What File Do You Need for T-Shirt Printing? Setting Up Artwork Correctly

The ideal t-shirt print file is a PNG with a transparent background, sized at 300dpi at the actual print dimensions — or, better, a vector file (AI, EPS, SVG, PDF) that scales cleanly to any size. Avoid screenshots, social-media images and low-resolution logos: they look fine on screen and blurry on a shirt.

The garment file checklist

Requirement	Why
Transparent background (PNG)	So the shirt shows through, not a white box
300dpi at print size	Sharp print, no pixelation
Actual print dimensions	A 3cm logo can't scale to a 30cm back print
Vector for logos/text	Infinitely scalable, crisp
No JPEG artefacts	JPEGs add a white box and blocky edges

What "print size" means for garments

A standard adult front print is ~25–30cm wide; a left-chest logo ~8–10cm; a full back print up to A3-ish. Build the file at that size at 300dpi — a full front print wants ~3000+ pixels wide. A postage-stamp logo has nothing to enlarge without blur.

The transparent background trap

A logo with a white background printed on a coloured shirt prints that white box too. A proper transparent PNG (or vector) means only the design prints, fabric showing through the gaps. If all you have is a logo on white, we can often cut it out — ask.

Text and thin lines

Keep text and fine lines reasonably bold — very thin elements struggle, especially over a white underbase on dark shirts. Convert text to outlines if supplying vector so fonts don't substitute.

FAQ

Can I send a Canva design? Yes — export transparent PNG (Canva Pro) or send it and we'll advise. My logo's only on Facebook — OK? No, that's low-res. Find the original; we can redraw simple logos as vector for a small fee. Photo on a shirt? Possible with DTF/DTG — supply the highest-resolution original you have.