

What happens if a file is not ready

We check every file before production and tell you what is wrong, what we would change and whether it needs redrawing. Nothing goes onto a garment until a proof has been approved, so a file that needs work delays a job rather than ruining it.

If you are unsure whether your artwork is usable, send it over and ask. It takes us a few minutes to look, and it is far cheaper than reprinting.