How to get a better quality art file from MS Paint or Publisher for Custom T-Shirts

When it comes to creating custom t-shirts, many of us face a similar dilemma. We don’t have the budget for a professional graphic designer, but we’ve managed to create a logo or artwork in Microsoft Paint or Publisher. The question then becomes: How can we ensure that our designs look good on a t-shirt?

The Problem

Creating artwork in MS Paint or Publisher is convenient and budget-friendly, but these tools are not designed for professional graphic design work. When you want to print your designs on custom shirts, this can present several quality issues. One of the main challenges is that custom printing usually requires the artwork file to be increased in size—sometimes as much as 200-1200%. If your original design has imperfections or is low-quality, enlarging it will only amplify these issues.

Improving the Quality of Your T-Shirt Designs

Despite the limitations of MS Paint and Publisher, there are some tricks you can use to improve the quality of your artwork and ensure your custom t-shirts look great.

MS Paint

When using MS Paint, the key to making your exported artwork better is to increase the pixel size. Set the dimensions to 7000 pixels. It won't be perfect, but it will be a significant improvement over smaller dimensions. Here are a few steps to achieve this:

1. Open your design in MS Paint.

1. Click on "Resize" in the toolbar.
2. Select "Pixels" and enter 7000 for the larger dimension while maintaining the aspect ratio.

1. Save your file as a PNG for better quality.

By doing this, you increase the resolution of your design, which helps to mitigate some of the quality issues that arise when the image is enlarged for printing.

MS Publisher

When using MS Publisher, you have a few more options for exporting high-quality artwork. Follow these steps to get the best results:

1. Design your logo or artwork in MS Publisher as you normally would.

1. Go to `File` > `Save As`, and choose `PDF` as the file type.

1. Click on "Options" and select `Commercial Press` for the highest quality.

1. Save the file. Note that Publisher will save the PDF in a zip file, so make sure you choose a location on your computer where you can easily find it.

The exported PDF will be of much higher quality and is generally the best format for uploading to custom t-shirt printing services.

Final Thoughts

If you're working with a tight budget and have created your artwork in MS Paint or Publisher, don't despair. There are ways to improve the quality of your designs so that they look good on custom t-shirts. By increasing the pixel size in MS Paint and using the commercial press settings in MS Publisher, you can significantly enhance your artwork's resolution and overall appearance.

For the best results, always review your design at the final printing size. Make any necessary adjustments before submitting it for printing. And remember, while these methods can improve your artwork, investing in professional design software or services will yield the best results in the long run.

Ready to elevate the quality of your custom t-shirts? Implement these tips and see the difference for yourself!