Spreadshirt-Designer: Guide

What is the Spreadshirt Designer and how can I make my own t-shirt here?

With the Spreadshirt Designer you can design and order your own t-shirts and other products from our apparel assortment. There is no minimum order: you're free to order just one, individually printed shirt.

  1. Choose a t-shirt from our selection. You don’t know which size you need? Find out by clicking on the small information mark next to the product name. Details of the weight and manufacturing can be found there as well.
  2. Choose a design. You can upload your own photography, or pick one out from our Design Network (see Spreadshirt Marketplace). To find out which designs you can upload to the Spreadshirt Designer, have a look at this FAQ item. For basic info on designs for Spreadshirt, click here.
  3. But text can also be nice. Choose a font and write what you want. Your design and text can be turned, mirrored or enlarged within the given print area.
  4. Once the t-shirt looks like you want, proceed to check out and order it.


Every personally designed article is an original: Your design will be placed on the t-shirt according to your instructions. Since this action is not automated, it is possible that there could be minor alterations. Also, it's possible that the design will look smaller or larger in reality. This is because the t-shirt example shown is always a fixed size (often "medium", sometimes "small").

See how the final price of your t-shirt is calculated. Read the explanation here.

How do I create a vector design that will meet all the requirements for a plot printing (Flex / Flock) format?

Vector graphics can be created with several software programs, e.g. Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape. To make sure you get it right, please have a look at the following criteria:

 

  • Size
    We recommend a maximum size of 11"x11" (28x28cm) to make your design printable on as many products as possible. The maximum printing area is 15"x15" (38x38cm).
  • Line thickness
    Lines as well as other parts of your design need to have a thickness of at least 1.5mm. The gap between 2 separate areas cannot be less than 1mm.
    Tip: If you want to find out whether the lines in your design are thick enough, draw a circle with a diameter of 1.5mm and place it over the thinnest part of your design. As long as the circle does not stretch over the line, you can be sure that the line is thick enough.

     

    Line thickness Minimum Gap

  • Colors
    For plotting, no more than 3 colors can be used. Please note that gradients are not possible. Before creating a design, you should also have a look at the color range available.
  • Convert to curves and paths
    Objects and texts selected for print must be converted to curves and paths. Pixel graphics cannot be used.
  • Formats
    We support these data formats: .svg, .ai, .eps and .cdr.

 

Use our Design Templates

To get you going with your vector graphics, we have created a template with some helpful tips and tricks. You can download it and use the template with your graphics software when creating vectors.

 

For more detailed explanations on how to create a vector graphic our tutorial might be helpful. 

Please note: Every design you submit is automatically checked for printability. In case some of the parameters are not valid (lines too thin, too many colours, unsupported colours etc.,) these will be automatically adjusted. Moreover, the parts of your pixel graphics which have not been converted into curves will be deleted. But we will definitely need your permission before the altered design is officially added to your designs in the user area.

Articles in this category

  1. How do I convert a pixel design to a vector design for plot printing (Flex / Flock)?
  2. How do I create a pixel design (e.g. from a photo) that meets all requirements for digital printing?
  3. How do I create a vector design that will meet all the requirements for a plot printing (Flex / Flock) format?
  4. How do I get the best printing quality with a multi-colored vector design?
  5. How do I increase the (dpi) resolution of my pixel graphic and reduce the file size below 10 MB?
  6. How do I use Spreadshirt's Graphics Service?
  7. What are the most common errors when submitting a vector design?
  8. What are transparent backgrounds and how do I use them?
  9. What are vector and pixel graphics?
  10. Why was my vector design rejected by Spreadshirt’s Designs Service?

Also interesting

  1. What printing colors does Spreadshirt offer for plot printing (Flex / Flock)?

Send us your feedback for this article.

Please don't use this form to send an inquiry to our service team. Instead, please use our contact form.

Submit