Sometimes designs on a computer screen don’t look the same when they’re printed on a t-shirt or other products. There’s nothing worse than an unhappy customer because your design didn’t print the way they thought it would. We have put together 5 easy product design tips for a successful GearLaunch store.

5 Design Tips for a Successful GearLaunch Store

1. Know the Best Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop Settings for Print

We recommend designing in CMYK and saving your designs in an RGB profile. This will ensure that your design is created in colors best for print. The difference isn’t noticeable on a computer, but it’s best for our printers and will help your print look as sharp as possible.

All printers can print CMYK, but not the full RGB spectrum. For more about the difference between CMYK and RGB, please check out our information on color best practices here.

We’ve analyzed thousands of campaigns across our platform and gathered the most popular design colors. If your design contains one of the colors below, please use the hex code listed to ensure the best color print.

2. Upload Artwork in PNG Format

Always upload artwork to GearLaunch in PNG format with at least 300 dpi. To create a clean and professional print, be sure to turn off anti-aliasing.

It’s also important to use mockups for the placement of the design in the correct size to avoid any pixelation issues due to the stretching of the image. PNG is not a vector image and pixels may show when enlarging to cover the desired space.

The minimum art size requirement for GearLaunch is 1600px to 9400px wide.

3. Make Sure Your Design Colors are Consistent

When you upload your design to GearLaunch, the system detects more colors than the naked eye. Be sure to scan your design to make sure all the colors are consistent.

More often than not, it’s possible that more than one shade of a particular color is on the design. For example, Royal Blue and Dark Purple on the opposite sides of a design might look the same, however, when they’re next to each other, they’re clearly different. If you want your design to print with all Royal Blue, be sure it’s the same on the entire design.

4. Make Sure Your Design is Centered

Try to keep your designs centered and avoid going too close to the edges of any product. If you use multiple types of products on one campaign, make sure to size your design on each one to prevent unintended cropping.

Also, create a clean design and get rid of all of the unwanted objects in your design to prevent any defects. Leaving a small shape or line in the design can ruin its integrity.

5. Use a Transparent Background

It’s best to use a 100% transparent background in your design. However, DO NOT use transparency for colors you want to print because it will muddy the print. Instead, use a popular printing method that successfully addresses the transparency of color called the halftone process. When using halftones (which creates a gradient effect), it’s best to keep the style consistent and avoid mixing a continuous tone gradient in the design.

Another factor that affects your design’s viewability is color. When the main colors of your design resemble the color of the medium it sits on, your design immediately becomes difficult to view. To avoid this, use contrasting colors to make your product really “pop” for potential buyers. Learn more about creating and formatting your designs here.

Following these guidelines will help you create an awesome design your customers will love! If you don’t have a store yet, we can help! Get started with GearLaunch today!

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