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Custom Shirts
A few minutes spent on your file is the difference between a shirt that looks professionally made and one that looks improvised. Here is exactly what to send.
Accepted formats
PNG, JPG, JPEG or WEBP
Maximum file size
5 MB
Recommended long edge
1500 to 3000 pixels
Best background
Transparent
File Formats
The customization tool accepts PNG, JPG, JPEG or WEBP files up to 5 MB. All four work, but they are not equally good for every kind of design.
Best choice for logos and text
PNG supports a transparent background, so only your artwork prints and the shirt color shows through everywhere else. Sharp edges and small type stay crisp.
Good modern alternative
WEBP also supports transparency and produces a smaller file at the same quality, which is handy if your artwork is close to the size limit.
Best for photographs
JPG has no transparency, so your design arrives inside a rectangle of its own background color. That is fine for photographs and full width panels, less so for a logo.
If the tool rejects your file, it is almost always one of two things. Either the format is not on the accepted list, which usually means a PDF, an SVG or a design file from an editor, or the file is larger than 5 MB. Exporting your artwork again as a PNG at a sensible size solves both.
Resolution And Detail
Print reproduces far more detail than a screen shows, so a file that looks perfectly sharp in a browser tab can still print soft.
Aim for at least 1500 pixels on the long edge, and 2400 pixels or more if the design covers the full chest. A file that looks fine on screen at 400 pixels wide will look soft once it is printed at ten inches across, because print packs far more detail into the same space than a display does.
Scaling a small image up in an editor does not add detail, it just spreads the pixels you already have. If the only copy of your logo is a small one, ask whoever made it for the original artwork rather than stretching what you have.
Crop tight to your artwork before uploading. Leftover empty margins become part of the image, which makes your design sit smaller inside the safe print area than you expect and pushes it off center.
Small type and thin outlines are the first things to suffer in printing. Keep line weights reasonably solid and leave a little breathing room around any text, so nothing sits right on the boundary of the print area.
Flat shapes, bold marks and clean type print beautifully on fabric. Soft gradients, drop shadows and very fine textures are the hardest things to reproduce and often lose their subtlety once they are on cotton.
Backgrounds And Color
This is where most custom shirt designs go wrong, and it is also the easiest thing to check before you order.
Dark artwork on a Black or Navy shirt disappears, and pale artwork on White does the same. Switch shirt colors in the customization tool with your design already loaded and you will see the mismatch immediately.
If your logo was saved as a JPG, its background is white even when it looks transparent in a preview. On a colored shirt that white rectangle prints too. Use a PNG or WEBP with real transparency instead.
A display emits light while fabric reflects it, so printed colors read slightly deeper and softer than they do on screen. Very bright neons in particular settle down once printed.
The strongest custom shirts have a clear difference in lightness between the artwork and the shirt. If you are unsure, view your design on both a light and a dark shirt in the preview before deciding.
When you select a file, the customization tool reads it directly on your own device to build the preview. Your artwork is not uploaded to a server at any point while you are designing, which is why it appears on the shirt the instant you choose it rather than after a progress bar. A compact copy of the design travels with your order details so your shirt can be printed the way you approved it.
Clearing your browser data or designing on a different device starts you with a blank tool, so keep your original artwork file safe on your own machine.