How to Prepare Your Design for Screen Printing

🎨 How to Prepare Your Design for Screen Printing – A Complete Guide

Getting ready to print your design on T-shirts or merch? Before you send your file to the press, it's important to know how to properly prepare your artwork for screen printing. Whether you’re a designer, brand owner, or first-time customer, this guide will help you ensure your prints come out crisp, accurate, and professional.

At Avodroc Custom Printing, we’ve seen it all—and we’re here to make sure your screen printing project starts with the perfect file setup.

✅ 1. Use High-Resolution Artwork

  • Minimum: 300 DPI (dots per inch)

  • Avoid blurry or pixelated images—low-res files don’t scale well.

  • If unsure, we can help you upscale or vectorize your design.

✅ 2. Create Vector Files When Possible

  • Preferred formats: AI, EPS, SVG, or high-res PDF

  • Vectors allow us to resize without losing clarity

  • Great for logos, text, and clean artwork

If your design is only available as PNG or JPG, make sure it’s high-res (300 DPI) on a transparent background.

✅ 3. Use Solid Colors (No Gradients or Shadows)

Screen printing uses separate screens for each color. That means:

  • Avoid gradients, shadows, or photo effects

  • Stick to flat, solid colors for best results

  • Max color count: Usually 1–6 colors for cost efficiency

Not sure how many colors are in your file? We’ll separate them for you during pre-production.

✅ 4. Convert Text to Outlines

If you're submitting an Illustrator or vector file:

  • Convert all fonts to outlines (or curves)

  • This prevents font issues if we don’t have the typeface installed

✅ 5. Size Your Artwork Properly

  • Standard chest print: 10–12 inches wide

  • Back print: 11–14 inches wide

  • Left chest or sleeve print: 3–4 inches wide

Be sure to position your design as you want it printed—or tell us where you'd like it placed.

✅ 6. Use Transparent Backgrounds

If you're submitting a raster file (PNG or PSD):

  • Remove any white backgrounds unless you want them printed

  • Files should be on a transparent background

✅ 7. Choose the Right File Type

✔️ Best formats:

  • AI

  • EPS

  • SVG

  • PDF (Vector)

  • High-Res PNG (Transparent)

  • PSD (Layered)

🚫 Avoid:

  • Screenshots

  • Word or PowerPoint files

  • Low-res JPEGs pulled from the internet

🔍 Bonus: Use Spot Colors

In screen printing, we use spot colors, not CMYK or RGB. If you're prepping files in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop:

  • Label each color as a spot color

  • Use Pantone codes if possible for color matching

We’ll convert your design if needed—just ask!

📤 Need Help? We’ve Got You

If your file isn’t quite ready, don’t worry—we offer free file checks and expert guidance to make sure your design looks flawless before going to press.

We also offer:

  • ✅ Logo cleanup & vector tracing

  • ✅ Color separation services

  • ✅ Mockups for approval before print

📞 Ready to Print?

📍 Avodroc Custom Printing
1300 East Arapaho Road, Ste 206
Richardson, TX 75081

📱 Call: 469-417-9153
📧 Email: info@avodrocprinting.com
🌐 Order Online: AvodrocPrinting.com