What size should a t-shirt design be?
For most print-on-demand and DTF workflows, 4500 × 5400 pixels at 300 DPI — about 12 × 15 inches, the largest common front-print area — as a transparent PNG. Apex wall art is a 4:5 file, not a shirt template, so check your printer's template dimensions before you use one on a garment; stickers, being transparent PNGs, are the closer fit.
- 01
Why 12 × 15
It is the largest standard front-print area on adult shirts; smaller placements crop or scale down from it without losing resolution. Your POD provider publishes its own template — use theirs when it differs.
- 02
Transparent, not white
A shirt file must be a transparent PNG. A white box prints as a white box. See the transparency answer.
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What Apex files are and are not
Sticker PNGs are transparent and suit chest prints and pocket prints at native size. Wall-art files are full-bleed 4:5 artworks — you can crop and place them on a garment, but they were made for frames, and we do not ship a shirt-sized version.
Can I scale a sticker PNG up for a full-front print?+
Only up to the point its pixel count allows at 300 DPI. Check the pixel dimensions on the download first.
Does DTF need anything special?+
A transparent PNG at print size and a white underbase, which the printer adds. Some printers want the file mirrored — sublimation does, DTF usually does not.
What about all-over prints?+
A different template entirely, usually a large seamless file. Not what catalog stickers or wall art are.
- —Apex does not ship shirt-sized print files — sizing to a garment template is your step.
- —It does not cover garment-specific color output; see the CMYK answer.
Transparent PNGs, ready to place.
Sticker designs at 300 DPI with clean edges — drop them onto a shirt template at native size.