Vector images are ideal for screen printing. It’s NOT made of the location and color of specific pixels! Vector images may seem like magic, but the idea is simple: the image is encoded as the mathematical relationship between the different shapes that the image is made of. The image details remain sharp no matter the scale. Vector images don’t use pixels, so the image doesn’t lose quality when it’s resized or manipulated. Raster images cannot be resized or manipulated without losing quality.ĭon’t be surprised if you need to convert raster images to vector images while screen printing. Raster images have jagged edges that may be visible when printed. Screen printers typically avoid printing raster images. Raster images are typically JPG, PNG, TIFF or GIF file format. This means that as you zoom in or manipulate the image, you lose quality. At a high enough resolution, raster images appear smooth to the human eye.īut, raster images degrade in quality as the resolution increases. Raster images are a specific arrangement of thousands of pixels. The most common image format that you see on the internet is a raster image.īut for screen printing, we often need to use vector images. Raster Imagesīefore you ever screen print a single shirt, you must understand the difference between vector and raster images. BONUS: 27 Software Tools for Screen Printing.

Color Separation Software for Screen Printing.Art & Design Software For Screen Printing.We’ll discuss the different types of software (art and design, color separation, shop administration, and shipping) according to price, difficulty, who it’s best for and whether they’re for Mac or PC. In the end, it’s up to you to learn the programs so you can print better shirts. Each tool has a different learning curve. Every piece of software below comes with its own set of challenges.

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