How to Prepare Artwork for Fabric Printing

Most textile print problems are preventable with a short pre-flight check. Use this guide as a checklist before every upload to a printer or mill.

1. Confirm the brief

Fabric base and printable width.
Repeat type (straight, half drop, brick, mirror, engineered/placement).
Repeat size in centimetres or inches.
Required resolution, colour mode and file format.
Quantity and whether a strike-off is included.

2. Check the repeat

Open the exported tile — not your working file — and tile it. Look for seams, colour drift at edges and tracking lines. The Seamless Pattern Checker provides offset and edge views plus a mismatch score. Re-check after any resize or format conversion.

3. Check size and resolution

Verify pixel dimensions against the intended repeat size. Effective resolution should meet the printer’s specification (often 150–300 DPI). The Image Resolution Checker reads pixel size and embedded DPI in seconds.

4. Check colour

Use the colour mode your printer requests — usually RGB with an embedded profile for digital textile printing.
Pick critical colours from the printer’s colour chart for your fabric.
Remove unused spot channels and hidden layers.

5. Flatten and export

Keep a layered master, then export a flattened copy. TIFF (LZW or no compression) and PNG are safe choices; use high-quality JPEG only if the printer accepts it. Embed the intended DPI so the file opens at the right physical size.

6. Name files so nobody has to guess

Include the design name, colourway, repeat type, size and resolution, for example lotus-vine_cw2_halfdrop_64x32cm_150dpi.tif. Consistent names prevent the wrong colourway reaching production.

7. Placement and engineered prints

For scarves, panels and cut-and-sew pieces, supply artwork at the exact finished size plus bleed, mark the grain direction, and include any seam allowances specified by the pattern maker.

8. Order a strike-off

A strike-off is a short test print on the production fabric. Check colour against your chart, scale against a ruler, and the repeat across the width. Approve it in writing, and keep the physical sample as the reference for bulk production.