Decorating Tips

Logo Design

Following the tips below can help assure the artwork you provide will achieve the dynamic results you want when your logo is screen printed or embroidered on your wearables or promotional products. It can also help increase the efficiency and quality of the decorating process. Art that is "ready" for use is provided in an electronic file that can be used for pre-press and printing without making modifications. Below are a number of important considerations and tips to help get your art ready for decorating.

 

Acceptable Artwork Formats

Art may be provided in any of the following formats. Please note the modifications that may need to be made it order to make each format ready for decorating.

 

For all three formats, proper resolution is critical for clean results. The standard resolution for printed artwork is 300 dpi (dots per inch).

 

Mechanical artwork

The traditional standard for acceptable mechanical artwork is "camera-ready black and white." Mechanical artwork can be supplied on a sheet of white paper or bromide, and should be no larger than 8.5" x 11".

 

Hand-drawn artwork

A logo that's been drawn by hand is a great starting point, but it will need to be digitized and modified for practical use.

 

Digital artwork

Images created in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, or Freehand are preferred over mechanical and hand-drawn artwork for quality of the end result and efficiency. However, digital artwork may still require modification and/or preparation for the decorating process.

 

File suffixes: If your digital artwork file ends with any of these suffixes, it can be used to properly prepare your art:

Proofs: Any time you supply digital artwork, be sure to include a printed proof for reference.

 

Disk formats: When providing your artwork on disk, it is best to use one of these more standard disk formats: CD-Rom, 100-megabyte Zip, or 250-megabyte Zip.

 

E-mailed art: When sending your artwork via e-mail, be sure to provide all of the basic elements, including:

Unacceptable Artwork Formats

Artwork provided in the following forms, or similar forms, will not be able to be modified into ready art... therefore delivering extremely poor results when translated into decoration for a garment:

 

Screenprinting & Considerations

It's important to remember that every color you want used in your artwork means another screen to create, set-up, and print through. The costs connected with these screens depend on the techniques used.

 

It's always beneficial to print more items than less because of the set-up charges involved. If in doubt about the final quantity of screen printed items you'll need, it's often more economical to order more than you think will be required.

 

Every color has an associated cost; different colors have different chemical make-ups, which make them more or less expensive than others.

 

Drop shadows, shading and anything that blends from light to dark will probably end up looking like a series of dots and should be avoided. (This does not apply to single-color halftone gradients).

 

Most likely, the following special requirements will add to your screen printing costs:

Size Selection & Group Buying Guidelines

The following guidelines can help you streamline your buying for a larger group.

 

Buying for Men: Any style listed as Adult are sized for men. Adult Golf-cut styles generally offer a better fit for beefier male builds.

 

Buying for Ladies: Styles listed as Ladies' are women's sizes. If the women on your team prefer a Men's or Adult style, select one size smaller than what they would wear in Ladies' sizes.

 

Buying for Groups: Use the charts below for a general percentage to help you determine how many shirts in each size you need when buying for a group.

 

To calculate your buying quantities by size, simply multiply the number of people in your group by the percentage in the chart for each size.

 

 

These are general guidelines only and should only be used as a starting point for determining necessary quantities. Your group sizes may vary greatly.