Artwork guidelines.
DTF is forgiving, but great prints start with great files. Here's exactly how to set up artwork so it comes off the press sharp, vivid and true to screen — plus the handful of mistakes worth avoiding.
01 The 30-second version
Send us a PNG with a transparent background, at 300 DPI, sized to the actual dimensions you want printed, in RGB colour. That's it — hit those four and your file will press exactly as it looks on screen.
Transparent PNG
A PNG-24 with a real transparent background — no white box behind the art. JPG works too, but it has no transparency.
300 DPI at size
300 dots per inch measured at the final print size. Bigger source is fine; upscaling a small file is not.
RGB colour
Leave it in RGB. Our RIP handles the CMYK + white conversion — RGB keeps your brights bright.
02 File format
PNG is king. A 32-bit PNG carries a true alpha channel, so your background stays transparent and edges stay clean. Export "PNG-24" (or "PNG with transparency") from any design app.
We also accept JPG, though it has no transparency — use PNG whenever the background must be clear. PDF, TIFF, WebP and vector files (AI, EPS, SVG) cannot be uploaded: export to PNG at 300 DPI first, and outline your fonts before you export so type renders correctly, with the background transparent rather than white.
Avoid JPG where you can — it can't hold a transparent background and its compression softens edges and adds halo artefacts. If a JPG is all you have, we'll knock out the background for you, but a clean PNG always presses better.
03 Resolution & size
Set your artwork up at 300 DPI at the real print size. A design meant to print 25 cm wide should be a 300 DPI file roughly 2950 px wide. That's the sweet spot — sharp detail without a needlessly huge file.
The number that actually matters is pixels at final size. A 4000 px logo printed at 10 cm is beautifully crisp; the same 4000 px stretched to 40 cm starts to soften. When in doubt, send the largest clean version you have — we can always scale down, never meaningfully up.
Our gang-sheet and merch builders show a live quality badge as you place art, flagging anything that would print below ~150 DPI so there are no blurry surprises.
04 Colour & white ink
Keep it in RGB. DTF prints CMYK plus a dedicated white channel, and our RIP does that conversion far better than a manual CMYK export — so an RGB file gives you the most vivid, accurate result. Don't pre-convert to CMYK.
White is automatic. DTF lays down a precision white underbase beneath your colours, which is why prints stay bright and opaque even on black garments — no need to add a white layer yourself. If you genuinely want white in the design, just use pure white (#FFFFFF) in the art and it prints as white ink.
Screen and print are different mediums, so expect very minor shifts — neons and some ultra-saturated blues/greens sit outside what any pigment can hit exactly. For colour-critical brand work, ask us about a sample before a big run.
05 Backgrounds & transparency
Whatever is transparent in your file doesn't print — that's how DTF gives you a contour-cut transfer that follows the shape of your design, with no rectangle around it.
So: knock out the background. A white box that looks invisible on a white artboard will absolutely print as a white rectangle on a coloured garment. Delete it, don't hide it. Feathered or soft edges are fine and press cleanly — you don't need to harshen them.
Need the background removed? All three builders — gang sheet, Custom DTF and merch — have a one-click background remover built in, free, or we'll tidy it during pre-press — just ask.
06 Fine detail & text
DTF holds impressive detail, but there are practical floors. Keep any line, stroke, gap or dot at 0.8 mm or thicker. Below that the transfer tends to soften, break up, or not adhere properly to the garment. Letterforms count too — it is the thin strokes inside type that fail first, so small or light-weight text is the usual culprit. If artwork comes in finer than this we thicken it before printing, or come back to you.
Outline your fonts in vector files, or send raster type at 300 DPI. Gradients and halftones print smoothly — just note that extremely faint fades (a few percent tint) can drop out, so give subtle gradients a little more contrast if they're important.
07 Common fixes
| If your file is… | What happens | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| A JPG | White box prints; soft, haloed edges | Export a transparent PNG-24 instead |
| Low resolution | Blurry, pixelated print | Send 300 DPI at final size, or scale the design down |
| White background | A white rectangle prints around the art | Delete the background so it's transparent |
| CMYK converted | Duller, shifted colours | Send the original RGB file |
| Live (un-outlined) text | Fonts may reflow or substitute | Outline/flatten text, or send a 300 DPI raster |
| Hairline detail | Thin lines break up or lift | Thicken any stroke, gap or dot to 0.8 mm or more |
08 Not sure? Send it anyway
Every order gets a free pre-press check — we look at your file before anything prints and flag resolution, transparency or colour issues before they cost you a run. If something needs a tweak, we'll tell you exactly what and, for most simple fixes (background removal, resize, format), sort it for you.
Want certainty before a big order? Grab a sample or start in one of our builders, where the live quality badge and background remover catch most issues as you go.