Send a flattened, uncompressed file (usually TIFF) built at the finished print size, with enough pixels for that size. Give each key colour as a physical fabric reference, such as a Pantone TCX code, and approve a printed strike-off on the actual production fabric before bulk. Then build the artwork to the product: a seamless tile for repeat prints, or a full-size layout with hem or seam allowance for scarves and engineered garment prints.
Which file format should I send: TIFF, PSD or JPEG?
For the print file, send a flattened TIFF. TIFF files are uncompressed, so the image keeps its quality. JPEG uses lossy compression, which can degrade fine detail and smooth colour gradients. EN textile print-file guide from Tissus Print makes both points, and also advises flattening layers and removing hidden layers before sending, because leftover layers can print in unexpected ways.
Keep your layered PSD as the working master. It is the file you edit if a colour or the scale must change after the strike-off. Some printers accept only JPG or PNG; for eksempel, Spoonflower’s upload rules say it does not accept TIF or PDF files. So ask your manufacturer which format their workflow takes.
Vector or raster?
Vector artwork is built from points, lines and curves, so its edges stay sharp at any size. Raster artwork is built from pixels, so its quality depends on resolution. A digital textile printer prints pixels in the end, so vector art is converted to raster before printing. That is fine: it converts at whatever size is needed. A raster file cannot gain detail the same way.
One warning from Oregon Screen Impressions: saving a file as .AI or .EPS does not make it vector. These files often contain embedded raster images. Zoom in. If the edges stay crisp, the art is vector. If they break into squares, it is raster, and its pixel size limits how large it can print.
What resolution does artwork need at print size?
Resolution only means something at a stated print size. Build the file at the finished size, then check the pixels per inch at that size. A file that is sharp on a phone screen may be far too small for a large scarf.
Printers give different targets. Tissus Print recommends 300 DPI at the final dimensions. Spoonflower asks for files saved at print dimensions and 150 dpi. Oregon Screen Impressions treats 150 PPI at the print area size as its minimum for raster art. Ask your manufacturer for their number, and then make sure the file meets it at full size, not at a reduced size.
Why does upscaling a small image fail?
Enlarging a small file does not add real detail. Software estimates the new pixels from their neighbours. In an Adobe Photoshop community discussion on upsampling, experienced users note that interpolation always introduces artifacts, and that more enlargement means more artifacts. On fabric, this shows as soft edges, blurred fine lines and pixelation. If the source image is too small, the fix is a larger original or redrawn artwork, not a bigger number in the Image Size box.
Which colour mode should I use, and why do screen colours differ from printed colours?
Use an RGB file unless your manufacturer asks for something else. Tissus Print recommends RGB with the Adobe RGB (1998) profile for textile printing. Spoonflower prints in sRGB and converts files to it, so its guide to saving files as sRGB advises saving in that profile for the most consistent colour. The two printers name different profiles, so ask which one your printer uses, and embed it in the file.
A screen will never match fabric exactly. Spoonflower’s colour guide explains the main reasons:
- A monitor makes colour with light; fabric uses ink, and the inks, material and technology are different.
- The fabric’s weight, weave and base colour change the result. Polyester tends to print more vividly than natural fibres.
- Large areas of saturated dark colour lose impact. Black can print as dark grey on natural fabrics, and similar dark tones can blend together.
This is why the screen is a guide only. The approval has to happen on printed fabric. If colour holding up in washing also matters to you, se hvorfor farge blør og hvorfor den holder.
How do I give colour references that a printer can match?
Give a physical colour standard, not a screen swatch. For textiles, Pantone’s fabric standard is the TCX range. Pantone describes its TCX Cotton Swatch Card as the cotton colour standard, printed on 100% cotton poplin, covering its Fashion, Hjem + Interiors colours.
Do not mix systems. EN Maker’s Row guide to colour standards notes that TCX and the paper TPX/TPG standards use completely different dyes and inks, so an exact match between them may not exist. If you work from paper, say so, and compare the physical standards yourself.
List each key colour with its code: the background, the main motif colours, and any colour that must match another product in the same range.
How do I approve a strike-off?
A strike-off is a trial print of the design on fabric, made before bulk printing. Approve it on the actual production fabric, because the same file prints differently on different bases. Det Online Clothing Study checklist for print strike-off approval covers:
- the artwork and print colourways, with the colour shade checked against the Pantone code;
- the artwork size and the sharpness of the print outline;
- the base fabric quality and the printing process used;
- the overall look of the print, and colour fastness to washing if required.
Compare the strike-off with your tech pack and colour standards, write your comments on it, and approve only when everything matches. Keep the approved strike-off as the reference for bulk.
What should I send with my artwork?
| What to send | Why it matters | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| A flattened TIFF print file, plus the layered PSD master | TIFF is uncompressed, so detail and gradients survive; the PSD allows changes after the strike-off | Sending a compressed JPEG, or a file with hidden layers left in |
| The file built at finished print size | Resolution is only meaningful at the size that will print | Sending a small file and expecting it to be enlarged without loss |
| The colour profile, embedded in the file | The printer converts colours from this profile | Sending CMYK or an untagged file without asking what the printer uses |
| Pantone TCX codes for key colours | A physical fabric standard gives both sides the same target | Using screen colours, or mixing TCX with paper TPX/TPG codes |
| The repeat type and repeat size, or the placement layout | The printer must know whether to tile the art or print it once at full size | A tile whose edges do not match, so a seam line shows |
| Finished size, hem or seam allowance, and a marked safe zone | Part of the printed area is folded or sewn into the hem or seam | Putting a border, logo or text right at the edge |
| Pattern pieces for an engineered garment print | The print must fit each piece and line up across the seams | Drawing the print on a flat sketch instead of the real pattern |
Should my print be a seamless repeat, a placement print or an engineered print?
A seamless repeat is one tile that prints again and again across the fabric. Each edge must continue into the opposite edge, or a line appears where tiles meet. Background colour must run right to the edge of the file. Spoonflower’s logo tutorial warns that otherwise the pattern looks broken into separate squares. It also notes that no space is added between repeats, so any gap between motifs must be built into the tile. A tile can repeat in different ways. Spoonflower’s repeat options include a basic grid, half-drop and half-brick staggers, and a mirror repeat that flips the design so the edges meet without obvious seams. Tell your manufacturer which repeat type the tile was built for.
A placement print is designed once at the size of the product, not tiled. Digital Fabrics describes the design as created to the scale of the product and printed as pattern pieces placed across the printable width of the fabric. A scarf with a border and a central design is a placement print.
An engineered print is a placement print laid out on a garment’s pattern pieces, so the design fits each piece and flows across the seams. Se polyester digital printed kaftans og digital printed silk kaftan tops for garment examples.
How do I size scarf artwork and engineer a print to garment pieces?
Skjerf
Start from the finished scarf size. Then add the hem allowance on every side, because that edge is folded into the hem. Ask your manufacturer for the hem allowance of the hem type you want, such as a rolled hem or a machine hem. Extend the background into the allowance so the folded edge has no unprinted fabric. Keep motifs, logos and text inside a safe zone well inside the finished edge.
The same rule appears in sewn-product templates. For en 45 x 45 cm cushion cover, Digital Fabrics uses a 48 x 48 cm canvas with a 1.5 cm seam allowance on all sides, and states that anything outside the guidelines will be sewn in. A scarf hem is narrower than a cushion seam, but the method is the same: finished size plus allowance on each side.
Det digital printed scarves page shows the range of scarf prints we make.
Plagg
For an engineered garment print, draw the artwork on the real pattern pieces for each size, including seam allowances. Place key motifs away from seams, darts and the neckline. Printful’s guide to cut-and-sew all-over prints notes that printed panels are sewn together after printing, so alignment across seams, armpits and the collar can shift slightly. It advises keeping logos, faces and text away from seams, and says patterns, textures and abstract designs handle these joins better than rigid lines or centred type. Lay the pieces out within the printable width of the fabric. Digital Fabrics notes that this width sets the width of the canvas.
How should I handle borders and edges?
- Extend backgrounds past the edge. Printify’s bleed guide defines bleed as the extra artwork beyond the final trim line, which prevents unprinted white edges after cutting.
- Keep critical elements in a safe zone. The same guide says text, logos and focal elements should never sit right on the cut line, because cutting varies slightly.
- Measure a border from the finished edge, not the file edge. A thin border line drawn at the file edge is partly folded into the hem, so it looks uneven. Place it inside the finished size, with background colour running out into the allowance.
- Do not rely on white for a border on white fabric. Spoonflower notes that it prints no white ink, so pure white areas stay as unprinted fabric. Ask your printer how white areas will be handled.
What are the common faults, and how do I prevent them?
Banding
Banding shows as straight stripes or lines across the print. It usually comes from the printer, not the file. Amaya’s printer support guide lists clogged or dried nozzles, dirty capping stations and wipers, and the fastest, lowest-quality print mode as causes. Your artwork cannot fix it, but the strike-off can reveal it. Check smooth colour areas and gradients closely, and do not approve a strike-off with visible bands.
Pixelation
Jagged edges and visible squares come from too few pixels at print size, or from an enlarged small image. Build the file at full size at the resolution your printer asks for, and check it at 100% zoom before sending.
Colour shift
The print looks duller, darker or a different hue than the screen. This is the gap between screen light and ink on fabric, and the effect of the fabric itself. Give Pantone TCX references, embed the agreed colour profile, and judge colour only on the strike-off printed on the production fabric.
A repeat seam showing
A line or step appears where the tiles meet. The tile edges do not match, or the background stops short of the file edge. Test the tile by repeating it several times in your design software before you send it, and state the repeat type it was built for.
Does KK Fashion Exports print scarves and garments digitally?
Ja. KK Fashion Exports has made scarves and garments since 2003 and prints digitally through our print and dye partner unit. Minimum order is from 100 stykker for trykte skjerf og 200 for kjoler og kaftaner, per stil, per farge; se minste bestillingsmengden for details. To discuss your artwork, kontakt oss.
Innkjøp av skjerf i bulk? Se hvordan vi jobber som skjerfprodusenter i India.
Se skjerfene & stjal lookbook → et glimt av vår nyeste kolleksjon. Be om hele utvalget: flere design på forespørsel.
