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How to add photos and artwork to Teespring products

Teespring’s new product options create exciting opportunities to sell your photos and artwork. Creating design files from existing photos or art (like paintings) is easier than you might think! Continue reading for insight on how you can showcase your creativity and earn some extra cash with Teespring.

Selling artwork on products

Your painting is finished. Woohoo! Now it’s time to translate your masterpiece into digital art. It’s not always easy to capture the essence of your art in digital form, which is why it’s important that you put some consideration into the process of getting your art from canvas to the Teespring product of choice. There are two main approaches to digitizing your art:

  • Take a high-resolution photo of your painting: make sure to avoid small or out-of-focus photos and problems with color, lighting or shadows. Get more photo tips below.
  • Scan your artwork: if you don’t have a good camera, or just cannot get a good photo, you can also scan your artwork in pieces (if it’s larger art) and stitch it together in Photoshop. If you scan artwork make sure the scanner settings are identical for each part scan, either by overriding the auto settings or by previewing once and then doing all the scans.

From canvas…

…to product!

Photograph design file tips

Your artwork is high quality, so photographs of them should be too! In order to give potential art collectors a version that best represents the original piece you need to know how to take great photos of your artwork. Get more design file tips here.

  • Artwork dimensions: For photographs, it’s best to upload high-resolution images that are close to the print specifications (slide 10) – e.g., If printing at 11″ x 8″ tall, an 11″ x 8″ image at 300 DPI is best.  Any scaling-up of lower resolution images can lead to reduced print quality.
  • Color system: We use an RGB workflow.  Our DTG machines print Red and Green, as well as the traditional CMYK, which allows for a larger color gamut.
  • File formats: We recommend high-resolution PNGs with transparent backgrounds, although JPGs are also accepted—PNGs with transparent backgrounds are the preferred file format.

Selling photography on products

Photographs also look great on our new products! Here are some tips for the types of photos that sell best:

  1. Be sure the photo is high quality and the main focal point of the image is in focus.
  2. Make sure the image isn’t ‘too busy’. Simple images will work best from a print standpoint.
  3. Choose an image that can appeal to a broader audience. A beautiful photo of a sunset will go a long way compared to a photo of your pet.

Before setting up your listing be 100% sure that you own the rights to your image. If this is a photo you took yourself, then you’re all set! But if this is from a friend or other photographer, ensure that you have explicit, written permission before selling this design.

If you’re thinking of using images from stock sites, be sure to check their terms and conditions in regards first. For example, Unsplash allows users to download and use photos in their commercial and promotional materials for free, but they condemn users from actually selling their photos.  

Artwork created by illustrator & Teespring seller Pencil Fingerz (Davis Graham) for high-profile clients 

 

 

 

52 responses to “How to add photos and artwork to Teespring products

  1. Renee Ekleberry says:

    I followed these guidelines but my images do NOT upload most of the time. I get the error message. Sometimes after I try 3, 4, 5 times it will upload. Sometimes not at all after MANY tries. I have decreased the DPI to 240 but still it won’t upload. Any suggestions?

    1. Kate Shoaf says:

      Hey Renee – can you contact [email protected] please and see if they’re able to help?

  2. Ben Luer says:

    My photos are to busy as stated above- Is there a way I could still use my ideas for products or do I need to use another ship on demand.
    Is there another option?

    Thanks

    1. Kate Shoaf says:

      Hey Ben – make sure to upload high-resolution photo files. You can learn more here.

  3. Nick says:

    Whenever I upload a photo, it doesn’t display anywhere on the shirt. The boundary box for resizing the photo and readjusting the location works fine, but I can’t see the actual photo or design on the shirt.

    1. Kate Shoaf says:

      Please report this to [email protected] for our tech team to investigate.

  4. Sarah says:

    I created some line work art that some people are interested in having printed on canvas so that they can paint it, kind of like a paint by number thing. Would these canvases work for that?

    1. Erica Bickel says:

      Hey Sarah, I would not recommend these canvases for that.

  5. GREGORY S DRAISS says:

    impossible to get answers of FAQ search. I want add text to a live listing AND NOWHERE DOES IT TELL YOU HOW

    1. Erica Bickel says:

      Hey Gregory, editing live listings is currently a feature unavailable on Teespring.

  6. Kim Rymer says:

    I need the background to leave any ideas

    1. Erica Bickel says:

      Hey Kim, photoshop is one of the most popular softwares to use to remove a background.

  7. Holly Arledge says:

    I want to use my Fathers paintings. They are oil or acrylic paint on canvas. They are a broadcast of color in mixed media. The glorious, differences between woman from all over the world represented in harmony in these times were women have to stand as One! Harmony inspired humanity . Y’all

  8. khaled says:

    multiple files failed to upload even when ive only put in text

    1. Erica Bickel says:

      Hey Khaled, I can confirm everything is working as normal on our end. 🙂

  9. Daniel Pacl says:

    Resize, move, and rotate tools won’t work. They show up grey and disappear when touched. Art uploads fine but can’t reposition on shirt.

    1. Kate Shoaf says:

      Hey Daniel! If you’re having trouble using the launcher can you contact [email protected] so they can see what could be causing the issue?

    2. Vicky says:

      Same thing I’m experiencing now 😩.

    3. Mark Thomas says:

      Same problem here. I’ve tried Firefox and Chrome – both on Android

    4. Laura says:

      I’m reaching out in regards to the print quality on merchandise I purchased from my store. I received 5 shirts that I purchased from my shop to see the quality of printing. Sadly, some of the printing on the shirts lacks detail and the vibrant color it shows on the design. 1 out of the 5 shirts has excellent print quality.
      When designing the items I made sure not to have any poor quality images in design. I would like to make sure the printing quality is excellent on all merchandise since I have customers purchasing these items. I hope the customers that did purchase items already will receive excellent printed merchandise. I want them to be 100% satisfied with their purchase.
      I would love it if you could reprint the shirts I purchased as I was going to use them to market the products but am disappointed in the quality. And all purchased items from customers to have replaced items that are not 100% print quality.

      1. Lucy Ford says:

        Hi Laura, sorry to hear there was an issue with the print quality on your products! Could you please reach out to [email protected] for assistance with this

  10. Andy Young says:

    Can u design using a mobile phone or does it need be pc?
    I have a note 9 with s-pen. However when I try position the image of resize it, it doesn’t work. Yet I can rotate it & delete it no problem.

    1. Lucy Ford says:

      Hey! When uploading a design to a product on Teespring, you will need to use a PC to do so.

  11. Tony says:

    How can I bulk duplicate on teespring. I have a lot of designs that need to upload to teespring platform

    1. Lucy Ford says:

      Hey Tony, there isn’t a function for bulk duplicating just yet but keep your eyes peeled for platform updates this year!

  12. Virginia says:

    I can’t figure out how to put text/sayings on anything. The only thing that happens is the word “Text” shows on the clothing but I can’t put anything on other than that. HOW do you put writing on your items?

    1. Lucy Ford says:

      Hey, you should be able to customize the text with that tool – please email [email protected] if you’re still having issues

  13. Zahara says:

    I uploaded my visual artworks for my T-shirts designs but the previews don’t appear in the high quality. Even tough I uploaded the high-quality image. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

    1. Lucy Ford says:

      Hey Zahara, please email [email protected] for assistance!

  14. byron says:

    Load of rubbish no help what so ever.

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey there, sorry to hear this! Is there anything you need help with?

  15. Ivonne Mateos says:

    I uploaded art on my account but I can’t seem to find it in the listings when I search for it as a “customer”. Even when I’m typing the actual title of the piece! Why is that? Also are they keywords or tags that can be inserted in the listings for search purposes? If so how can I do that? Thank you very much!

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Marketplace search results are ranked based on an algorithm combining buyer search terms, listing keywords, sales history, and seller trust scores. To increase your ranking in search results we recommend optimizing listings, driving sales, and complying with our design policies.
      https://community.teespring.com/training-center/seller-trust-score/
      https://community.teespring.com/training-center/campaign-description-tips/

  16. Kelly Cox says:

    I’m really frustrated that I’m unable to edit my uploaded designs. I’ve uploaded almost 50 designs TO SELL on my NEW BUSINESS with the wrong size/resolution and I can’t and don’t know how to fix this. The photos are PNG files but I saved them at 2500px, not realizing that wasn’t large enough. I recently placed an order for shirts for my client. I’m very unhappy with how they turned out. I ordered the Next Level “premium” tee just so I can get the light blue color, but these shirts are see-through and my design is extremely grainy and blurry. I do have photos of the horrible quality. I MUST get these reprinted and I need help to get the right photos on my listings so my buyers won’t experience bad quality prints. Please fix your website by allowing more accessibility for sellers to make changes to their listings and make all editable tools on one page instead of going to listings to change price and description, then go to edit storefront to change other things, It WOULD BE GREAT if all listings opened up on one page to edit all at once instead of clicking on each individually. I don’t have time to redo a whole new website just because I accidentally uploaded the wrong photos. That’s NOT right. I could’ve had this fixed by now if I could change my product photo. I’m very upset that I’m a new customer and seller and already have these unnecessary and inconvenient issues.

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey, as well as checking that your image is the right size by dragging it to the guide lines on the product, you need to make sure your photo has the correct resolution. Please also keep in mind that if the launcher says ‘great’ this means your design file has a high DPI, which usually indicates the print quality will also be good. The main thing is to ensure your design image is of sufficient size and sharpness. One way to test this is to open the file on your computer screen to about the size you want want it printed and see if it looks blurry or pixelated.
      We are working on giving users the ability to edit listing designs in bulk, I will suggest your account for access to beta testing. Can you please contact [email protected] regarding your reprint and our team can take a look?

  17. Shira says:

    Art spring on different products are useful to surprise our loved one’s with these gifts.

  18. amar says:

    i tried to upload designs on items but it kept saying “multiple files failed to upload”. i have tried the designs i put before but still says the same error. what happened suddenly? now i can’t create any designs

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey, sorry to hear this! Is this issue still happening for you?

  19. Kelise Leftwich says:

    Does your website provide copyright protection of your own designs, or do you recommend registering them?

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey! You can find out more information regarding copyright here. https://teespring.com/en-GB/policies/ip

  20. clarkmunkh says:

    I have tried to upload all day, waste of time, keep crushing down, Redbubble and other sites work just fine and so fast, what’s up with that.

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey! We’re so sorry to hear this. Are you still experiencing these issues? Let us know on [email protected] and we can certainly get to the bottom of this for you!

  21. Anwar Thomas says:

    I have been receiving a multiple files failed to upload message all day. The images are less than 50M. They are one color png files. I tried uploading files I’ve successfully uploaded previously and it still doesn’t work.

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey Anwar! Thank you for flagging this. Are you still experiencing this issue? I’d recommend reporting issues like this to [email protected] in future so we’re immediately aware and can resolve it quicker.

  22. NA STYLES says:

    If i try to upload any png file on a t-shirt It’s shows
    Multiple files failed to upload (Retry?)
    like this. I need kindly how to fix this?

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey, have you checked the size of your file? Double check you have followed the guidelines in the Design resources section of the Training center. https://community.teespring.com/training-center/design-file-tips-best-practices/

  23. Gee says:

    Hi, I cannot see any of my listings. Whenever I try to view my Listings I keep getting this error message: “Uh oh… We hit an error on our server.
    Please try again later. You can can also try to return home or go back to the previous page.” But when I follow the instructions it just goes back to the same error message – this is really frustrating, can you explain how to fix this please? Thanks.

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey, please reach out to [email protected] in future and we can identify a solution quicker.

  24. Mike Stavinoga says:

    I Can see my product but it says next print suspended, when I just loaded from Launcher. When I click on my product it gives me this prompt: This campaign is no longer available due to content issues. Need help.

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hey, it looks like your product might have been flagged. Please check our answers page about our acceptable use policy. If you don’t see any way your designs applies to any of the guidelines on this page, please reach out to [email protected] and we can get to the bottom of this for you.

  25. Snuggles The Macaw says:

    I have not been able to update my listings for weeks. Why are your customers unable to update listings? This should be part of your customer experience to be able to adjust or update listings. When will you change and allow updates?

    1. Luiza Jordan says:

      Hello! You can now edit current listings and designs. Go to the listings section of your dashboard, click the mini pencil edit icon and then then “edit or add designs”.

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