DTF prints every pixel in your file. That’s what makes it great for detailed, full-colour artwork, and it’s also why a file that looks fine on screen can print with a white box around it or soft, blurry edges. The good news is that nearly every problem comes from one of five settings.
1. Set the canvas to print size
Create your canvas at the exact size you want the transfer to be. If you want a 10″ wide front print, the canvas should be 10″ wide. Scaling a small file up later is the most common cause of blurry prints.
For gang sheets, the canvas is the whole sheet: 22″ wide by the length you’re ordering.
2. Use 300 DPI
At 300 DPI, a 10″ wide design needs to be 3000 pixels wide. Here’s a quick reference:
| Print width | Pixels at 300 DPI | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5″ | 1050 px | Left chest |
| 8″ | 2400 px | Youth front |
| 10″ | 3000 px | Adult front |
| 12″ | 3600 px | Full front or back |
| 22″ × 24″ sheet | 6600 × 7200 px | Gang sheet |
3. Keep the background transparent
Anything that isn’t transparent will print. That includes white backgrounds, faint drop shadows and the soft glow some tools add around cut-out images.
- Save as PNG. JPG can’t store transparency.
- Remove semi-transparent pixels where you can. Soft fades print as a speckled edge, so replace them with a halftone pattern or a solid colour.
- Zoom in to 200% and check the edges of each element before exporting.
4. Watch thin lines and small text
Very fine details can break or peel. Keep lines at least 0.5 mm thick and text at least 6 pt at print size. Thin script fonts and hairline outlines are the usual culprits.
5. Colour and dark garments
Design in RGB and expect colours to look slightly less glowing than they do on a backlit screen. Neon and metallic shades can’t be reproduced exactly.
On dark shirts, black areas in your design will print as black ink. If you want the shirt colour to show through instead, make those areas transparent.
Don’t mirror your file
Upload artwork the way it should read on the shirt. We mirror it when we print.
Final checklist
- Canvas is the exact print size
- Resolution is 300 DPI at that size
- Saved as PNG with a transparent background
- No soft fades or stray semi-transparent pixels
- Lines at least 0.5 mm, text at least 6 pt
- Not mirrored
Not sure about something? Upload anyway. Every file is checked by a person before printing, and we’ll email you if something needs fixing.