Print-on-Demand File Checker
Check artwork against Printful, Printify, Redbubble or Amazon Merch specs.
What every print-on-demand service wants
- Enough pixels for the print size. This matters far more than the DPI number saved in the file. A 16-inch shirt print at 300 DPI needs 4800 px across.
- RGB colour. All the major services work in RGB and convert on their end.
- Transparent PNG for apparel. A white background will print as a white box on a garment.
- Reasonable file size. Printful and Printify cap PNG/JPEG at 100 MB; Redbubble at 300 MB.
Where the services differ
Printful and Printify think in DPI at the print size — 300 recommended, with 150 (or 120 for very large items) as the floor. Redbubble ignores DPI entirely and checks pixel dimensions against its per-product targets, and it requires a transparent PNG. Amazon Merch on Demand is the strictest: the standard t-shirt print file is expected at exactly 4500 × 5400 px.
Specs verified 29 July 2026 against each provider’s own documentation, except Amazon Merch, whose figures are widely reported by sellers rather than published by Amazon. Providers change requirements from time to time — check with your provider before a large run.
Frequently asked questions
What DPI do print-on-demand services need?
300 DPI is the standard recommendation across Printful and Printify. Printful accepts down to 150 DPI for most products, and Printify allows 120–150 DPI on large items like blankets and tapestries. Redbubble is the odd one out — it states that DPI does not affect your uploaded image at all, and judges files purely on pixel dimensions.
Do I need a transparent background?
For apparel, yes. Direct-to-garment printing puts ink straight onto fabric, so a white JPG background prints as a visible white rectangle around your design. Printful recommends transparent PNG for DTG, and Redbubble requires a transparent PNG. For posters and other paper products it does not matter.
Should my file be RGB or CMYK?
RGB. Every major print-on-demand service works in RGB (Printify explicitly supports RGB/sRGB for PNG) and converts for print on their end. You do not need to convert to CMYK yourself — and doing so can shift your colours.
Why does my design print blurry even though the file looked fine?
Because sharpness depends on pixels ÷ print size, not on the DPI number stored in the file. A 1000 px image is fine on a mug and soft on a 16-inch shirt print. This tool works out the effective DPI at the real print size for you — and for artwork headed to paper rather than a product, the DPI checker does the same for any print size.
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