How to Design Your Own Hooded Sweatshirt

A Design for the Bayard Yacht Club Ready to Go on Sweatshirt

Direct to Garment printing is a relatively new process for printing full color graphics directly onto garments. DTG requires no silkscreens, so there are no set-up charges or minimum order requirements. This makes it an excellent choice for individuals and small organizations that want to produce small quantities or one-of-a-kind hooded sweatshirts.

Things You'll Need

• Software that will generate image files
• Photo or clip art files
• Typography fonts
• Basic graphic software capability

Instructions

Select Your Garment and Get Image Requirements

1. Go online and shop to find the source, price and hooded sweatshirt color and style you want. Consider Uberprints, Cafe Press and Zazzle, though others doubtless exist. Most sites will let you estimate your total cost, including shipping.

2. Get the image requirements--dimensions, file-size limits, file types accepted and resolution--for the supplier you choose when you are selecting your sweatshirt.

3. Set the page size and resolution in your software to comply with the image requirements you found online.

Create and Export Your Design(s)

1. Combine your photos, clip art and typography into the design you desire.

2. Repeat this process if you want to print both sides of the sweatshirt and want a different design on each side.

3. Export your design or designs to an accepted file type and according to specifications provided by the sweatshirt producer. Note the file locations.

Upload, Approve and Order the Sweatshirt

1. Go to the producer's site and select the sweatshirt you want again. Follow the prompts to get to where you upload your own design.

2. Use the upload utility to load your design files into the product preview for the sweatshirt you chose. Be sure to specify which image goes on the front and which goes on the back of the sweatshirt if you are printing both sides. Note that some producers charge a small amount for uploading images.

3. Preview and approve your sweatshirt design. Be careful because you probably will not be able to change or cancel your order once it is approved and placed.

4. Complete the order process by choosing your sweatshirt color and size. There might be a slight extra charge for sizes larger than extra large.

5. Proceed to the checkout, enter your address information and select shipping and payment options.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember that DTG printing uses a four-color process to produce colors, so you can have whatever colors you want in your design. Many producers also offer white for printing on dark backgrounds. Be sure to select white (and not the "no color" option) if this is part of your desired outcome. If the colors of your type or images are "subdued," consider boosting their saturation and contrast. Note that most DTG printing is produced at 150-200 dpi, but you can always set the resolution higher and the producer will adjust it down. You will not be happy with your sweatshirt if the resolution of your output files is set lower than the production minimum. If you do not currently have software to generate graphic files, consider free options such as the "Draw" program in the "Open Office" suite, "Paint.net," "Gimp" and "Gimpshop" or "Scribus".

• The dyes/inks are very colorfast, but by nature of the technology they soak into the fabric. DTG printing might look "softer" than silk-screened inks applied to the surface.

References

• See DTG Printer in Action

Resources

• Uber Prints
• Cafe Press
• Zazzle