"I have a logo - can you use it?" is the second question we get most often, right after "how much does it cost?" The answer is almost always yes. But the quality of your artwork file determines how fast we can get started, and sometimes whether we need to do extra work before printing.
Here's the plainest guide we can offer to artwork files, formats, and what we can work with.
The Difference That Matters Most: Vector vs. Raster
This is the concept that underlies everything else. Understanding it takes two minutes and will save you frustration with any print shop, not just us.
Raster images (JPG, PNG, GIF) are made of pixels - a grid of colored dots. When you enlarge a raster image, you're just making those dots bigger. The image gets blurry and pixelated. A logo saved as a 200×200 pixel JPG that looks sharp on your phone will fall apart when we try to print it 10 inches wide on a shirt.
Vector images (AI, EPS, SVG, PDF) are made of mathematical paths - curves and shapes described in equations. They can be scaled to any size - from a business card to a billboard - without losing quality. A vector logo looks just as crisp at 2 inches as it does at 20.
Open your logo on your computer and zoom in as far as you can. If the edges stay sharp and clean, you likely have a vector. If the image gets blurry or you can see the pixel squares, it's a raster file. If you're not sure, just send it - we'll tell you what we can do with it.
File Formats at a Glance
Native Adobe Illustrator and Encapsulated PostScript vector formats. If your designer used Illustrator, this is what they made. Ideal for screen printing and embroidery. Send this if you have it.
PDFs can contain vector data. A logo exported from Illustrator as PDF retains all the vector paths and is excellent to work with. Note: a PDF "printed" from Word or saved from a raster source is still raster - the file type alone doesn't guarantee quality.
PNGs support transparency, which makes them more useful than JPGs for logos. A high-resolution PNG (300 DPI or more at print size) is workable. A small PNG screenshotted from a website is not. When in doubt, send the highest-resolution version you have.
SVGs are vector format and scale cleanly. Not all our production software opens them natively, but we can usually convert. If your designer built your logo in Figma or as a web SVG, this is worth sending along with any other formats you have.
JPGs don't support transparency, compress the image (adding artifacts), and are almost always raster. A very high-resolution JPG might be usable for DTF printing, but for screen printing or embroidery, we'll usually need to trace and redraw it - which may add a vectorizing fee.
A photo of a business card, a screenshot of your website, or an image from Facebook is almost always too low-resolution to print well and won't have clean edges for screen printing. If this is all you have, we can recreate your logo from scratch - just ask about our design services.
The One Mistake That Delays Most First-Time Orders
Sending a logo pulled from your website. Website images are typically saved at 72-96 DPI (dots per inch) - the resolution needed for screens, which is far too low for printing. What looks great at 2 inches on a website becomes a blurry mess printed at 10 inches on a shirt.
If you built your website and the logo file "lives" somewhere in your website admin, that's usually a web-resolution version. Go back to whoever designed your logo and ask for the original source file (AI, EPS, or high-res PDF). Designers are required to keep original files and should provide them on request.
What We Can Fix (and What It Costs)
We deal with artwork every day and we can handle a lot. Here's what typically comes up:
- Low-resolution logo: We can vectorize (trace and redraw) your logo as a clean vector file. One-time fee, typically $25-60 depending on complexity. You get the resulting vector file to keep.
- Logo in wrong colors: Easy fix - we update the color values in our software before printing.
- Multiple design elements to combine: We'll comp a layout for your approval before printing.
- No logo at all: We offer design services. Tell us what you're going for and we'll put something together.
- Design from a napkin sketch: Genuinely, bring it in. We've worked with weirder starting points and love the challenge.
Send us what you have. We'll look at it and tell you honestly whether it's print-ready, what we can do with it, and if there's any additional work needed before we can print. No surprises, no fees you didn't agree to in advance.
How to Send Your Files
When you fill out our quote form, there's a file upload field - attach your artwork there. If your file is very large or you have multiple versions, you can also email them directly to [email protected]. We check both.
If you're not sure which version to send, send all of them. More information is always better than less, and we'll tell you which one we'll use.
Have a project in mind?
Tell us your design, quantity, and garment. We'll recommend the right method and send a price - 24-hour turnaround.
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