Go To Screenprinting Art Specs   |   Go To Embroidery Preparation

WHAT IS SCREEN PRINTABLE ART?

Screen printable art is art that you might have had from a previous printer, or art that is prepared specifically for screenprinting. Screen ready art needs to be on film positives (clear film with dense black positive image separated for each color). Upon receipt of your film positives we will inspect the art and advise you of any possible problems we foresee. We retain the right to refuse any artwork not generated in-house. The positives need to be actual print size. An art charge will be incurred for any necessary touch-up.

If you are sending halftone images (dot patterns/percentages of black see image to right), keep in mind our maximum l.p.i. capability for printing on garments is 55 lines per inch.

You can send us artwork files via e-mail to or by portable media that is PC readable (including Mac/PC hybrid) (CD, Data DVD, Flash Drive, Floppy Disk).

We use scanners with 600 dpi optical (9600 interpolated) resolution. We output to clear film through modified ink jet printers.

We accept simple artwork by fax at 925-778-2087 and can often make it printable through computer *re-creation methods.

We can accommodate those individuals supplying hand drawn artwork, through scanning, photocopying, and computer *enhancement or *re-creation.

Remember, if you have any questions regarding artwork, please send us an e-mail or call
1 (800) 755-0377. We'll be happy to help you.

Below is a list of details for digital file preparation.

*complex re-creations may require additional art charges

We accept most any type of art for screen-printing, from a hand drawing to a print ready digital file. Unfortunately there are some digital formats that are not meant for high resolution printing. The information below explains our preferred file types.

STANDARD APPLICATIONS
We use Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Corel Draw as our standard art preparation applications.

PRINTABLE FORMATS
We accept eps (both vector and raster), ai (up to version CS2), cdr (up to version 11), psd, tif and bmp. We also accept pdf. Raster formats such as .tif and .bmp as well as images in pdfs must be 200ppi/dpi at 100% or higher. If your digital file is set up in a newer version application than those listed here, most applications will provide the option to save in an older format in the "FILE / SAVE AS" menu

ABOUT INTERNET FORMATS
Files that are used for the internet such as .jpg, .png, and .gif are meant for screen viewing and not for printing. We are able to work from these formats to re-create artwork, but rarely are they usable for printing. If an internet format is your only available copy, *we will work with the file to the best of our ability but can not guarantee a high quality result.

FONTS
Fonts as a rule do not follow an art file, they reside on the designer's computer. In Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw, fonts must be converted to curves or outlines. In Adobe Photoshop text layers must be flattened. These steps convert the text into artwork that doesn't require font files.

*FULL TIME ARTIST
We have a full time artist on staff that is able to create finished art from your sketches, notes, low-res files, ideas, and more. Many times, a digital file or hard copy is not the quality that is desired. Our artist can clean up or *re-create the art to bring it to printable standards. Art charges are one-time fees. The art can be used repeatedly without additional art charges. Art fees apply to changes between orders.

Embroidery is prepared differently than screenprinting. Each stitch must be programmed into the computer to an application that controls our embroidery machines.

DIGITAL FILES
Digital files are converted to a stitching format that our machines will understand called a DST (Tajima). We can convert vector based .eps files into the DST format. photos and drawings are re-drawn/traced in the stitching program and are not exact duplications.

FULL TIME DIGITIZER
As with screenprinting we have a full time, in-house digitizer who is able to convert your images and ideas into a high quality embroidered design. Digitizing is charged by stitch count as a one-time fee. Once digitized the file can be used over and over without an additional digitizing fee. New digitizing charges apply to art changes made between orders..