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Guidelines to creating your products
The quality of the images you upload to our server is of the utmost importance in the creation process of your products : if the images are of poor quality, the final product will also be of poor quality, and even won't be able to be printed.
Those guidelines will review in detail the important keystones for creating good quality images, and upload them correctly to the comboutique server ; our best advice is that you read them carefully and use the templates available at the end of this guide.
The templates are files holding optimal settings to create your artworks, the most important step to obtaining a product of great quality.
Quick FAQ :
Q : I want to use a picture to create a T-shirt. Is it possible ?
A : Of course you can. You just need to download the appropriate template, through your graphic/image editing software (if you don't have any, click here)
, copy and paste your picture in the template. If needed adjust the size of it. Then, save the PNG template and upload it to our server !
Q : I just have a GIF image, what can I do ?
A : Convert your GIF to a PNG using a freeware. To download it, click here !
Q : What is the maximum file size I can upload ?
A : Your picture mustn't be over 2 Mo. If your file size is over 2 Mo, you can decrease its size or resolution (to learn more, click here).
Q : I want to use an image I have on my website ?
A : Be careful, there are chances its resolution is 72 DPI. You must convert it to a 200 DPI resolution in order to use it. To make it simple, copy-paste it in our template and, if needed, adjust its size (to learn more about resolution, click here). click here). You should be careful that pixelization doesn't make your picture unusable.
Useful tricks :
Always print your image on your printer before you upload it to see what it really looks like. If the outcome is not good on your printer, it won't be good on ours ! (unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily work the other way around).
Try to minimize as much as you can the white space around your artwork, adjusting it as best as you can.
If you have JPEG file, don't forget to set the compression ratio to the minimum (or don't use compression at all) and try not to save your image as a progressive JPEG.
What file format ?
On Comboutique, we accept two different file formats :
- PNG files : our preferred format, the one we use by default, it is adapted to any situation (illustration, photo, logo) and produces a much better result than GIF format (which is not supported). If you need to convert an image from GIF to PNG, check our [graphic/image editing freeware]) section.
- JPEG (or JPG) files : this is by default the file format of digital photos. If you whish to use a photo for your product, you can upload the photo directly in this format (check before the dimensions and file size). To be on the safe side, use our PNG templates, they won't downgrade the quality of your photos.
Warning : whatever format you choose, your must always use the RGB mode.
What size and resolution for your files ?
An image is composed of pixels, for instance it can be 100 pixels width and 100 pixels height. But what will be the real size of this image when printed ? That's where we can introduce the notion of DPI. DPI is Dots per Inch, which represents the precision when you print a computer image. For a 100 DPI resolution, our image (100 pixels width and 100 pixels height) will have the printed size of 1 inch by 1 inch. Likewise, if you want to print on an A4 paper sheet (21cm height and 29,7cm width) with a 200 DPI resolution, our image will need to have the following size : 1653 by 2338 pixels.
In order to guarantee an optimal result during printing and transfer, the resolution of your image mustn't be under a 200 DPI resolution. Is the file size and dimensions of your image allow it, don't hesitate to increase the resolution to 300 DPI (our templates are set by default to 200 DPI).
The resolution of a monitor (and of a web image), cannot exceed 72-100 DPI. You won't realize any difference when viewing a 100 DPI or a 300 DPI image. But when you print it, that's different, the 100 DPI image won't be usable… This limitation explains why you cannot use images from a website without prior work (web images have a 72 DPI resolution - see our quick FAQ section).
Uploading your files to the comboutique server :
Maximum file size is 2 Mo. If your file exceeds that size, an alert window will show. You must optimise your image in order to be able to upload it.
In order to prevent poor quality images from being uploaded, our software tests the size of the image. If it is under 200 pixels, there are chances its resolution is under 200 DPI. You must process it again, preferably using our templates.
Other common errors :
- connection problems (Firewall, Proxy, Norton System Works, ZoneAlarm …) : try and upload your images from another computer.
- timeout problems (hardly ever happens) if you use a slow connection. Unfortunately there isn't much to do in this case. Find a good soul who will let you use her/his fast connection.
- error from the comboutique server : that can happen, if there is no other explanation to your upload problem, please contact us.
Transparency and colour T-shirts :
The creation of your artworks for coloured T-shirts previews is subjected to some restrictions linked to the transparency colour, which won't be white anymore, but a colour as close as possible to the colour of the T-shirt.
The easiest way to manage transparency is to use a PNG file with transparent background. In this case, the background will be transparent in the previews as well.
If you're using a Jpeg file or a PNG file with a non transparent background, we set up our software so that it picks, for the transparency colour, the left uppermost pixel of your artwork (before that, transparency colour used to be always white). To illustrate this, you'll find below two examples of artworks along with their result :
In case you work on a photo, no transparency will be kept during the creation of the T-shirt. But the colour in the upper right corner will be transparent on the preview product, which can result in "weird" effects (which can be erased by creating a coloured border around the photo). No matter what, those "weird" effects won't be visible after the product is made.
Templates :
To download a template : right click on the link and choose "save target as".
For T-shirts, Sweatshirts and Baseball T models (man or woman) :
- central positioned portrait : template PNG 200 DPI 2000px*1600px RVB
- central positioned landscape : template PNG 200 DPI 1600px*2000px RVB
- pocket front : template PNG 200 DPI 1200px*1200px RVB
For baby/toddler T-shirts :
- central positioned portrait : template PNG 200 DPI 1400px*1400px RVB
Graphic / image editing tools :
To convert your files (GIF to PNG) or for resampling / resizing an image : IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/).
To create your artworks, you can use Adobe Photoshop (http://www.adobe.com/)
(http://www.adobe.com/) - you must pay for this software - or use The Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/)
which is free.
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