What Is A Working File?

You may or may not have heard these terms before.

- Working File
- Vector File
- Raster File

Basically, a WORKING FILE or VECTOR FILE retains the core elements of the artwork, allowing certain graphics programs to open them and re-size up to the size of a house, or down to a 5 cent coin, with no quality loss and keeping your prized artwork / logo looking perfect, as well this allows us to edit sections of colour, move and re-size segments etc.

A RASTER file on the other hand, is a flattened file with an embedded background. It has a set number of pixels, much like taking a photo, the pixels are fixed and a certain size, meaning if you increase the size of the raster artwork / logo, you're increasing the size of the pixels, making it look grainy and pixelated.

We require working / vector files to print your artwork. It is possible in some cases to convert a raster file into a vector file; however this does take our designers some time.

How do I know if I have a Vector / Working File?

A vector or working file will have a certain extension like .ai, .eps, .pdf or .svg.
If your file has a file extension like the above, most of the time, you'll have a working file.
If your file extension is .jpg, .bmp, .gif or .png, your file is not a working file, and is instead a raster file.

I've taken a screenshot of my logo, does this work?

Unfortunately not, screenshots are always raster files. A good thing to do is to enlarge your image on your own computer and watch it pixelate and become grainy. We also require our images to have a transparent background for printing purposes.

I can't get a vector file and only have a raster file, can you help?

Yes! Our designers convert for you and provide the working files to you. This is a set cost of $60+gst, however very complicated conversions may incur additional costs. We will let you know prior to starting if this is the case. There is the odd case when we this can’t be done, subject to the design as there would be too many hours involved to fix the design.

Should you need us to convert your artwork, please contact us HERE.

Or email your artwork and ask for it to be converted to a high res file to design@onprinttshirtcompany.com.au