Dropdtf
Make a design

Dropdtf guide

Why do soft shadows and glows print badly on DTF?

Because a fade is made of partly clear pixels, and the printer lays white ink under each of them. On a dark garment the soft shadow you saw on screen comes out as a pale smear around the art.

Describe your designOne sentence is enoughMake a design

Free preview, no account. Pay only to download.

A koi fish among waves, in orange and teal, on a dark shirt color
A file made here, drawn in flat color with hard edges. The shirt is a drawing.

Before you start

You need
One sentence that describes the design.
You get
A transparent PNG with the edge cleaned for film, up to 2048 pixels.
Time
Usually under a minute.
Cost
The preview is free, five a day. The print file is one from a pack.

Step by step

  1. A crop of a raw cutout on black with a pale cloud at the edge
    01Find the fades.

    Put the art on black. Glows, smoke, drop shadows and airbrushed edges show as a lighter cloud.

  2. A round eagle badge with spread wings
    02Replace them with solid shapes.

    Draw the shadow as a flat shape in a darker ink, or as a halftone of hard dots.

  3. A round eagle badge with spread wings, on a dark shirt color
    03Or remove them.

    Many designs read cleaner on a garment with no shadow at all.

Make a design in solid ink.

The preview is free.

Describe your designOne sentence is enoughMake a design

Free preview, no account. Pay only to download.

More guides

A koi fish among waves, in orange and teal, on a dark shirt colorThe fileWhat makes a PNG DTF ready?Three things: the background is truly transparent, the edge is hard, and nothing faint is left around the art. A DTF printer puts white ink under every pixel that is not fully clear, so anything faint prints.Read the guide A skull wrapped in red roses, on a dark shirt colorThe fileHow do I fix a white halo on DTF transfers?A halo is the white underbase showing past the color. It has two causes: pale or half-clear pixels at the edge of the file, and a RIP that does not pull the white in. Fix the file first, then the choke setting.Read the guide A round eagle badge with spread wings, on a dark shirt colorSizeIs my artwork 300 DPI?It depends on how large you print it. Divide the pixels by the inches: a 2048 pixel file is 300 DPI at about 6.8 inches wide and 150 DPI at about 13.6 inches.Read the guide