DTG Artwork Guidlines
Direct to Garment Printing (DTG) is a highly versatile form of printing that allows for the printing of almost any artwork, from photographs to drawings. As a form of digital printing , DTG produces high quality and accurate results.
While our printers can achieve amazing detail and quality, the end product will only be as good as the artwork that is put in. To ensure the best quality of print we have provided a list of guidelines to help you achieve the perfect end result!
Quick Guide
Print Size Guidelines
We have two pallet sizes that we are able to use. Our large pallet is generally used for men’s T-Shirts and sweaters. Where as our small pallet is suited for smaller garments such as kids, women’s and cushions.
A more detailed version of our printable areas for each garment is available below. If your artwork is larger than the printable area of your garment then the artwork will be scaled down for you.
Please Note:
It is your responsibility to size artwork to print. Our production team will not know how the print is supposed to look and will print the artwork as it comes.
Things to consider
Artwork alignment
An important part of setting up your artwork for print is thinking about where you want the artwork to sit on the garment.
In the examples below you will see that the artwork is positioned slightly different on each garment.
This is dependant on how the artwork is set up.
In the top image the artwork is placed as if the centre of the artwork is lined up with the centre of the garment. Whereas in the bottom image, padding (empty space) has added to the right-hand side so that the globe is centred.
How to prepare your artwork
To get your artwork print ready you can follow our step by step guide to preparing your artwork.
However if you are struggling with our steps and need help in regards to artwork, do get in touch as we have a team of designers that will be able to help.
Illustrator
If you are working from an Illustrator file, while it is possible to export as a PNG from Illustrator, we do not recommend exporting the artwork from illustrator. It is best to export the artwork as a Photoshop document first and then saving it as a PNG from Photoshop.
To export the Illustrator file as a Photoshop file, Go to File> Export and select the ‘Export As’ option. Select Photoshop as the file type and save. In the next box select ‘write layers’, this will make the file more editable in Photoshop.
Once the Photoshop document is created follow our instructions on getting your artwork print ready, on the following page.
How to prepare your artwork
1. Transparency
First remove any background colour that you don’t want printed or would like to remain transparent. You can either delete the layer or turn off its visibility in the layers panel.
2. Trim
Next trim your design so that there are no transparent pixels surrounding your design.
Image > Trim
3. Size and Resolution
Check your image is sized at your required print size and that the resolution is at 300 dpi.
Image > Image Size
4. Alignment
In the example (left) the guides show the desired center point of the artwork. If the center of your artwork is offset from the center of the artboard then you should add padding (shown in pink) to create equal space either side. You can do this using the crop tool to expand the artboard size.
5. Save as PNG
Save your artwork as a PNG.
To save as a PNG you will need to change the colour mode to RGB. Our printers will then convert these back to CMYK.
Image > Mode
Checklist
Before you send us your artwork please make sure you can check off all the boxes below,
- Is the artwork 300 dpi?
- Is the artwork sized to print?
- Does the artwork have a transparent background?
- Is the artwork cropped and centred and ready to print ?
- Has it been saved as a PNG?