PlaqD Learn
Get Your Artwork Print-Ready
You don't need to be a designer to send a good file. You mostly need to avoid five or six specific mistakes — here they are, with the fix for each.
Resolution
Aim for 300 DPI at the size you're printing. For a 3 inch sticker that means roughly 900 × 900 pixels; for a 12 inch metal print, roughly 3,600 pixels on the long edge. 150 DPI is the practical floor for larger wall pieces viewed from a distance.
Enlarging a small file in an editor adds pixels but not detail. If the original is small, print smaller. The print quality checker tells you which sizes your file can carry.
File formats
Vector: SVG, AI, EPS, PDF
Best for logos and type. Scales to any size with no quality loss.
PNG
Best raster option for stickers — supports real transparency.
JPG
Fine for photographs. No transparency; avoid heavy re-saving.
Good for layouts and labels. Embed fonts or outline your text.
Avoid screenshots
Screen captures are low-resolution by definition.
Avoid chat exports
Images re-sent through messaging apps are recompressed.
Transparency and backgrounds
For die-cut and specialty sticker finishes, the transparent areas of your file determine where the material shows through and where the cut line runs. Save a PNG with a genuinely transparent background rather than a white rectangle — white is not transparent, and it will print.
Colour
Design in RGB and let us handle the conversion; sRGB is the safest working space. Very bright neon greens, oranges and blues are outside the printable range of most processes and will shift slightly toward a duller version of themselves. Rich, dense blacks reproduce well on both metal and sticker material.
Bleed, margins and cut lines
Extend background colour about an eighth of an inch beyond the finished edge, and keep text and logos the same distance inside it. Cutting and trimming carry a small tolerance; designs that hug the edge are the ones that come back looking off-centre.
Not sure? Upload anyway.
PlaqD reviews uploaded artwork as part of the production workflow, and provides a digital proof where proof approval is required. If something won't print well, we tell you before it goes to production rather than after.
Keep exploring
- print quality checker
Check your image against common PlaqD print sizes.
- sticker size guide
Pick a size before you finalise the artwork.
- custom metal prints
Take a finished file straight into the builder.