Welcome to the art department

We are here to help you create an outstanding print from your original image, logo, design or idea. Please contact us if you have any questions about the best approach for your project. For the best results, please use our image guidelines and templates below to submit your art for production.

• Think about the size of the image, and how it will look on the garments you choose.
An important factor is the size of your image with regard to the size of the printable area on the garments. A print sized to the average garment size for the order will look best. Pockets, very large or small garments, and low necks can all cause image sizing issues.

• Consider the images edge and how it will look floating on a background color.
When creating or considering an image for printing on garments it is important to consider both the edges of your image as well as the background color. Screen printed images tend to float on the background, as opposed to prints on paper which are naturally framed by the documents edges.

• The number of colors in an image is important.
Each color in an image requires a separate screen, which adds to setup and print times. White and black also add to the number of screens needed, and dark garments require yet another color for under-printing. When designing an image think about the number of different colors you will be using. If you already have an image you would like to print, our art department can help you determine the best approach.

We accept many types of image files and art, and can help you find the best way to get your image to us.

Original art - Images created on paper or canvas can be scanned, adjusted and re-sized by our art department for your print project. Originals should be no less then half the final print size for best results.

Scanned art:
Scanned images provided to our art department should be scanned at 150 ppi @ 100% print size or higher.

Digital files:
File types - We accept digital files in several popular formats.

Adobe Illustrator (.ai) eps, Pdf and svg.

Image resolution - Images should be created at a resolution between 150 and 300 ppi. Resampling images to increase resolution is not recommended for quality reproduction. If your image resolution is too low, please send us your file at the original size and our graphics technicians can determine the maximum print size.

Fonts - Fonts can be converted to outlines in vector formats, converted to shape layers in the Adobe Photoshop format, or embedded in a Pdf file. Fonts can also be included as a separate file.

Colors - Colors can be specified as Pantone® solid spot colors if needed. Our Pantone mixing system and quality inks allow us to mix a wide range of colors on various color substrates. For questions about exact Pantone color matching talk to one of our experienced sales representatives.

Color Separations - Each color in a multi color image is printed using a single screen on the printing press. Colors can also be blended to produce a full range of colors to represent any image type.
Our experienced staff creates quality, high end color separations in house for professional quality printing on short and long print runs.

Customer provided separations and CMYK - We can accept color separations provided by our customers, although  we always recommend using our in house professionals for the best results. In most cases we will convert a CMYK document into a custom or Simulated process color separation for best results over the entire print run.
About CMYK, Simulated process and custom colors

Images created in Adobe Photoshop can be saved with layers in the Photoshop format (.psd) Use layers in the normal blend mode with transparency for printing on dark substrates. A background layer can be filled with the intended garment color for preview. Including shape, font and additional image layers is helpful. Images should be at print size with a resolution between 150 ppi (photos) and 300 ppi (graphics, type).

Avoid saving files as jpeg's when creating images for screen printing, or using jpeg compression in the Pdf format. If file compression is needed, use tiff with lzw compression, png 24 or 32 , or a file compression utility such as zip or stuffit.

Designs created in Adobe Illustrator should be sized to the intended print size. Text should be converted to outlines, or the font must be included. Spot colors can be used for designing images intended for spot color separations. A spot color white can be used for creating printable white image areas.

• Hats no larger then 4.25"w by 2.25"h
• Front left chest 4" by 4" max.
• Full back 10" by 10" max.
The size of a design depends on the limitations of the item being embroidered, and the hoops used to hold the  fabric. Our sales team can help you choose the right sizes for the garments and accessories you select.

• Keep details to 1 mm or larger.
The details in an embroidered design are made using threads. Each color, line or fill is created using a thread or thread pattern, which limits the level of detail.  Keeping designs simple and bold will help to ensure your image looks its best.
Our art department can help simplify your existing design so it will retain it's impact while producing a quality final product.

• Keep letter sizes to 5mm tall or larger, 6 mm for lowercase.
• Avoid serif or script fonts at small sizes.
Bold and sanserif fonts will always produce the best results and are recommended. Script and display fonts that are part of your logo or design should be made as  large as possible to ensure legibility

• Limit the number of colors used to improve visibility and increase impact.
• Replace gradients with solids wherever possible.
We can embroider up to 14 individual colors on a image, however, the best looking designs will only have up to 9 or 10 colors. Color blends such as gradients are often done with 3 or more colors, and look best when used in larger areas of an image.

• Decide which type of items you would like to embroider so your image can be adjusted accordingly.
Images are digitized to a format that can be used by our embroidery machines. Different materials may require a different approach to digitizing, and our professional digitizer will take this into account when creating your digital file. Materials which are very different may require separate files for good results. Our professional staff can help determine the best approach for the items you are using.