Recommended Art Specifications
Raster Art & Vector Art
Vector art is the preferred format for screen printing, but we can work with any format you may have. In some cases there might be an additional charge to separate and size the art for screen printing.
Another term we use is “native format” which means a file from the program that created it. This will typically be a Photoshop , Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator file, but it could be something like Microsoft Word or Power Point. These files should always be sent with an accompanying PDF file that has been exported or saved from the original file. Vector art just means that it is mathematically created by the computer , as opposed to pixels, so it can be enlarged and won’t distort and is easily separated for screen printing.
Raster art is comprised of pixels , or tiny squares of different colors so when you enlarge them they distort. We can easily convert your design to vector if it is good resolution and good quality (clean crisp edges ). Often times images that have been saved from the web won’t work because they have blurry edges. These images will need to be redrawn, or recreated on the computer. Ideally your art should be 300 dpi ( dots per inch) , at the size it will be printed. Every case is different and we can give you a free estimate for art that needs to be created or re-created.
If you are in doubt if your artwork is vector or suitable for screen printing you can upload it HERE and we will contact you.
Below are examples of poor and good quality raster, (or pixel), images.