Looking for screen printing and embroidery artwork guidelines?

We’ve got you covered! We simplify the process by providing clear screen printing and embroidery artwork guidelines to ensure your custom merch looks awesome. Whether you’re submitting artwork for screen printing or embroidery, we recommend high-resolution PNG files (300 DPI) or vector formats (AI, EPS, or PDF) for the best results. Our professional team supports you every step of the way to ensure your screen printing and embroidery orders meet expectations.

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Screen Printing and Embroidery Artwork Guidelines Estimator Example

Expert Advice

When Designing Artwork Know The Key Differences Between Screen Printing And Embroidery

When creating artwork for screen printing versus embroidery, it’s important to understand their key differences to ensure the best results. Screen printing is ideal for detailed designs, gradients, and vibrant colors. It allows for larger designs and priced per color in the artwork. On the other hand, embroidery relies on stitching, which works best for simpler designs with bold lines and minimal color gradients. Embroidery requires digitizing your artwork into stitch patterns, but screen printing uses vector files for scalability and sharpness. Understanding these differences helps you choose the right method for your project and ensures your designs translate beautifully onto garments.

Features:	Screen Printing	Embroidery
File Format	Vector files and 300 DPI PNG are required	High quality files aren't required
Colors	Full-color artwork and gradients can be achieved	Best for solid colors with no gradients
Detail Level	Fine lines, sharp details, and complex shapes	Works best with larger details and simpler designs
Artwork's Size	Jumbo screen printing is possible	Ideal for designs smaller than 4" x 4"
Artwork Setup Cost	$30 per color for standard or $50 per color for jumbo	Typically $50 regardless of colors
Artwork Color Matching	Uses Pantone color matching	Matches artwork colors closely, but exact is not possible
Artwork Preparation	Each color in a design adds to preparation time	Colors don't necessarily affect preparation time

Create Artwork That Uses Screen Printing & Embroidery Techniques

Combining screen printing and embroidery elements in your artwork is a creative way to add a unique look to your apparel. This hybrid approach allows you to take advantage of screen printing’s intricate details alongside embroidery’s premium finish. It’s perfect for creating layered effects like embroidered text paired with screen-printed backgrounds. Pricing is a bit more expensive due to the increase in labor and material costs, so consider your sales price when considering this technique.

Minimum:

50 pieces minimum order.

Turn around:

Standard: 2 Weeks
Rush: 24-hours

Example Quote:

Click here to view

Factory Direct

We offer wholesale prices.

Learn How To Estimate
Your Artwork's Size

Use this as a general guideline when submitting your screen printing & embroidery artwork to us. Please note, we can create 100% accurate mockups in Photoshop when the garments arrive at our factory. Let us know if you'd like assistance.

6" - 8" Width

Minimal appearance

8" - 10" WIDTH

Smaller than standard

10" - 12" WIDTH

Standard appearance

12" +

Larger than normal

How Do You Make Screen Printing Artwork Look Vibrant?

To make a color vibrant we need to screen print a base layer of white ink then the visible color goes on top. For example, in this photo below, the first layer of white ink is called a "base white" and the second layer of white ink is called a "highlight white". Check out these photos to see the differences between using one or two layers of white ink.

Follow These Steps

Photoshop Settings For
Screen Printing & Embroidery Orders

Follow these steps when creating your screen printing and embroidery artwork files to ensure that your artwork prints crisp. Our design team reviews all artwork, so rest assured that we will let you know if your artwork doesn't pass our quality control. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!

Step 1

Start With A New File

It's best to start with a new art board when creating each design. This way, you can revert to previous versions easily, reduce the amount of layers, and just ensures you stay organized overall.

Step 2

Define Your Artboard

You want to set it in inches so that you know how big it will print on apparel. In other words, if you make the design 10" wide on Photoshop then it will print 10" wide on the garments.

Step 3

Place Artwork On The Artboard

Keep in mind that you want to have the transparent background selected, because when you save the file as a PNG we need to know which colors to print or not. Pro-tip: The checkered background means the file can be saved as a PNG with the transparency.

Step 4

Zoom In 100% To Ensure It's Crisp

You should see crisp lines which means it will print crisp. If you see blurry lines like then it will print blurry, so you should work on fixing your artwork before sending it to print.

Step 5

Save As A PNG Then Email Us

Save your file size as "large file size then email us info@garmentdecor.com or upload it on our quote request page. Don't worry if you did not do it right, because we go through a thorough artwork approval process and a print a real sample before production to ensure your artwork prints beautifully.

Screen-Printing-And-Embroidery-Artwork-Guidelines-Photoshop-File-Save-As-A-PNG

Design Your Artwork With
Your Budget In Mind

Typically the more colors your design has then the more expensive the print will be. Therefore, it's important to design with your budget in mind.

Affordable $

Artwork that uses "spot color screen printing" is the most affordable screen printing technique.

Pricey $$

Black and white artwork (grayscale) is an affordable way to print pictures. Halftones create the various shades.

May Exceed Budget $$$

This design uses "simulated process printing". We use multiple colors to screen print your artwork.

Most Expensive $$$$

Simulated process and jumbo screen printing look awesome together, but it's the most expensive.

Free Artwork Clean Up On Every Order

Is Your Artwork Blurry?

Ask us about our vectoring artwork service! Our vector service is usually $50 (it can be more or less depending on the complexity of the art) and once our service is finished you'll receive perfect files. These files will include a high quality PNG, .AI, and .EPS. in which you can use for your other marketing efforts as well.

Digiziting Is An Artform

Learn About Embroidery
Artwork Digitizing

Embroidery artwork digitizing is the process of converting your design into a stitch-ready file that embroidery machines can read. A "digitized file" contains information such as the stitch type, direction, and density that the machines follow during production.

The Digitizing Process

What Is The Embroidery Digitizing Process?

Step 1

Send us your design

We accept any file type that is high quality including jpgs, pngs, psd, ai, eps, pdf, and more.

Step 2

We'll convert your design into stitches.

This process of converting your file into stitches is called digitizing. We then send it for your review at the artwork approval stage.

Step 3

We're ready to start
your embroidery

After this point, all you have to do is approve your sample before we start your production.

Happy To Help

Frequently Asked Questions About Screen Printing & Embroidery Artwork Guidelines

If there is anything we missed, please contact us:

Call (855) 942-7636
Email info@GarmentDecor.com
Visit 4778 W Mission Blvd. Montclair CA 91762

Can you screen print small artwork text and details?

Keep in mind that screen printing ink is fluid and naturally will fill in small transparent areas. In other words, if you use fonts that are less than 12 points then it may become "ineligible" after printing.

Screen printing machines push ink through the screens at 50 PSI which means that they "push" ink onto garments. This causes the ink to spread and will fill in areas of designs that look fine on a computer screen, but not during production.

The below photo is an exaggeration of the effect for illustrative purposes only.

Are there artwork size limitations with screen printing or embroidering?

For screen printing, we can jumbo screen print your artwork up to 17.5” x 23.5” .

For embroidery, most designs are kept under 4” x 4”, but we can embroider larger pieces for jackets and bags.

Is vector artwork best?

The best way to create art for screen printing is in vector format. Vectorized images can be resized without losing their quality, which means you'll never have blurry or pixelated artwork on your shirt

Keep in mind though, high quality PNG, JPEG, and JPG in 300 DPI files can absolutely do a great job as well.

What is a raster vs vector file?

There is a filter you can use in Google images called "high resolution" and for the most part these are okay, but it's best to assume that usually the free versions of artwork are not too good. So, if you have the option to buy the artwork from a site such as "Shuttershock" then it's best to do so.

If you're not sure if an artwork file is high quality or not, then follow the steps we showed you at the top of the page to see if it will print blurry or not.

This photo below was provided by Adobe to show the difference between a raster and a vector file:

Keep in mind, typically web designers will upload low resolution images in order to improve their page load speed. So, try to avoid downloading images from most websites.

Does glow artwork effects elements look good?

They are cool looking effects on a computer, but they don't translate well on fabrics.

It's best to use other design elements such as solid outlines and screen print friendly halftones in order to ensure a crisp looking result.

To summarize, screen printing and embroidery have their limitations in the artwork they can re-produce.

Can I include gradients or shading in my artwork?

Screen printing artwork supports gradients and shading by using halftones to create smooth transitions between colors.

Embroidery artwork though, works best with solid colors and bold lines, because gradients and shading cannot be replicated with stitches as nicely.

Helpful Links

Your printer, your partner

Looking for screen printing and embroidery artwork guidelines?

When Designing Artwork Know The Key Differences Between Screen Printing And Embroidery