File Setup Instructions

Follow these guidelines and your graphics will print sharp, on size and true to color. Everything at a glance:

Preferred

Adobe Illustrator

Packaged .ai files

Also accepted

CMYK JPG

High resolution

Bleed

1/2" all sides

2" for most dye-sub fabric

Max upload

1,000 MB

Per upload

Double-Check Before Uploading

CMYK color mode for all files and linked images.
Call out any PMS colors when you upload. We'll match your colors as closely as possible, but exact matches can't be guaranteed.
Image resolution: raster images and photos should be 75–200 DPI at actual print size.
Include all links and fonts. Packaging your files before uploading is the easiest way.
Don't embed images in Illustrator; keep them linked.
Correct bleed for your product, based on its specs.
Overprint turned OFF on every element in your design.

⚠️

Check your bleed. Most products need a 1/2" bleed on all sides, but most dye-sub fabric printing requires 2". Check the specs for your product.

Step-by-Step: Adobe Illustrator (.ai)

Set the color modeFile › Document Color Mode › CMYK
Confirm size and bleedFile › Document Setup — make sure the artboard is the correct final size and includes the right bleed.
Set raster effectsEffect › Document Raster Effects Settings — Color Mode: CMYK, Resolution: High (300 DPI), Background: Transparent, Anti-alias: checked, Create Clipping Mask: unchecked, Preserve Spot Colors: checked.
Outline your fontsSelect all text, then Type › Create Outlines. If you'd rather not outline, include your fonts with the upload.
Package the fileFile › Package gathers your fonts and linked images into one folder.
UploadSend us the entire packaged folder.

High-Res JPG (.jpg)

JPGs are raster image files, commonly used for photographs. Because trade show graphics are so large, uncompressed formats like TIF often aren't practical, which makes JPG the most common format for large-format images.

The catch: a JPG is compressed every time it's saved, so quality drops with each save. Do your editing in a Photoshop (.psd) file, then save a maximum-quality JPG only when you're finished. You'll get a much smaller file without hurting image quality.