T-shirt design tips: how a logo looks on fabric

There are three main things to get right in T-shirt design: a left-chest logo should fit within a 110×90 mm area, a full front or back print can go up to 280×210 mm, while embroidery is limited to 90×90 mm. Send your file as a vector (.ai, .eps, .pdf, .svg) or, at minimum, as a 300 dpi raster, and keep in mind that colours on dark fabric look a shade darker than on screen. If these three points are sorted, your artwork will look on the T-shirt just as it does in the preview.

Why a logo looks different on fabric than on paper

Paper is a smooth, white surface. Fabric is a texture that partly absorbs and scatters colour. That's why on 155–200 g/m² cotton, fine lines under 0.5 mm tend to blur together, and light tones on a black T-shirt look muddy without a white base layer.

The other difference is colour space. In digital printing on paper, we work in CMYK, but in screen printing, colours are mixed to the Pantone system — meaning your brand blue can be reproduced exactly, as long as you specify the actual Pantone number rather than "same as on the website".

Print sizes and positions

Standard positions we work with every day:

Practical tip: a chest logo rarely needs to fill the entire 110×90 mm area. A width of 70–90 mm usually looks best — this is what people perceive as "corporate" rather than "promotional giveaway". For full-front artwork, we always position it 70–80 mm below the neck seam so it doesn't disappear under the chin.

For children's T-shirts, we scale sizes down proportionally: a 280 mm wide design won't fit on a shirt sized for a 122 cm tall child, so we typically go up to 200 mm wide.

Files we can use without redrawing

• Vector: .ai, .eps, .pdf or .svg with text converted to curves.
• Raster: .png with a transparent background, 300 dpi at the actual print size — meaning at least 1300 px wide for a 110 mm logo.
• Colours: Pantone numbers for screen printing and embroidery, CMYK for DTF printing.
• Won't work: a logo copied from a website (usually 72 dpi), a Word document, a screenshot, or a JPG with a white background on a coloured T-shirt.

If there's no vector file, we'll redraw your logo. For a simple text-based logo, that's a 15–30 minute job and is usually included in the order; for complex illustrations, we agree on this separately.

Colours on light and dark fabric

Almost any design works on white and light-coloured T-shirts. For dark fabric, two things matter:

1. White base layer. In DTF printing, a white layer is automatically placed under the colours, so they stay vibrant even on black. In screen printing, a white base is an additional colour and affects the price.
2. Contrast. A grey logo on a black T-shirt visually disappears from 3 metres away. If your brand colour is dark, we prepare a monochrome version — white or a lighter tone.

A special note on polyester sports shirts, such as the Bahrain 135 g/m² sports T-shirt: dark polyester can cause dye migration into light-coloured prints, so we use colours suited for this or recommend embroidery instead.

Screen printing, DTF or embroidery

The design implications are significant. For screen printing, a logo needs to be broken down into flat, solid-colour shapes — gradients and soft shadows require extra colours and increase cost. DTF accepts any image, including photographs. Embroidery, on the other hand, can't reproduce fine detail: text under 4 mm high and lines under 1 mm blur together, so we often simplify logos — removing thin outlines and increasing the spacing between letters.

Read more about all three methods in our garment printing section, and see real examples in our work.

Text that stays legible

• Minimum letter height: 3 mm for DTF and screen printing, 4–5 mm for embroidery.
• Thin sans-serif font styles (Thin, Light) get lost on fabric — use Regular or Medium.
• Increase letter spacing by 2–5% for light text on a dark background.
• The stroke around text should be at least 0.7 mm; anything thinner will disappear.
• A QR code on a T-shirt needs a minimum size of 30×30 mm and requires a white border.

Examples from our catalogue

• Beagle 155 g/m² men's T-shirt – lightweight cotton, 36 colours, suitable for DTF or chest screen printing, from 2.22 EUR/pc at qty 1 and 2.21 EUR at qty 100.
• Stafford 190 g/m² men's T-shirt – denser cotton, 41 colours, holds a full 280×210 mm screen print well, from 3.06 EUR/pc.
• Capri 170 g/m² women's T-shirt – cotton, 34 colours, for its slim fit we recommend a logo up to 90 mm wide, from 2.90 EUR/pc.
• Star 200 g/m² men's polo shirt – cotton, 34 colours, a typical embroidery shirt up to 90×90 mm, from 5.81 EUR/pc.
• Star 200 g/m² women's polo shirt – cotton, 34 colours, same print position as the men's model, from 5.81 EUR/pc.
• Bahrain 135 g/m² men's sports T-shirt – polyester, 23 colours, suited for sublimation and embroidery, from 2.00 EUR/pc.
• Clasica 280 g/m² unisex sweatshirt – cotton-polyester blend, 38 colours, thick fabric, so we recommend fine lines of at least 1 mm, from 10.68 EUR/pc.
• Stafford 190 g/m² children's T-shirt – cotton, 38 colours, print size scaled down proportionally to the child's height, from 2.49 EUR/pc.

All available models and colours are in the T-shirts category and the rest of our catalogue.

Frequently asked questions

How big should a logo be on the chest of a T-shirt?

The standard print area is 110×90 mm, but the best visual result is usually around 70–90 mm wide. A larger chest logo starts to look more like an event T-shirt than workwear.

Can I send a logo from a website?

That's usually 72 dpi, which is too low resolution for printing. If you don't have a vector file, send us whatever you have — we'll redraw the logo. For simple logos, this usually doesn't change the price.

How will a colourful logo look on a black T-shirt?

In DTF printing, we place a white base layer under the colours, so they stay close to the original. In screen printing, the white base is a separate colour, which increases the setup fee (35 EUR per colour).

How many colours can a logo have?

In DTF printing, there's no limit — you can even print a photograph. In screen printing, each colour requires a separate screen and a 35 EUR setup fee, so for large quantities, 1–3 colours is the most cost-effective option.

Does a logo need to be changed for embroidery?

Often, yes. Elements under 1 mm and text under 4 mm can't be reproduced in embroidery, so we simplify the logo and send a digitised preview for approval before production.

How long does it take to get T-shirts with printing?

Production takes 4–7 business days depending on quantity, delivery takes 2–3 days, so the total is usually 6–10 business days. Urgent orders can be arranged by agreement.

Send us your logo and T-shirt model at info@attaprint.lv, via WhatsApp, or call +371 25776699 — we'll check the file quality and suggest the right size and position. We prepare a quote with prices, print location and timeline within one business day; contact us.