Preparing Artwork Files for Printing
Which file formats print well, why a JPG logo gets a white box on a colored shirt, and what to do when your only logo is on an old shirt.
You can skip this entirely by describing what you want in plain English and never uploading a thing. This page is for when you already have a logo and want it to come out right.
The three formats we accept
PNG is the safe default, but only if it has a transparent background. SVG is better when you have it — it is math rather than pixels, so it stays sharp at any size. JPG works, with one important catch below.
Why your logo has a white box around it
JPG cannot store transparency. Every JPG is a rectangle, and if the area around your logo looks white on your screen, it is white — not empty. Print that on a navy shirt and you get your logo inside a white rectangle.
The fix is a PNG saved with a transparent background, or an SVG. If all you have is a JPG, say so in the chat and we can rebuild it.
Vector versus pixels, without the jargon
A pixel file (PNG, JPG) is a fixed grid of colored dots. Blow it up and you are stretching those dots, which is why enlarging a small logo looks soft and blocky.
A vector file (SVG) stores instructions — "a circle here, this text in this font" — and redraws itself at any size. That is why a designer will ask for vector art.
For a chest print you generally want at least 1500 pixels across. A logo copied off a website is often 200 pixels wide, which looks fine on screen and blurry a foot wide on a shirt.
The screenshot problem
Grabbing a logo off your own website usually gets you a small, compressed, white-backgrounded copy — the worst version of your own artwork. If someone made your logo, ask them for the original: request an SVG, or a PNG at 2000 pixels wide with a transparent background.
When the only copy is on an old shirt
This happens constantly with teams and clubs whose logo predates anyone currently involved. Photograph it as flat and evenly lit as you can, upload that, and describe what it should be. We can rebuild it as clean artwork rather than printing a photo of fabric.
Before you order
Check the mockup at the size it will actually print. Fine lines and small text are where problems hide, and our design tips covers what survives at a distance. Sizing and color choices live on the size guide and color guide.