Apparel printing
A T-shirt print file: size, background and resolution
A T-shirt file is only the print, without the T-shirt photo, at the size it should have on the fabric. Most often a PNG with a transparent background at 300 DPI. A typical front is about 28 × 35 cm, and a chest logo about 8–10 cm wide.
- Format
- PNG with transparency or vector PDF
- Resolution
- 300 DPI at print size
- Front
- About 28 × 35 cm, usually max. A3
- Chest logo
- About 8–10 cm wide
Common mistakes
- A white background in the file. On a coloured T-shirt it prints as a white rectangle.
- Too low resolution. A 300 × 300 px website logo on a T-shirt front gives about 27 DPI.
- Too thin lines. Lines below about 0.5 mm may not transfer with DTF or may fill in with screen printing.
- A dark design on a dark T-shirt. Navy on black fabric almost disappears.
A file from the T-shirt designer
In the T-shirt designer the customer designs inside a print area sized by the shop, sees the design on a photo of the T-shirt in the chosen colour, and removes a photo background in one click. Only the print goes to production, as a 300 DPI PNG with transparency. See T-shirt designer.
Frequently asked questions
What print size for a T-shirt front?
Most often 25–30 cm wide. Less for small sizes and children’s T-shirts.
Can I send a JPG?
JPG has no transparency, so the background prints together with the artwork. A PNG or PDF is better.
How many pixels for an A4 print?
At 300 DPI, 2480 × 3508 px.
See also
Try the designer on your own products
30 days free, no card and no automatic payments. Standard costs 58 EUR net per month, Premium 80 EUR. One shop and one order system are included.