A file exported at 300 DPI for a 30 cm pocket square is exactly 100 DPI on a 90 cm scarf. The export dialog said 300 both times.
DPI is a ratio between the file’s pixel count and the finished piece, not a setting. The number only means something once the final dimensions are fixed, and the four scarf sizes this factory prints turn a single DPI standard into four different pixel counts.
Every requirement resolves into something checkable against the file before sending: accepted format, resolution at the ordered size, a colour reference the screen cannot provide, and dimensions set for the finished piece.
Seven formats reach the press: JPG, TIF, PDF, PNG, AI, CDR, and PSD. The split that matters is vector against raster, because it changes whether resolution is even a question.
A vector file (AI, CDR, or a PDF carrying vector objects) is defined by mathematical equations rather than pixels. It scales to any scarf size without an edge softening, which is the production reason CorelDRAW’s own format sits on this factory’s intake list.
A raster file (JPG, TIF, PNG, PSD) is fixed at the pixel dimensions it was saved at. Every resolution requirement in the next section applies to raster.
The print route narrows the list further. A reactive digital press takes continuous tone, gradients, and photographic detail. A screen-printed run needs a countable set of flat colours, each on its own layer, because each colour is a separate screen and carries a per-colour setup charge.
JPG is accepted and lossy. Fine for a photographic design exported once at full size from the working file, but poor for flat colour, hard edges, or a repeat tile whose edge pixels must match exactly.
TIF or PNG holds every pixel the file started with.
Before sending any editable file, convert all live text to outlines and flatten layers the factory has not asked to see. Whether the factory flattens a layered PSD or AI in-house or returns it is worth asking before the file goes out.
Artwork resolution is 300 DPI or higher measured at the finished printed size. Multiplied through this factory’s published scarf sizes and standard fabric width, that single instruction becomes:
| Finished size | Required pixels (square) |
|---|---|
| 30 x 30 cm | 3,543 x 3,543 |
| 50 x 50 cm | 5,906 x 5,906 |
| 90 x 90 cm | 10,630 x 10,630 |
| 140 x 140 cm | 16,535 x 16,535 |
| 114 cm fabric width (full-width placement art only) | 13,465 px across |
The 114 cm row applies only to artwork placed across the full printed width: a border print, an engineered panel, or a one-off length. A by-the-metre repeat is not a 13,465-pixel file; it is supplied as a single tile at its own size.
A 1,920-pixel design, large by screen standards, placed across a 90 cm scarf lands at 54 DPI. Enlarging it in the design application interpolates pixels without adding detail. The file has to be built at the target pixel count from the start.
The file’s resolution and the press’s resolution are two different numbers. Artwork at 300 DPI or higher is what the buyer supplies. A raster image processor (RIP) converts it into what the press lays down at the machine’s own resolution, so no buyer needs to supply a 1,440 DPI file.
Colour on silk is specified by a physical reference, not by what appears on screen. A monitor adds light to make colour brighter; dye on silk absorbs light to make it darker. The gamut the cloth can reach is the smaller of the two systems, and no screen preview can show it.
Three mechanisms settle three different questions:
Send the file, then ask for a strike-off printed from that exact file on the base cloth ordered. Judge the colour against a physical silk colour card rather than against the screen.
Two independent digital textile printers prefer an RGB source file over CMYK, because a premature CMYK conversion discards gamut before the printer’s own colour profile sees the file. Confirm with your supplier which colour mode they want.
One digital textile printer publishes the consequence plainly: artwork is printed as supplied, with no further checks or adjustments. File dimensions match the finished piece, not the artboard. Published scarf sizes run 30 x 30, 50 x 50, 90 x 90, and 140 x 140 cm.
A hand-rolled hem needs extra material. This factory’s own worked case puts a finished 57 cm square at a 60 cm cut, roughly 1.5 cm per edge. The per-edge allowance for other sizes is a question for the factory.
For fabric by the metre, supply a single repeat tile at 1:1 and 300 DPI, not metres of pre-repeated artwork. The factory tiles it against the ordered width: 114 cm on custom printed silk fabric here, 135 to 147 cm at another printer.
Allow 0.5 to 1 cm of bleed around the tile edge. Grid the repeat at least three tiles across before sending to check for visible seams.
Printed dimensions on silk shift: up to 4.2 mm across the weft, under 1 mm along the warp. Fine lines, small type, and borders ruled hard to the edge are judged on a strike-off, not on screen.
Double-sided printing and twilly designs need the second face prepared.
A one-line file spec for the order: format, final dimensions at 300 DPI, colour reference with physical card, and bleed and hem allowance. Add the repeat tile and ordered width for fabric by the metre.
Format, resolution, colour reference, and dimensions are properties the buyer controls from the desk. A file that qualifies on all four reaches the press without a round trip.
A fine hairline may not hold its weight after ink spreads into the weave. A colour may not read the same under store lighting as under the proofing lamp. A border may not survive the weft shift that only appears at full width.
The strike-off is the only artefact that has met both the file and the cloth. Prepare the file to survive every check above, then let the cloth answer what the file cannot.