How to turn an AI image into a printable shirt

Download the original image file rather than a screenshot, make sure the background is transparent or removed, and check that it has enough pixels for the size you want to print: about 150 pixels per inch, so 1800 pixels wide for a 12-inch print. Then add any words as text rather than relying on lettering in the image.

1. Get the real file

Use the download button on the image in the chat. A screenshot is smaller than the original and picks up whatever else was on screen. Pictures saved from messaging apps are often shrunk too.

2. Deal with the background

A PNG with a transparent background prints just the design. A JPEG has no transparency, so its background prints as a box, which shows on any shirt that isn't the same colour. If the AI gave you a solid background, ask it again for a transparent one, or cut the design out before uploading. On a white shirt, a white background hardly shows.

3. Check the size

Shirt prints are made at about 150 pixels per inch. The front print area on a ChatAttire tee is 12 × 16 inches (1800 × 2400 pixels). The studio compares your image with the size you have set and warns you when it would look blurry, so you can make it smaller or use a larger image.

An upscaler adds pixels but can't add detail the image never had. A cleaner, simpler graphic often prints better than an upscaled detailed one.

4. Shape and placement

A tall image (portrait, about 2:3) fills the front; a square one suits a chest or back print; a small graphic works on a sleeve, whose print area on a tee is 4 × 3.5 inches. Each side gets its own artwork, and the first print is included in the price.

5. Words and proof

Add names, dates and slogans as a text layer so they are spelled exactly as typed. Before checkout you approve a full-size proof of each print file: it is printed as shown.

Upload your image