Which color profile should I use for my files?

Which color profile should I use for my files?

Use sRGB (sRGB IEC61966-2.1). Don't convert your file to CMYK before uploading. We handle the conversion for print on our end.

Understand the difference between RGB and CMYK

RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue. It's how color works on screens: computers, phones, digital cameras.

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. It's the ink in the printer.

Both are true at the same time. Your file is RGB. Our ink is CMYK. The conversion between them happens in our system, not in yours.

Why sRGB, and why not just any RGB

RGB is a family, and the members cover different color ranges. sRGB, Adobe RGB, and ProPhoto RGB are all RGB.

Our printing system reads sRGB. Export in sRGB IEC61966-2.1 and keep the profile embedded in the file. Files saved in Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB get read against the wrong reference, and colors shift.

Why you shouldn't convert to CMYK yourself

When you convert to CMYK in Photoshop, you're converting into a printing-press CMYK profile. That profile was built for ink on paper, and its color range doesn't match our printer's inks.

Bright colors get cut at that moment. The file you upload is already dulled, and our system then converts it a second time. Whatever was lost in the first conversion can't come back.

Send us sRGB and we convert once, straight to what our printer can actually print.

What to expect with very bright colors

Some colors sit outside what any DTG ink can reproduce. Neons, electric blues, electric greens. These will print softer or shift slightly. Converting to CMYK first won't fix this, because the limit is the ink, not the file.

If you want to preview before uploading

Turn on soft proofing in your design app to see roughly how colors will shift. In Photoshop: View > Proof Setup > Working CMYK.

Look, then undo. Keep your file in sRGB and export it that way. Don't save the CMYK conversion. If one specific color looks wrong, adjust that color inside your sRGB file.

For resolution, file format, and size limits, see What are the print file requirements?