The artwork question answered once and for all — which file format each decoration method needs, what "vector" actually means, and the checklist that keeps your bulk order from stalling at the art-approval stage.
The single most common delay on bulk apparel orders isn’t production — it’s artwork. Someone sends us a logo pulled off the company website, 400 pixels wide, on a white background, and the order sits in limbo while we chase down a usable file. This guide tells you exactly what to send for each decoration method, how to check whether the file you have is good enough, and what it costs to fix it when it isn’t.
Every logo file is one of two types, and knowing which one you have answers most artwork questions before they’re asked.
Vector files (.ai, .eps, .svg, some .pdf) store your logo as mathematical shapes. They scale to any size — business card or banner — with perfectly crisp edges. If your logo was made by a designer, a vector master exists somewhere. This is the file every printer wants.
Raster files (.png, .jpg, .gif) store your logo as a grid of pixels. Enlarge them and they blur. A raster file can absolutely work for printing — but only if it’s big enough: the standard is 300 DPI at the actual print size. A logo printed 10 inches wide needs to be about 3,000 pixels across. The 400-pixel logo from your website header is roughly 1.3 inches of usable print — fine for a chest crest, useless for a full front print.
Different methods have different appetites. Here’s the summary, then the details.
| Method | Ideal file | Acceptable fallback | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen print | Vector (.ai / .eps / .pdf) | High-res PNG, 300 DPI at print size | Colour counts — each colour is a separate screen |
| DTG | PNG, transparent background, 300 DPI | Vector (we export it for you) | White or solid backgrounds; semi-transparent effects |
| DTF | PNG, transparent background, 300 DPI | Vector | Very thin lines and faint gradients near the edges |
| Embroidery | Vector + digitized stitch file (.dst / .pes) | Any clean logo — we digitize it | Tiny text, fine detail, gradients |
Screen printing builds your design one colour at a time, one screen per colour. A vector file lets us separate those colours cleanly and match them properly — if your brand has official Pantone (PMS) colour codes, send them with the artwork and we can match against them rather than guessing from a screen preview. A high-resolution raster file can work for simpler jobs, but colour separation from a flattened image takes longer and costs more in setup time.
Both digital methods print exactly what’s in your file, pixels and all. The ideal handoff is a PNG with a transparent background, sized at 300 DPI at the dimensions you want printed. Two common traps: a white background that prints as a visible white rectangle on a coloured tee, and low-opacity or “glow” effects, which digital printers render as unpredictable semi-transparent ink. If your design uses those effects, tell us — we’ll flag anything that won’t translate before it goes to press.
Embroidery machines don’t read images at all — they read stitch files (.dst, .pes and similar) that tell the needle where to go. Converting your logo into stitches is called digitizing, it’s done once per logo, and the file is reused on every future order. Industry-wide, digitizing a standard left-chest logo typically runs in the $10–$60 range as a one-time fee (illustrative range — complex jacket-back designs cost more; ask us for an exact number with your quote). Two design constraints to know up front: text under about 6 mm tall won’t stitch legibly, and gradients don’t exist in thread — a good digitizer approximates them with solid colour blocks, and we’ll show you a stitch preview before anything goes on a garment.
Run through this before you request a quote and your order will move as fast as our press can run:
This is most of the orders we see, and it’s rarely fatal. Three ways forward, in order of preference:
Hunt for the master file first. The designer who made your logo, your marketing agency, even an old print vendor — someone probably has the vector. Ten minutes of email archaeology is free and beats every other option.
Let us redraw it. For most logos, our art department can rebuild a clean vector from a decent reference image. Simple text-and-shape logos are quick; detailed illustrated logos take longer. It’s a one-time cost quoted with your order, and you keep the vector file for everything you print afterwards — with anyone, not just us.
Print small. If the file is only good enough for a 3-inch print, a left-chest placement at that size can still look sharp. We’ll tell you the honest maximum size your file supports rather than printing something blurry at the size you asked for.
Every order gets a digital proof: your logo, at the agreed size and placement, on the garment colour you picked. Nothing prints until you approve it. This is also where we catch the last category of artwork problems — a logo that reads fine on a white background but vanishes on a navy hoodie, or thin strokes that need thickening for embroidery. Proof revisions for placement and sizing are part of the process; a full redesign is a separate conversation.
If you’re still deciding which garment or decoration method to put the logo on, start with our decoration method comparison or browse the catalog — the fabric you choose determines the method, and the method determines the file we’ll ask for.
Send it with your quote request. We’ll check it for free, tell you the maximum clean print size, and quote any art fixes up front — no surprises at proof stage.
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