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Image Type

Zazzle supports images in both JPEG and PNG formats. Both formats will produce great quality products as long as the resolution meets or exceeds our recommendations. With PNG, we support full transparency of your images as you design. GIF and TIFF images are also supported. However, please make sure the quality of your image is high enough for printing on a product.

We recommend using an sRGB color profile for images. However, we do support CMYK based images as well.

Image size and resolution

To ensure your images are the correct size and resolution, we recommend starting with one of the Zazzle Guide Files. These guide files are the correct size and resolution required for great results. Higher resolutions will have even better results.

If you have pre-existing artwork, see the complete list of image sizes and resolutions.

The general resolution requirements are:

  • 150ppi (pixels per inch) for apparel, aprons, bags, hats, mousepads, and ties.
  • 200ppi for mugs, drinkware, calendars, cards, keychains, magnets, postcards, and all stickers.
  • 300ppi for custom postage.
  • 100 ppi for photo enlargements/prints, and posters.

To fill the full area on any product, we recommend that you use images that are equal to or larger than the recommended sizes. In the Design Tool, a resolution warning will appear for any images sized larger than the resolution of the image allows.

More information

FAQs

How do I add an image to a design or product?

In the Zazzle Design Program, you may upload an image using the "Upload a New Image" button or import an image from your MyImages collection, using the "Import from My Images" button. If you upload a new image, it will automatically be stored in your My Images collection in case you want to use it later.

A great way to build a collection of usable images for products is to use the "Bulk Upload" feature in My Account (under myImages). This feature lets you upload up to 10 images at a time. Afterwards, they will appear in your myImages collection in My Account

What kinds of images does Zazzle support?

We support JPEG, PNG, GIF, or TIFF files.

T-shirts are created at a minimum of 150 ppi (pixels per inch). Other products have different resolution requirements.

To fill the full area, we recommend that you use images that are equal to or larger than the recommended sizes.

See also Zazzle's recommended image sizing by product type.

How do I design for Dark Apparel?
To design your dark apparel shirt, start with our powerful Apparel Design Tool where you can add multiple images, and text in hundreds of fonts and colors to your shirt. Once you have started your shirt, simply select "Basic Dark T-shirt" as your shirt style on the "Apparel Info" tab and pick the color you prefer: black, deep forest, red, navy blue, dark grey. Learn more about Designing for Dark Apparel.
What is the best size and resolution for a light apparel design?
When generating an image to upload to our site for light apparel, the best approach is to create your file measuring 14" x 12" and at a resolution of 150ppi. This way, the design you submit will appear at the same size and aspect ratio when your product is manufactured. If you save your file as a JPEG, the white portions it contains will be omitted, so you do not have to worry about the white box that encloses your design. If you save your image file as a PNG, make sure that area around your image is transparent in order to ensure that everything but your design is omitted when manufacturing your shirt.
Will the white color in my image print on my Light Apparel Product?
We use a brand-new and very sophisticated technology to print the apparel products. The inks are actually sublimated into the fibers of the t-shirt, which makes the colors vibrant and keeps the shirts very soft. It also allows us to print thousands of colors (enabling photo-realism) instead of a few, compared to screen printers. Unfortunately, the technology does not yet support printing "white" coloring, because our process lacks white ink. Comparable to your printer at home, our system processes "white" portions of images as transparencies, and omits them. In short, all white portions assume the color of the shirt they are placed on. We protect against this by no longer allowing white text to be selected. At this time, the only way around this problem is to print your image on a white shirt, or to design your image for a Dark Apparel product where white can be printed. For information on Dark Apparel Designs, please see Designing for Dark Apparel.
Will the black background of my graphic match the black color of my Dark Apparel product?
In order to best match the color of the dark apparel your product will be printed on, we recommend removing the black background on your image and replacing it with transparency. For more information, please see Designing for Dark Apparel.

Special Instructions for Apparel

Zazzle's state-of-the-art apparel printing allows for unparalleled results. The below instructions will help you create the best images to ensure the highest quality reproduction on your apparel products.

When designing for dark apparel, you now have the ability to specify which parts of your image should be transparent and which parts should actually be printed as 'white'. After you've added an image to your design, look under advanced options in the design tool and use the 'show whites in image as transparent' checkbox. Note that this checkbox is ignored for light apparel.

Be sure to adhere to the minimum resolution of 150ppi when designing for apparel. Using the Guide Files will help.

The Color White

White is not printed on light-colored Zazzle apparel (including grey, ash, natural, light blue, pink, light green, etc.). In this case, any white in your design will appear as the color of the shirt.

On Zazzle Dark apparel (black, red, etc.), we have a special printing process that allows us to print white on these shirts.

Designing for Dark Apparel

When designing for dark apparel, you now have the ability to specify which parts of your image should be transparent, and which parts should actually be printed as 'white'. After you've added an image to your design, look under advanced options in the design tool and use the 'show whites in image as transparent' checkbox. Note that this checkbox is ignored for light apparel.

Designing with Text

You can easily add text in any color on your design. White text looks great on a black t-shirt!

Designing with Images

As with all other products, Zazzle supports images in either PNG or JPEG formats. For dark apparel specifically, we recommend using PNG images with transparency - with PNG images, any areas that are supposed to be transparent will not be printed, and all other colors including white will be printed as intended. The only way to specify that 'white' will be printed is if you use images with transparency. Partial transparency is not supported. If an area is not fully transparent, it will be printed as opaque.

More information about dark apparel