What are the design guidelines for single-color print products?

Written by

Lena Murphy

To ensure the best results, single-color print products require specific design preparation. This guide covers file requirements, artwork specifications, and minimum size guidelines for decoration methods, including vinyl cutting and puff printing. Make sure to meet these requirements before uploading your design.

Note

Single-color print products are currently a part of our Early Access Catalog. This means that mockup previews are not yet available in the Product Creator, and pre-made mockups are not provided for these products. To ensure complete confidence in the final product, we suggest placing a sample order before offering these products to your customers.

A single-color print refers to a design printed using only one ink color or material on the final product. This approach is commonly used in decoration methods such as vinyl cutting, puff printing, and single-color screen printing.

Examples of single-color print designs

File requirements and specifications

Transparent background: The design file must be uploaded in a format that supports transparency, such as PNG or SVG.
Artwork color: The design must be a solid 100% black shape and cannot contain other colors, gradients, or semi-transparent areas.
Fonts: For any design involving small text, choosing a bold, sans-serif font (with thick, simple lines) is highly recommended over thin or highly decorative fonts.

Minimum line thickness and text requirements

The minimum line thickness and text height required for a successful outcome vary significantly depending on the decoration method used. Please review the specific requirements for your chosen method before uploading your design files.

Vinyl cutting

Minimum line thickness: 0.07" (1.8 mm). Prevents the material from tearing during the cutting process.
Minimum gap/spacing: 0.06" (1.5 mm). Ensures successful weeding and prevents neighboring cut elements from merging.
Minimum text height: 0.25" (6.5 mm). Maintains the integrity of internal character shapes (e.g., centers of "o" or "a") during the weeding process.

Puff printing

Minimum line thickness: 0.125"–0.2" (3–5 mm). Ensures a substantial volume of ink is used to achieve a consistent, high, three-dimensional rise.
Note: Lines closer to 0.2" will achieve a more noticeable 3D "puff" effect.
Minimum gap/spacing: 0.125" (3 mm). Prevents the expanding (puffing) ink from merging with adjacent elements.
Minimum text height: 0.5" (12 mm). Guarantees legibility and shape consistency after the expansion of the ink during curing.
Maximum solid area: 3.94" x 3.94" (10 cm x 10 cm). Large solid areas can lead to inconsistent puffing, cracking, or poor wash durability.