There is so much to unpack on the topic of artwork for screen printing. Realistically, this could be a 3 part series but who would want to read that? Plus, full transparency, I’m not writing it. Instead, I’m going to give you a few nuggets and one life-changing tip. Here is the tip: help is only a phone call away.
Here at Hale Ink, we love taking time to help you understand the screen printing process. Feel free to reach out if there is something that you do not understand or if you want more information. With that said, let’s get to it.
Illustrator > Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator is your best friend when designing artwork for screen printing. Fight me, Photoshop users.
If you are going to invest your time on learning how to design your artwork, I would advise you to learn Illustrator first. For some reason, people tend to lean towards Photoshop, and while you can use Photoshop and have success, in my experience, you will get the cleanest artwork out of Illustrator.
If you are looking to outsource your artwork, congrats, you do want to make sure that your designers are using Illustrator. There is nothing more frustrating than paying someone to design your artwork only to find out after the fact that it isn’t print-ready. Here are some formats that will help your artwork get to press faster.
- Adobe Illustrator (.ai file) make sure to outline your text
- Portable Document Format (.pdf file) editable if possible
- Encapsulated PostScript (.eps file)
Now for the raster files, i.e., those fun photoshop files. The critical thing to remember, your artwork must be created at 300 dpi. Please do not go into your settings after your artwork is done and change it from 72dpi to 300dpi… that doesn’t work, and you are not fooling anyone. You will also want to raster your text when creating in photoshop.
We can recreate any artwork that is below specs, so don’t drive yourself crazy. Remember the hot tip: help is only a phone call away.
Photoshop Pro Tip: Always create your design at a larger scale and higher resolution than you need. You can scale art down without any issues, but not vice versa.
Design to Size (unless you’re on photoshop DUH)
At Hale Ink, our maximum print size is 13×16. That is the maximum; you can go smaller, it’s okay. One way to make sure that you get precisely what you want is to create your artwork true to size. It removes all of the guesswork and make’s everyone’s life easier, including yours! If you have a chest print and you want it to be 3.5 inches wide, design it at 3.5 inches wide, easy peasy.
Color Scheme
Right then, this is something that often gets overlooked. When you place an order at HaleInk.com, you will have to select from either our standard colors or if you have a Pantone Book you can submit your PMS Colors and we will gladly mix those up for you. If you know your color scheme and your garment color, you could get crafty and incorporate the t-shirt color into the negative space in your design for some positively excellent results. To guarantee maximum visibility, make sure you have some contrast between the fabric and ink color. If this is too much, remember you can always reach out, and we will walk you through it.
I hope this post has been helpful, for sure it’s a lot to take in for someone just starting. That’s why I continue to stress the importance of communication. Together we can create something special, so if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
