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Design Tips
The easiest way to get a shirt is to come into the store with an idea and we can design the garment with you on our computers in just a few minutes. But, if you’d prefer to do it yourself read on.
What Video HeadQuarters offers is called ‘Direct To Garment’ printing. We print a digital file directly from a computer onto a shirt or other fabric. It uses eco friendly water based inks in a chemical free environment.
You can design a print in Word, Publisher, Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel, even Excel (yes , you can print a spreadsheet) and just email us the file. You can also design in Apple applications , just save them in a Windows compatible format and email them.
You can print most anything you want in a 14” x 16” print area at a resolution of 600 x600 dpi, using the RGB color palette. It’s really very simple but below are some tips you might want to consider. Image resolution is the most common issue.
Resolution
Resolution refers to the quality of a graphic image and is measured in dots per inch (dpi). Generally the higher the dpi of a graphic or photo the better it will print. Optimal dpi for quality printing is 300 dpi , minimal quality for acceptable printing is 150 dpi. If you can’t get the high resolution you want for an image, email us what you have and we’ll evaluate it and can often upgrade the resolution.
Internet images
Many web site images are low 72 dpi resolution. They look fine on a computer screen and load fast because of their small size but print poorly and deteriorate as their size is increased. For the best internet image search results set your search engine’s image search options to ‘large images’.
Digital photography
For best results set your camera to its highest quality picture capture setting.
Printed photos
Printed photos, old or new need to be scanned before they can be printed on a garment. Set your scanner for 300 dpi, the shirt print output size you want and ‘RGB’ color setting (not CMYK). Or we’ll be happy to do the scan for you.
Fonts or Typefaces
There are gazillions of typefaces. While we have a large library of fonts and can probably match closely what you want, if you wish an exact match there are three ways:
- Attach the font file from your computer when you email your design.
- Convert your text to curves in the graphics program you’re using.
- Export or save your design as a 300 dpi graphic file like JPG, TIF, PSD (Photoshop) or PDF, we can read most file types.
Questions?
Don’t hesitate to send us any questions at orders@videoheadquarters.com.