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Ok so I drew up a good couple of sample designs for my batch of t-shirts but I not as familiar with photoshop and illustrator so i can reproduce them into a graphic design.
Now my question is, are the people who print the prints onto my tshirts able to make due without a graphic design of my picture or is it okay to just give them a good copy of my drawn designs for them to use in the DTG process.
Ok so I drew up a good couple of sample designs for my batch of t-shirts but I not as familiar with photoshop and illustrator so i can reproduce them into a graphic design.
Now my question is, are the people who print the prints onto my tshirts able to make due without a graphic design of my picture or is it okay to just give them a good copy of my drawn designs for them to use in the DTG process.
any advice would be awesome, thanks!
Keep in mind that if you don't supply a digital copy, they will have to scan it in, which some may not even be willing to do. So, here you go as to why some may not want to do it: I don't like having other people's pictures in my shop mainly cause I don't want to be responsible for if it falls to the floor, or gets damaged sitting in my file cabinet, etc. After I scan it in, I have to go do all kinds of stupid corrections cause it's at a slight angle, the scanner picked up dust, there's a crinkle, fold, etc in the artwork which I then have to correct. I also get to play around with color and brightness settings, which are fun fun fun. Then we get the pains in the arse that are too big to fit into a regular scanner, so I have to do multiple scans, which then requires me to seam two scanned copies together. You may also not get a good computer user, so they might not go through these steps and you'll end up with a Picasso with strange things all over the place instead of a Sicilian
That being said, I do occasionally do it for some folks, and the area I live in is extremely poor, so I usually don't rake them over the coals for it. However I think that is one of my unique traits, and it wouldn't surprise me if a printer told you it was going to cost $60+ to scan it in and all that crap when I usually just do it as a courtesy. Talk with some of the business owners and get a feel out of them, their abilities, and their flexibility.
I would highly recommend getting your design scanned and converted to vector. Not only is it going to make your printer happy but the quality is going to be so much better. Plus you can use the vector design for business cards or other promotional materials.
At my last job we used vikingarts.com to do all of our digitizing, their prices are extremely reasonable and they have very fast turnaround. You will have to send them scanned drawings but you can have that done at any Kinkos.
Ya i was going to send a scanned copy of the picture and not a paper copy. I think sending a paper copy wouldnot be a good idea.
Ok so i read that I should scan and then convert to vector. Since i am not that familiar with these terms and i am to lazy to search it :P, can someone please tell me how to go around doing this? Would be greatly appreciated!
Ya i was going to send a scanned copy of the picture and not a paper copy. I think sending a paper copy wouldnot be a good idea.
Ok so i read that I should scan and then convert to vector. Since i am not that familiar with these terms and i am to lazy to search it :P, can someone please tell me how to go around doing this? Would be greatly appreciated!
As you are sending it out for a DTG imprint, I wouldn't bother converting it to vector (which may be time consuming and result in a loss of quality on detailed images). DTG is simply an inkjet converted to print directly to garments (hence the name, DTG). As when getting art prints made, convert the image to the size you want it to be printed at with the resolution at 300ppi.
Ok so i read that I should scan and then convert to vector. Since i am not that familiar with these terms and i am to lazy to search it :P, can someone please tell me how to go around doing this? Would be greatly appreciated!
I meant that you should scan it and send it to a vector conversion service such as the one I mentioned. If you are not familiar with graphics programs it will take you a very long time to do it yourself.
If you already have it scanned, go ahead and send it to your printer and see what they think - they might be able to print it as is. But vectoring is so cheap that it's worth it to do it anyway.
Being a DTG printer myself, I can tell you it would be much better for you to send out a vectorized or a "print ready" file. If you just send a scanned copy of your hand drawn designs, a lot of DTG printers will either charge you a lot of money to make your design print ready or not even do it at all. What you can do is hire somebody to re-create your design in ilustrator or something, or scan your hand drawn design and live trace it and then go in and add digital colors etc.
Being a DTG printer myself, I can tell you it would be much better for you to send out a vectorized or a "print ready" file. If you just send a scanned copy of your hand drawn designs, a lot of DTG printers will either charge you a lot of money to make your design print ready or not even do it at all. What you can do is hire somebody to re-create your design in ilustrator or something, or scan your hand drawn design and live trace it and then go in and add digital colors etc.
Ya I thought of trying to scan and then doing a live trace but for more detailed designs, it will be nearly impossible to give it the same exact look. I think vectoring it will be the best way or maybe just making a graphic artist remake it into a graphic design will do it.
My designs are very scribbled down and are made to look messy like someone did a sketch on paper. I want to bring that same look to my tshirts. Im afraid that if I try change it into a graphic design then my hand drawn designs wont look the same.
Hand drawn vs. graphic designed 
