DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR CERAMIC PRODUCTS

Printing digital artworks on products is not a new concept, especially in the Print On Demand (POD) industry. However, using graphic designs to print on different materials will bring up different qualities, particularly in ceramic products.

Acknowledging the problem, Gearment has compiled the information and some useful tips that we have already successfully experienced to help sellers optimize digital designs for ceramic products. This will enhance the printing quality and bring better quality products to customers’ hands.

HIGHLIGHT: For high-volume designs, sellers can request the Gearment team to print and picture the demo product so the design can be aligned before submitting a larger order.

Correlation between materials and printing techniques

Different materials will require different printing techniques, each with its caveats. As a result, sellers must know the printing procedure of the product's material to optimize the print quality of your products.

For example, mug products will be printed using Sublimation (thermal transfer printing). While the printing technique for t-shirts is DTG (direct-to-garment).

Choose the right color scheme

Gearment uses the RGB color scheme for most products so you must ensure that your designs are created using the right color scheme. It will help the printed products to exhibit the most realistic colors.

Choose the right dimension

One of the most essential factors in print designs is dimension. An impressive design with high resolution but using the wrong size will still be distorted when printed. You must avoid making the design file smaller or inaccurate to the actual size of the product, especially when the design has images.

Align the designs within print areas

Not safe area: Do not put important content or design borders in this area because they may be cut off. This area can resemble the background color.

Safe area: You should place important parts of the design in this area.

Gearment's sellers can look up Artwork Dimensions.

If sellers optimize their designs and surpass the restrictions of printed materials, the sublimation printing technique will provide beautiful, clear picture quality with incredibly high colorfastness.

Some Useful Tested Tips That Enhance Printing Quality For Ceramic Products

x3 times pixels for the designs compared to the pixels stated on the template itself to be printed with higher quality. (optional)
Hot tip: Add the bold outline around the design itself. This can work well with both monochrome or light-colored designs.
Color the background for the designs: As Gearment print all over the ornament, using the bold and solid background color can absolutely help the details on designs clearer and stand out more.
Print demo the designs with small details, small font sizes, thin strokes, special effect or designs with a background whose color matches the color of ornament to thereby align the design accordingly.
High-contrast color schemes are recommended. For example, skin color will be harder to see contrast when printed on white ceramic than on your laptop’s screen.
The color palettes and lines should be bold.
The PNG format preserves the artwork's transparency
The resolution must be at least 300 DPI: In graphic design, the higher the DPI, the clearer the printed product.
Ornament is suggested to be printed on only 1 side to limit the risks.
Minimize the reduction of color density: Colors that are lowered in opacity as a result of using transparent gradients can’t be detected when printing, causing the product to be considerably changed.
Minimize design features such as glitter, faded shadow, and dashes, etc. Because these effects only look lovely on-screen but they are difficult to see when printed on ceramic products or even t-shirts.

Updated on: 10/20/2023