When you place your order online, your confirmation email will have instructions to reply with your artwork. Our art experts will size, recolor, and place your art as needed for the best possible reproduction and provide a virtual placement proof for your approval. You can use this guideline to ensure your files are properly prepared and suitable for reproduction on the apparel or promo item you selected.

File Types:

Digital files are preferred, but if you do not have suitable digital art, our art team can work with you to transmit your files so they can be recreated for print.

  • Preferred File Types: PDF files, EPS files, SVG images and Adobe Illustrator (.AI) files are preferred, with any images embedded and all fonts converted to curves/outlines.
  • Also Acceptable File Types: Bitmap images (JPG, TIFF, PNG, BMP) saved at a resolution of at least 300 DPI.
  • Additional file types may be accepted, depending on the artwork and decoration method of the selected product.

 

Sending Art Files:

In most cases, attaching your art file(s) to an email are the best method to send art. In some cases, final files may be too large to send via email. In these cases, a link to a file sharing service like Dropbox or Hightail are also suitable.

Converting Text to Curves:

If your art contains text, all text should be converted to curves before it is sent to us. This ensures your fonts will not be substituted out, altering your artwork. On Adobe Illustrator, you can convert your text by clicking “Text” and “Create Curves”. Other drawing programs may have an option to convert fonts to outlines before saving as a PDF. Once your fonts have been converted to outlines, the text can no longer be edited.

Imprint Colors:

For most decoration methods we offer, the Pantone Solid Coated series is the preferred method used for naming and matching colors. CMYK, RGB, or HSLA colors may not always have an exact PMS color match. If you have standard brand PMS colors, please send your art with these colors embedded or also send a brand standards document.

In rare cases, a PMS color match may not be available on the product you chose without a special ink mix. In these cases, our team will contact you with the closest available stock colors, or, if available, the cost for a special ink mix for a PMS color match.

 

Filters, Effects, and Halftones

Popular in digital design and in commercial print on paper, effects and filters do not generally reproduce well on printed promotional items. Bevels, shadows, glows, or similar effects should be removed from your art before saving. Halftones may be able to be reproduced, but the minimum screened percentage will vary depending on the item and imprint size. Some products do not support halftones.

Vector vs. Raster Art

Vector artwork is preferred for most apparel and promotional products. Vector art is created with points, lines, and curves, and can be scaled to any size or recolored without distortion.

Raster art, or bitmaps, is made with pixels. When resized, raster art becomes distorted, making it unsuitable for reproduction unless sent at a high resolution (300 DPI minimum) at least as large as the imprint area for your chosen product.

 

Full Color Artwork

Many of the items on our site list that they are full color capable, or offer a digital full color upgrade. Full color decoration is achieved with a CMYK color palette. Digital reproduction is great for fine detail, photographic images, or designs that require halftones/gradients, but do not always allow for a perfect color match.

Any raster art sent for full color decoration should be sent in high resolution (at least 300 DPI), sized at least as large as the imprint area for the product chosen.  Most images used online or on websites are low resolution (72 DPI) and are unsuitable for printing on products. Changing the canvas resolution in a drawing program like Photoshop does not actually change the resolution, and in some cases will actually create more distortion.

Have additional questions? Prefer to design your imprint yourself using a print template? Need help determining if your art is suitable for a particular product or decoration method? Please don’t hesitate to drop us a line – we’re here to help and make the process simple!