A practical guide to getting your design ready for DTF printing — file formats, DPI, transparency, and exact export settings for the software you actually use. Skip the back-and-forth, get a great print on the first pass.
For raster files: PNG with a transparent background, 300 DPI at print size, RGB color mode. For vector files: AI, EPS, SVG, or PDF with all fonts outlined. Send vectors when you have them — they always win for logos and clean graphics. Use raster only for photos and painted artwork. If you remember nothing else: 300 DPI at print size, transparent background, do not pre-mirror.
Almost every artwork problem we see comes back to one of two issues: not enough resolution, or no transparency. Get these right and the rest is detail.
DPI (dots per inch) only matters in relation to the size you are printing. A 1500×1500 pixel file is:
The fix is to start with a file that has enough pixels for the size you want. A 12-inch back print needs at least 3,600 pixels on the long side (12 × 300). Designing in Procreate? Set the canvas to your print size at 300 DPI from the start — you cannot add detail back later.
JPG cannot store transparency. Anything outside your design will print as a solid background — usually white, sometimes a colored rectangle around your art. PNG handles transparency natively and is the standard format for DTF.
To check: open your file and look at the area outside the design. If you see a solid color, your background is not transparent. If you see a checkered pattern in your editor, you are good.
This is the second-most-common confusion. The short version: vector for graphics, raster for photos.
Vector files describe the design as math — points, lines, and curves. They scale to any size with zero quality loss. Logos, text, simple graphics, and clean illustrations should always be vector when possible.
Important: outline your fonts before exporting. If you send an AI file with live text and we do not have the font installed, the text will reflow or substitute. Outlined text is shape data and prints exactly as designed.
Raster files describe the design as a grid of pixels. They are the right tool for photographs, painted artwork, and anything with continuous tones (gradients, watercolor, photo-style imagery). The trade-off is that they have a fixed resolution — you cannot scale them up without losing quality.
If your design is a photo or has photo-like elements, raster is correct. If it is a logo or text on a flat background, you are usually better off recreating it in vector form rather than trying to export a high-DPI raster.
Industry intuition is to send CMYK to a print shop. Skip that for DTF.
Modern DTF printers run their own color management — they convert your RGB file to CMYK + white using calibrated profiles built for the specific ink and film they use. If you convert to CMYK first, the conversion has already been done once at the wrong end (your monitor) and the result is usually duller, with shifted colors. Send RGB and let the RIP do its job.
The exception: spot colors and Pantone-matched brand work, where you want a specific color called out. In that case, name the Pantone reference in your email — do not assume CMYK conversion will hit the brand color.
Image → Image Size → confirm 300 pixels/inch at the print size you want. Then File → Export → Export As → PNG, with "Transparency" checked. Avoid "Save for Web" — it strips color profiles.
Type → Create Outlines on all text. Then File → Save As → AI, EPS, or PDF. If you need a raster export, File → Export → PNG at 300 PPI. Verify the transparent background is preserved by checking the export preview.
Use the free or Pro plan. Click Share → Download → PNG → toggle on "Transparent background" (Pro feature). Choose the largest size offered. Note: Canva\'s native export tops out at the canvas size you set up — if your canvas is 8×10 inches at default resolution, the exported file will be too small to print at 12 inches. Set the canvas size up front.
Set the canvas to your final print size at 300 DPI when you create it (Actions → Canvas → Crop & Resize shows the dimensions). Export with Actions → Share → PNG. Transparent backgrounds export correctly as long as you did not paint a background layer.
Cricut is built for cutting, not printing — it does not export production-ready DTF files. If you designed in Cricut, redraw or import the underlying SVG/PNG into a real graphics editor and export from there.
logo-final.png beats untitled-3-FINAL-FINAL.pngHit all those and you are setting yourself up for a clean first print. Still not sure? Use our DTF Sheet Builder — it flags low-DPI files automatically and shows you exactly how the layout will print. Or just send us your file and we will do a free pre-flight check before charging you anything.
Build a print-ready DTF sheet now, or have us pre-flight your artwork before you commit.
Build Your Sheet Get a Free Pre-Flight300 DPI at the actual print size. Not 300 DPI at the original file size — 300 DPI at the size it will be printed on the garment. A 1500×1500 pixel image is 300 DPI at 5 inches but only 150 DPI at 10 inches. Vector files (SVG, PDF, EPS, AI) have no DPI limit and are always preferred when you have them.
Yes — for any design that is not a full rectangle. Anything outside the design will print on the transfer film as solid white or whatever color the background is. PNGs with transparent backgrounds are the standard for DTF; JPGs cannot have transparency at all and should be avoided unless your design is intentionally a full rectangle.
Send RGB. DTF printers actually print using CMYK plus white, but the conversion happens in our RIP software automatically. Sending CMYK files often results in dimmer, less vibrant prints because the screen-to-print color conversion has already been baked in once. Trust the print shop's color management.
No — at least not without losing quality. Scaling a 72 DPI image up to 300 DPI by stretching it just creates blurry pixels. Tools like Photoshop's "Preserve Details" upscaling or Topaz Gigapixel can sometimes help with mild upscaling, but the right answer is almost always to find or recreate the original file at the size you actually need.
For logos, text, and crisp graphics — yes, send vector if you have it. AI, EPS, SVG, and PDF formats scale to any size with zero quality loss. For photographs, painted artwork, or any image with real continuous tones, raster (PNG) is the right format — vector cannot represent those well.
JPGs work but are not ideal. The format compresses by discarding image detail, often leaving visible artifacts around edges and in solid color areas. JPGs also cannot have transparent backgrounds. Use PNG instead whenever possible. If JPG is all you have, that is fine — just send the highest-quality original you can find.
No. We handle mirroring as part of the print process. Send the design oriented the way you want it to appear on the finished garment.
Our standard sheet is 22.5 inches wide and any height up to 300 inches. A single design can be up to roughly 22.5×30 inches before it needs to be split. For most apparel work, a 12×12 inch transfer is plenty — the standard "back of t-shirt" print is around 10×12.