What DPI and size does a t-shirt print file need?

DPI, PPI and why inches matter

For a digital file, DPI and PPI mean the same thing in practice: how many pixels land in each printed inch. A file has no real size until you decide how many inches it prints at. A 3,000 pixel wide PNG is 10 inches at 300 ppi, or 20 inches at 150 ppi.

So the question is never just what DPI. It is how many pixels do I need for the inches I am printing. Multiply the print width and height in inches by the ppi you want.

150 or 300 ppi?

300 ppi is the safe standard most print on demand shops and DTF printers ask for, and it keeps edges crisp on type and line art. 150 ppi can look fine on a big, soft design seen from a distance, but small text and thin lines start to look soft or stepped.

If your printer gives a spec, follow it. If not, aim for 300 ppi at the final print size.

Transparent PNG, every time

• Use a PNG with a transparent background. A JPG has no transparency, so its white or coloured box prints as a solid rectangle.
• Remove stray pixels around the edges. Faint specks you can't see on screen still print.
• Avoid soft, half transparent glows unless your printer handles them. Screen printing needs solid edges, so a soft glow has to become dots, and on DTF it can show as a faint halo.
• Size the artwork to the inches it will print at, not the whole print area. A 10 inch wide design in a 12 inch area is a 10 inch file.

How Drapeshot's print file works

When you click Print file in the editor, Drapeshot renders your design on its own, at the inches it prints at on that garment, with the print look and ink colours you chose. The file name includes the product and print area, and the message after download tells you the exact size in inches and the ppi.

On Pro it is a clean transparent PNG at 300 ppi. On the free plan it is 150 ppi with a watermark, which is enough to check scale and placement but not to print. Files are capped at 7,200 pixels on the longest side, so very large prints such as a bed sheet medallion come out at a lower ppi.

Drapeshot reads your uploaded artwork at up to 4,000 pixels on the long side. For a 16 inch tall full front at 300 ppi that is a little under the 4,800 pixels the table asks for, which is fine for most graphic designs. If your art is very detailed photography printed that large, send your printer your original file too.

Check before you order

1. Download the print file and open it at 100 percent zoom. That is roughly what one inch of fabric looks like up close.
2. Look at the smallest text and the thinnest line. If they look soft at 100 percent, make them bigger in your source file.
3. Compare the size in the download message with the print area your printer allows.
4. Place it once on a t-shirt mockup at the same size, to see if it reads from a normal distance.