It is preferable to receive vector images such as Adobe Illustrator (.ai), Corel Draw (.cdr), and Illustrator (.eps) files. We will accept other formats like BMP, JPG, GIF, EMF, and WMF. Graphic artwork can come into one of two formats: vector or raster (bit map).

Vector-based images are mainly used for spot-color separations such as typefaces, solid-colored graphics and clip-art images. Vector art images identify the math coordinates (or vectors) between point A and point B and the image is made up of connected lines.

Raster-based images are designed for high-end, photorealistic work. These images are used for digital printing and process color printing. These images consist of small pixels (or dots) of color that are connected and can be used to tweak, enhance and lighten photos. Bitmap images are created by scanning artwork or digital photographs, or by “painting” with a photo editing or paint program such as Corel PhotoPaint or Adobe PhotoShop.

Unlike vector images, the quality of a raster image is directly related to the image’s resolution or number of pixels. Vector images, on the other hand, are created by mathematical equations, so pixels don’t impact the quality of the image. As a result, they can be scaled up or down in size without loss of quality.

Image Size & Resolution

Be aware that images cannot be printed larger than they come to us. Best results are obtained from images that are high-resolution (150 dpi or greater) and larger than the area you request them to be printed into. Images taken from web sites are not high-resolution (generally 72 dpi) and cannot be reproduced well on a T-shirt.

Additional Information

Please don’t create your art in a word processing program. Such a design usually winds up having to be recreated from scratch in the correct program. A program like Microsoft Word comes with a good selection of clip art, and allows you to create graphics, shapes and text effects in many colors, but it is difficult (and often times impossible) to print color separations from word processing programs. Also please don’t change the format of your design just to make it easier to email.