Artwork Requirements & Image Guidelines

Create stunning products with professional print quality. Follow these guidelines to ensure your artwork looks amazing on every product.

Quick Tip: Pixerr AI (powered by OpenAI) automatically creates images at optimal sizes for most products. If you're uploading your own artwork, use these guidelines for best results!

Why Image Quality Matters

Pixerr uses high-quality print-on-demand production for physical products you create in Pixerr Studio. To make sure your products look great on t-shirts, posters, mugs, and more, we recommend following these artwork guidelines.

The golden rule: Start with the highest quality image you can. It's easy to scale down, but impossible to add detail to a low-resolution image.

General Artwork Guidelines

Use high-resolution images: At least 300 DPI where possible for crisp, professional prints
Upload at or above recommended dimensions: Each product type has optimal pixel sizes (see table below)
Accepted file types: PNG (preferred for transparency) and JPG/JPEG (for non-transparent designs)
Avoid upscaling small images: Low-resolution images will look blurry and pixelated when printed
Keep details away from edges: Products often require a bleed/safe area; important text should be at least 0.25" from edges
Test your design: Use our product preview to see how your artwork will look before publishing

Recommended Sizes by Product Type

Product Type	Recommended Resolution	DPI	File Type	Notes
T-Shirts / Hoodies	4200 × 4800 px	300 DPI	PNG or JPG	Use a transparent background (PNG) if you want the garment color to show through.
Posters / Canvas Prints	7200 × 10800 px or higher	150–300 DPI	PNG or JPG	Avoid low-res images; full-bleed designs work best for wall art.
Mugs	2700 × 1125 px	300 DPI	PNG or JPG	Keep key text and graphics away from the handle area.
Phone Cases	2000 × 4000 px (approx.)	300 DPI	PNG	Use a full-bleed background; avoid important details at the edges (camera cutouts).
Tote Bags	4500 × 5400 px	300 DPI	PNG or JPG	Center your design; bags often have a large printable area.
Pillows / Blankets	6000 × 6000 px	200–300 DPI	PNG or JPG	Use edge-to-edge designs for best results.
Embroidered Items	300 × 300 px (vector-like)	N/A	PNG	Simple shapes, no gradients; limited colors; thick lines preferred. Keep designs small and bold.

📌 Note: These are general recommendations that work well with most print-on-demand items. Some specific products may have slightly different templates or safe areas, but these sizes will give you excellent results across the board.

Working with transparency

Transparency lets the product color or material show through areas you did not paint. Essential for logos on shirts, decals on phone cases, and logo-style art on apparel. Without it, a white or gray rectangle prints around your design.

File format

Use PNG for any design that should float on the product (alpha channel = transparent pixels).
Use JPG only when the artwork is a full-bleed photo or illustration with no see-through areas.
Export from your editor with background removed: do not flatten onto white if you want the garment color visible.

In Pixerr Studio

After you apply a transparent PNG to a product, Studio may show Quick layout fixes under the mockup:

Shrink 5% / Shrink 10%: adds breathing room inside the print area
Expand 5%: makes the art slightly larger (edges may crop)
Center: moves the visible design to the middle of the print area
Fit safely: scales the design to sit inside the safe print zone
Reset: returns to your original uploaded file

The preview checkerboard marks transparent pixels. Full product workflow: Working with transparency on the Creating Products guide. For when not to use transparency (phone cases, posters, hats) and how to set shop default color, see Make your shop look great.

Color & File Tips

Color Considerations

Work in RGB color space: Pixerr handles color conversion for print during production
Consider contrast: Avoid extremely dark designs on very dark products unless you want a subtle look
Text readability: Use high contrast for text (light text on dark backgrounds or vice versa)
White backgrounds: If your design has a white background, it will print white. Use transparent PNG if you want the product color to show

File Format Best Practices

PNG (Recommended): Use for designs with transparency, crisp edges, or text. Supports transparency (alpha channel).
JPG/JPEG: Good for photographs or complex images without transparency. Slightly smaller file size.
Avoid: GIF (limited colors), BMP (large file size), or heavily compressed images
Save quality: When exporting, use maximum quality settings (90-100% for JPG)

AI-Generated Artwork with Pixerr

Using Pixerr's AI Art Generator

When you generate artwork with Pixerr's AI tools, we automatically create images large enough for most products. Our AI outputs high-quality images at sizes like 1024×1024px or larger, which work great for:

Phone cases
Mugs and drinkware
Coasters and small gift items
Small to medium apparel prints

Pro tip: For large format items like posters or full-print hoodies, you may want to upscale your AI-generated images using an image editor or upscaling tool before applying them to products.

Common Issues & How to Fix Them

My image looks blurry in the preview

Cause: Your source image resolution is too low for the product size.

Use a higher resolution source image (see table above)
If using AI, generate at the largest available size
Consider smaller products (phone cases, coasters) instead of large prints

My design has a white box around it

Cause: Your image has a white background instead of transparency.

Save your artwork as a PNG with a transparent background
Use an image editor to remove the background
In Pixerr AI, choose a transparent-background option when available

Colors look different than expected

Cause: Screen colors (RGB) do not always match printed colors exactly.

Prints may look slightly different than on-screen
Order a sample product to check real print quality
Avoid very bright neon colors that are hard to reproduce in print
Use high contrast so details stay visible

Important details are cut off at edges

Cause: Design extends into the trim / bleed area.

Keep important text and details at least 0.25" (or about 75px at 300 DPI) from edges
Use the product preview to check how your design fits
Adjust the design to stay inside the safe printing area