Moxie Media

Alphabet soup is what you might think once you begin discussing artwork creation and transfer with clients and decorators. Here’s a handy cheat sheet to help clarify the jumble.

• DPI (dots per inch) is the unit of measurement for resolution, communicating the density of dots in a print image or on a computer screen. It is helpful to remember that as the dpi doubles, the number of dots within a square inch quadruples. Therefore an image that’s 300 dpi will have 90,000 dots per square inch. Remember, the higher the dpi, the better the resolution of your image.
• CMYK color: This is the color method based upon pigments. “CMYK” stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Using these four colors, most other colors can be achieved.
• PMS (Pantone Matching System): This is a printing color method based on a list of specially mixed colors by Pantone Corp. These colors are considered to be “pure” and “true” based on their exacting specifications.
• BMP (bitmap) is a map of dots or pixels, which typically comes in file formats such as .gif, .tif, .jpg or .bmp. Each dot can specify a color. The larger the resolution the better, but these files generally aren’t the best choice for imprint artwork.
• GIF (graphics interchange format) is often the format used for the photos you see on the Internet, because the files are small and download quickly.
• JPG or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a standard compression format for high-resolution color images. They too are created by pixels. The higher the dpi, the better the image of the jpeg.
• TIFF (tagged image file format) is a file format for exchanging bitmapped images.
• EPS (encapsulated postscript) is a type of graphics file written in postscript language.
• PDF (Adobe portable document format) offers an easy way to share files and to illustrate what you want your artwork to look like. However, these files aren’t always the best from which to have your garment imprinted.

 If you need assistance in decipher the “graphic file” language, we would be glad to interpret.  Pop us an email or we can stop by and help you.