Artwork Guidelines

We at Olathe T Shirt know that submitting art can sometimes be a confusing process, especially if you are not familiar with the ins and outs of graphic design. In the following section, we will try to simplify that process, by giving you the information that you and your graphic designer will need to provide clean, camera ready art.

In most cases, we require that artwork be submitted as Vector graphics files. Vector art is created using vector illustration software programs, such as Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, and Corel Draw, among others. These programs use mathmatic equations and geometric primitives (points, lines, and shapes) to create art that is clean, camera ready, and can be scaled infinitely, without any loss of quality or fidelity.

In the following graphic, we will show you the difference between Vector art and the other kind of computer graphic, Raster art:

 

You’ll notice how, in the Raster art file, the edges of the art become distorted when the picture is enlarged. You’ll also notice how there are dozens of shades of white, navy, gold, and maroon in the Raster file, but only one shade of each in the Vector file.

Raster Graphics, such as photographs, and graphics files created in Adobe Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and other Raster editing programs, can be used for some screenprinting applications, such as printing photographs or one color pen and ink drawings. But in most cases, especially with art such as logos, we will need Vector art to achieve the proper print.

If you are unable to provide Vector art, we would be happy to create it for you! Art Charges may apply.  You can see samples of some artwork we have created here.

And now, here are the technical requirements for graphics files:

Vector Graphics (.ai, .fh, .eps, .svg)

  • All text should be converted to outlines.
  • All colors should be converted to Spot colors, preferably with Pantone (PMS) colors. Doing so will ensure that your art is printed correctly, with the exact colors that you desire.
  • Any Raster images linked (placed) in the document need to meet our Raster Graphics requirements.
  • Please remember that just because a file is saved in a vector file format, that does not necessarily mean that it is a true vector file. The file must be created in a vector editing program to be a vector file.

 

Raster Graphics (.tif, .psd, .png)

  • The resolution of image must be at least 300ppi (pixels per inch).
  • The size of the image should be at least 100% of the intended print size.
  • If possible, avoid sending art in JPEG or GIF formats. While these types of files are great for web graphics, they are digitally compressed, and as a result, are usually not of a high enough quality for printing.
  • Certain types of graphics, such as logos with multiple colors, should not be created as Raster graphics. We can recreate these types of files as Vector graphics for you.

Sorry, we cannot accept Microsoft Word, Excel, or Publisher files.

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