Print Output

High-Res Print Image Files

The MyStyle Customizer produces true web-to-print image files, taking what the user designs online and scaling it up to your print image size requirements at any high-resolution you want, such as 300DPI (print standard). This creates print-ready output with the customer’s online design to the exact print specs with the highest level of quality possible, not just “web” quality.

Matching Your Print Specs

We know streamlining the handling of the production images for print can greatly improve the printing process, which is why we work with our clients to set up every single product by hand with exact print specs to ensure the print output for orders can be easily downloaded and taken to print either manually, or automated with a custom API or ERP integration or other process.

Our JPGs or SVGs are rendered from the original customer assets but will open up at the right size and resolution to match your print spec every time, ready to print.

Provide Your Print Requirements as .PNG or .JPG Image

Ideally you can provide us with a .PNG or .JPG of the print image that you’ve already tested with and know works, coming out of your printer as you need it.  By providing us an example print image, we can match up exactly to that and test everything to make sure it’s pixel perfect.  We can also have an image applied as an overlay if the guide lines are preferred to be visible.

Other Image Formats

If you don’t have a .PNG or .JPG, you can provide us with any format image.

No Image?  Just Dimensions Will Work

If you have no image at all, then you can provide just the dimensions in inches and the desired resolution, like 8″x10″ at 300dpi, and we can just set the template up without any graphic.  Just be sure to include any margins or bleed sizes when providing only print spec info with no image example or template.

Cut Paths & Die Cuts (optional)

If you have cut paths, you can provide them to us as a vector file or as size requirements if a standard shape like rectangle or circle.  If the cutpath is more complex than Rectangle or Ellipse, a vector file with the cutpath shape will be needed.  Once we have the cut path file added to the template, it will be automatically embedded in every print rendering.

Print File Rendering

With the help of our MyStyle Renderer tool you can render the print files using the customers original full quality images and vector text to produce images in the highest quality possible, rather than what’s possible on mobile devices, tablets, or even weak laptops. With this approach your printing computer can handle the heavy graphics so the user doesn’t have to after they upload their images. All of the users assets will be inserted in the print image in full quality as well as listed separately in case they are needed. Simply click a “Render” link from your order info or from any design in the Design Manager to render a print file for any design.

As of this writing, we can support:

  • Custom Image Sizes
  • Custom Cropping (x,y,w,h)
  • Up-scaling with Smoothing
  • Bleeds (custom margins for printing and cutting to edge)
  • Watermarking
  • Template Overlays
  • Branding Overlays
  • Reg Marks Overlays
  • Full Print Image Rotation
  • Individual Canvas Rotation
  • Multiple Templates/Sides into 1 Image (Vertical or Horizontal)
  • Multiple Templates/Sides as Separate Images
  • Special Color Transforms / Color Changes
  • JPG or Transparent PNG Image Ouput
  • Renderer: Find and Replace
  • Renderer: Print Image Size Changes
  • Renderer: Mirroring Images In 1 or All Directions
  • Renderer: Object Position and Scale Adjustments
  • Renderer: Auto Shrink 1% for Edges
  • Renderer: Font Revert Features for Mobile Device Issues

Scalable Cloud Storage for Designs Included (All Licenses)!

To keep your site running nice and smooth all designs are stored in the cloud (Amazon S3) and available for you to render a print file from any print render link (or by design ID manually) – whether that be in your system’s admin, our design manager, a custom design queue, email, using the render tool directly, or API integration. This storage is included at no additional cost with every license and will not add any load or disk usage or cost to your website’s hosting or bandwidth usage with your host provider.

Raster and Vector Output Formats

Render print files from any design as raster JPG or vector SVG. JPG can be downloaded and printed, and the SVG version can be downloaded and edited with Illustrator as it will have all of the layers, text, and images.

The MyStyle Customizer uses a proprietary vector format for the live designs on the web to allow for better perforamnce. The print file Renderer then scales up to print size in vector, and then can flatten the image into raster (pixel) form for high-quality image export.

Vector Images

Typically vector is not needed for most printers unless you need editable text objects, Text-Outlines, Cut-Paths, and in these cases you will need a custom development to support your specific outlines or paths. SVG is the standard for Vector graphics, and can be opened with layers, edited, and printed using programs like Adobe Illustrator. If you use our SVG Renderer, you can print directly from your computer without using Illustrator and even adjust objects right in the render screen.

How Vector Images Really Print: As Raster!

Many people don’t realize this but all printers use what’s called a RIP to convert the image into how the printer wants it to be for print. RIP actually stands for Raster Image Processor. When you send a vector image to print, the image goes through this RIP process first – if nowhere else, in the printer driver that handles talking to the hardware. The image itself is actually being rasterized into a flat pixel based file, NOT vector, without any layers or vector lines, so that it can be printed as dots (like pixels). If you use a cutter or special printer that uses vector paths, there is no traditional RIP process since the laser or knife follows an actual line or curve, but otherwise all printers will use a RIP process. Many RIPs also convert to CMYK from RGB and adjust levels to get it ready for the printer’s inks and setup and an do a better job than the system default or printer driver. Some printers have special RIP software besides what’s typically going on in a printer driver, and there are some options available from different companies for a RIP software that will work best for your images and your printer. If you think you need vector print, but you don’t need paths or outlines or editable layers, then think again! It all turns into raster eventually, anyway! For our print files, using vector as we do ensures the text is rendered with full anti-aliasing at full print scale before flattening to raster for print, so that no quality is lost.

Image Resolution (DPI/PPI)

Resolution is the number of Dots Per Inch (DPI) in a print or Pixels Per Inch (PPI) on a screen. Resolution is not the overall size of the image as is commonly mistaken, but it is effected by how large or small you print an image that has a fixed amount of “dots”. A high quality print is one where the “dots” are not visible, giving the print a look with nice sharpness. The MyStyle Renderer is typically set up to output images up to about 16,000 pixels in any max dimension:

  • Print-size images, small to medium size (up 25 inches): 200 – 300 DPI (high quality print industry standard)
  • Print-size images, medium to large size (up 40 inches): 100 – 200 DPI (large format print industry standard)
  • Web-size images: (72 – 100 dpi) normal screen resolution, web size
  • Thumbnail Size: (72 – 100 dpi), small size

Image Sizes

Because the Customizer runs in both desktop and mobile web browsers, varying memory limits of the browsers limit the size of high-resolution image output that the device or computer can handle to around a maximum of 16,000px, or 160″ at 100dpi or 53 inches at 300 dpi. Renderings close to the max range will need to be done on a powerful PC or it will can overload the browser memory limits.

  • Thumbnail: 50px – 250px
  • Web Size: 150px – 500px (can be any size)
  • Print Size: 500px – 16,000px (can be any size)

Color Changes & Modes

We support the following print output color modes and filters:

  • Full Color (RGB)
  • Greyscale (“Black and White”)
  • White on Black (ex: laser / engraving)
  • Black on White (ex: laser / engraving)
  • Sepia
  • Custom (custom pixel-for-pixel and color filter image transforms available by request)

Downloading Print Images from Your System

Depending on what site or system you are running there may be multiple places and ways to download your print images or get access to the design images from user designs.

Example Screenshot of Print Image Links in the Admin

The most common ways to retrieve print images are:

  • Design Manager (Shown Above) – The Design Manager plugin/add-on lists all designs with links to all image assets
  • On-Site – Some sites have print image buttons built right into the front end
  • WooCommerce – links are inserted right into the normal WooCommerce order info panel in the WordPress admin
  • OpenCart – links are inserted right into the normal OpenCart order info panel in the admin
  • Custom Design Queue – we build custom design queues on some sites that require it listing all designs with links
  • Custom Order Queue – we build custom order queues on some sites that require it listing all orders with links
  • Email – Orders can be emailed to the site admin or owner containing a print image link
  • ShipStation – From Order Info (custom integration)

Product Personalization and Customization Solutions