# Plasitisols / Screenprinting ...does final artwork have to be vector? Confused, more detail inside.



## Slinky3 (Nov 12, 2012)

I am a little confused about sending artwork off to be turned into plasitisols.

I know what vector and raster images are. I know you can scale vectors and raster are pixels, etc.
I do not know a ton about screen printing but I am reading up on it to learn differences etc.

My question is when you send your artwork off to be turned into plastisols...basically screenprinted onto transfer paper...does your final artwork have to be vector???

I talked to a couple of people and plastisol places and never seem to get a exact straight answer, most say everything has to be vectorized, but some say screen printing is somewhat of a photographic process and it does not have to be vector as long as your final artwork is the actual size of the design you want to be screenprinted.

So what is it? and why?

Please help me understand this.

I do most of my work in AI but love finishing it off with effects from PS.


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## DPendable (Dec 21, 2012)

My understanding is........ logos and such images that will be sized and scaled need to be vector. Because you will have a small left breast size or maybe a large back piece or say your printing it down the sleeve of a pull over. It needs to be vector so when it is scaled it will not lose detail and "pixelate".

Pictures, drawings, artwork ect. Are raster and drawn full size since they more than likely won't be scaled. 

That's just what I have been picking up since doing this (which is not long).

Sent from my LG-P925 using T-Shirt Forums


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## AtkinsonConsult (May 2, 2011)

Slinky & Dave:

First let's give you guys some vocabulary.

Raster images are resolution dependent, as they are made up of pixels which are the tiny squares in a digital file. How many of these pixels are in a square inch determines the resolution, and is associated with the overall file size. For example, most photographic images that you can download from the web are 72 dpi - (dots per inch), while a fairly decent image that you might work with in Photoshop will need to be 300 dpi. Increasing or decreasing the physical size of a raster image may or may not have consequences to the overall final creative look of the file. Most of the time you can't make a small file larger. You usually can make a large file smaller. Photoshop is the leading software that handles raster files. A photograph or a scanned in drawing are examples of a raster file.

Vector images are resolution independent, as they are not made up from pixels but from points plotted and are built around math. Image four points plotted in a rectangular shape. If these are connected with a line they will form a lower case Helvetica letter "l". You can make this letter larger or smaller without sacrificing anything, as the final image isn't controlled by a pixel - but by a math formula. Illustrator or Corel Draw are the leading examples of vector software programs. A corporate logo or some text that has been converted to outlines are examples of a vector file.

The ability to create and separate art files into either one of these types of software programs can usually be handled by most professional art departments. Shops with less skill in separating art files will require you to use vector only to separate into spot colors as learning to do that in Photoshop is an acquired skill.

Size (3" x 3" for example) and print location do not determine what file type to use. Art departments ask for vector art for logos as they are easier to separate, and usually will look nicer, than if you separated the same logo in Photoshop. However, if you know what you are doing you can separate in Photoshop and have similar results. It really depends on the file and skill of the artist.

The reason you are getting different answers is that you are asking people with different skill levels the same question. Maybe they have the skill, maybe they don't.

Good luck,

-M


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## hswartout (Sep 17, 2008)

Vector is how we prefer artwork to come in but if you don’t have a vector file we can convert it for $25 on 95% of designs. Most transfer houses have a conversion fee if you don’t want or can’t do it. Vector gives you the cleanest lines with less distortion on small test and also allows us to turn you design around quicker because we spend less time on art and get it right into production.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Slinky3 said:


> My question is when you send your artwork off to be turned into plastisols...basically screenprinted onto transfer paper...does your final artwork have to be vector???.


Different transfer printers have their own requirements. Decide who you're going to use then create your artwork according to their specifications.


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