Artwork Guidelines
To ensure you get a great final product, please prepare your artwork following these guidelines. If you need assistance, let us know. We’re happy to take a look at your art.
File Formats
Vector Files – .ai .pdf .eps .svg
Raster Files – .psd .png .jpg
Raster Files must be 300ppi at print size or larger (resizing low ppi files to high ppi files does not work. Art should be created with a high ppi)
If you’re unsure about what you have, or need help converting your art into one of these formats, just let us know. Our creative department can help.
The Difference
Oregon Screen Impressions works with both vector and raster files, and it’s important to understand the difference.
Vector files (like AI, SVG, or EPS) are made of paths and shapes and can be scaled to any size without losing quality. We typically prefer this file type, but know that’s not always possible. (Please don’t Live Trace)
Raster files (like PNG, JPEG, or PSD) are made of pixels, which means they can lose clarity if resized. For raster artwork, we need the file to be at the exact size you want it decorated or larger, and should be 300 PPI or higher to ensure sharp, professional results. Lower resolution files can appear blurry or pixelated when printed, so starting with the right specs helps us deliver the best quality finished product for your design.
Create Outlines
“Live” fonts should ideally be “outlined” before sending us your art files. This is because we may not have the font you used to create your art downloaded on our systems here. But it’s a simple fix: In Adobe Illustrator, select your live text, right click and select “Outline”. You can also click “Create Outlines” in the Type menu, or click “Expand” in the Object menu. This ensures the fonts will print how they were intended. It’s possible to create outlines in other design programs as well, like Canva. You’ll just need to follow their specific prompts. If you need us to make changes to the text, then we’ll need you to provide the .OTF or .TTF font files.
Accurate Reproduction
Oregon Screen Impressions uses Pantone color matching for screen printing and Madeira thread colors for embroidery to ensure accurate, high-quality results. If you have access to those color books, great. If not, we’ll match your design as closely as possible. Every order includes a digital mockup for approval, but keep in mind that digital colors often differ from physical ones, due to RGB display screens utilizing literally millions of colors vs. ~thousands of ink colors available in the printing world.
For Photo-realistic and Complex Images
If you’re looking to reproduce photographic images or images with a very wide variety of colors in them, we must create either CMYK or Simulated Process separations. This may be an additional cost for art time and extra screen setups to prepare the artwork for printing. “Process” printing can re-create the appearance of many different shades of colors through the use of halftone dots and advanced separations techniques, while still printing only up to 11 spot colors. Contrary to popular belief, CMYK process is not just 4 screens, as a screen for white ink must also be added, as well as a whitebase if printing on dark garments.
Minimum Print Size
For the best results, check that your fonts are no smaller than 8pt and lines are no thinner than 1 pt. Inverse art and negative space text that are “knocked out” (showing through to the garment) need to be at even larger sizes to avoid filling in during the printing process. We may need to alter designs if this is not done beforehand, but will inform you and ask for approval before the final printing stage. If your design has very small elements, it’s helpful to print it out at size if possible, to ensure everything looks good and is legible from a distance.
Minimum Embroidery Size
Minimum size for text to be embroidered cleanly is 0.2″ (5cm) tall. Thin lines and fonts with very skinny elements, such as Script fonts, may need to be thickened up significantly to allow for the logo to sew out in thread nicely. We may need to adjust your design to fit these parameters, but we’ll alway check with you first and get approval before we proceed.
We’re Happy To Help
From a sketch on a napkin to editing a photo for screen print, OSI can bring your ideas to life. If you don’t have artwork, or your art is not print-ready, our team can create or re-create it for you at an hourly rate. Any artwork submitted that is not print ready may incur an hourly art charge. Learn more about our creative services.
Artwork Prep Tutorials
If you’re new to this, that’s cool. Use these tutorials to help you prep your art.
