Before preparing a print, we need to know how it will be used

Sometimes I receive an image to prepare for a shirt print and the file is there, apparently ready for work to begin.

But some important information is still missing.

What color will the shirt be? Will the print be on the front, back or chest? Should it be small and discreet or cover a large part of the garment? Is there one version for a light shirt and another for a dark shirt?

You do not need to understand screen printing to answer these questions. Nor do you need to know about color separation, halftones or other technical production details.

But there is a difference between having an image and having an idea of how that image should work on a shirt.

A few simple pieces of information can make a significant difference.

The shirt is also part of the project

One of the first things I need to know is the color of the shirt.

That may sound like a choice made after the artwork is finished, but it is not always so.

An illustration created on a white background may use dark areas to build shadows, outlines and details. When we place exactly the same image on a black shirt, part of that relationship can disappear.

Sometimes a small adaptation is enough. In other jobs, a version prepared specifically for the dark background may be necessary.

If a print will be used on light and dark shirts, this information should be part of the project from the beginning.

It is not necessary to define every model and every color immediately. The important thing is to understand the kinds of background on which the image will need to work.

Small, medium and large mean different things to different people

Another apparently simple piece of information is size.

A client may say: “I want a large print on the front.” But how large is large?

On a basic shirt with conventional proportions, a few measurements can help create a visual reference.

A small chest print may be about 9 or 10 centimeters wide. Something even more discreet may be around 5 or 6 centimeters.

Front artwork approximately 25 to 28 centimeters wide already has considerable presence. At 30 to 35 centimeters, it is a very large print for many standard shirts.

Vertical artwork may be 40 centimeters or more in height and, in some projects, approach 45 or 48 centimeters.

These measurements are not rules. A small shirt and an XXL shirt do not have the same visual proportions, and oversized shirts and other cuts require different planning.

The numbers simply turn words such as small and large into something we can begin to visualize.

One measurement can be more useful than two

There is another important detail when we define artwork size: its original proportion.

Imagine a long word to be printed on the chest. If we decide that it will be 9 centimeters wide, we do not necessarily need to define its height as well. We can preserve the drawing’s proportion and let the height result naturally from that width.

The same applies to a large illustration on the back. If it is mainly vertical, height may be the most important measurement. If it is mainly horizontal, width will probably be easier to use.

This avoids a situation I encounter quite often: receiving two measurements that do not match the original proportion of the image.

If artwork would naturally measure 30 centimeters wide by 20 high and we force it into 30 by 30, something must happen. Either the drawing is distorted or its composition is modified.

In most cases, neither is desirable.

Defining the main dimension and preserving the proportion is usually a much simpler way to communicate the intended size.

There is an invisible frame over the shirt

For a large print, another piece of information is often absent from both the artwork and the shirt. It belongs to the company that will print it.

Every production system has a maximum area within which it can work. I like to imagine that area as an invisible frame over the shirt. The print needs to fit inside it.

This frame has a maximum width and height determined by the company’s equipment and process.

Before preparing a very large print, it is useful to ask the print shop: “What are the maximum width and height of your usable print area?”

Suppose the answer is 37 centimeters wide by 45 high. That does not necessarily mean the artwork can use both measurements at the same time.

A very vertical image may reach 45 centimeters in height when it is still only 28 centimeters wide. At that point it has already met one edge of the invisible frame, and making it larger would exceed the available area.

With a horizontal image, the width may reach the limit first. The artwork’s own proportion determines which side of the area is reached first.

For small prints this is rarely a concern. For a genuinely large print, knowing the usable area before preparing the file can prevent a great deal of rework.

I also need to know where the print should be placed

There is still something I cannot discover simply by looking at the image: where did you imagine that artwork on the shirt?

Front or back is already important information.

But it could also be left chest, right chest, sleeve or another specific position. A front print may be centered, higher or lower. Small differences in placement can change the final appearance considerably.

You do not need a professional project presentation to explain this.

A simple visual reference can help. Even an image of a shirt with the drawing placed approximately on it communicates a great deal.

Digital and artificial-intelligence tools can also help someone with a little familiarity create a basic visualization, but that is not required.

The aim is not to produce a perfect mockup. It is to show the intention.

An image is the beginning, not necessarily the project

When artwork arrives with this information, much becomes clear before I even begin the technical preparation.

I know the backgrounds on which it needs to work. I have a size reference. I know where it belongs on the garment and, for a large print, I can also consider the limits of the company that will print it.

The technical production decisions come afterward.

They may involve color separation, halftones, resolution and several other details that the client does not necessarily need to master.

To begin a shirt project, the essential point is much simpler: you do not need to know how the print will be technically produced. You need to be able to explain how you would like it to be used.