Everything you need to know to prepare the perfect design file

Preparing the perfect design file will ensure optimum print quality for your buyers. With recent updates you can enhance the accuracy and quality of your prints even more. Learn how you can take advantage of this update and optimize your design files for the Teespring Launcher now.

1) File type

We always recommend uploading high-quality PNG files to the launcher. Always make sure your designs have a transparent background too—you can find free tutorials showing you how in GIMP, Photoshop, etc. online. Please note the launcher does not accept EPS files and file size limit for the launcher is 50 MB.

Example of how a PNG file appears when uploaded to the launcher

2) Artwork dimensions

Although artwork dimensions are important, it’s image resolution you really want to pay attention to. We recommend creating designs with 300 DPI (dots per inch) whenever possible. The higher the DPI the higher resolution or quality of your image. The minimum DPI the launcher will accept is 120. If your image resolution is too low we’ll let you know before you can proceed to the next step of creating your listing.

3) Image resolution

We recommend creating designs with the 300 DPI possible (dots per inch). The minimum DPI the launcher will accept is 120.

4) Text

If your design features text you’ll want to make sure it’s legible once printed. For this reason we recommend using fonts that are 10 pts or larger.

5) Color System

The color system you should use depends on your design goal. Teespring’s printers use an RGB workflow so if bright/saturated colors is your goal, then use RGB. Just note that printers do have a limited color gamut and it is not possible to reproduce every single color—for example we don’t recommend using overly bright colors like neons. If color accuracy is your main priority, then the CMYK color space is recommended.

6) NEW: Anti-aliasing

If you want to ensure a cleaner, crisper print around the edges of your design you should export your design files with anti-aliasing turned off.

In Illustrator, when exporting a png, the last dialog box contains the option for turning anti-aliasing on or off. Make sure to select “none” before exporting.

In Photoshop there is no option for turning anti-aliasing on or off in because the images are already rasterized. Instead, make sure the setting called “Nearest Neighbor (hard edges)” is selected as the resampling method in the image size settings.