Vector vs raster comes down to how the image is stored. A vector file is built from math (points, lines, curves, and fills), so it scales to any size with clean edges. A raster file is a grid of pixels, so it has a fixed resolution and gets soft or blocky when you blow it up. For DTF, either one works, as long as the file you send is a transparent PNG at about 300 DPI at the size you want printed.
- Vector formats
- AI, SVG, EPS, vector PDF
- Raster formats
- PNG, JPG, PSD, TIFF
- Scales without loss
- Vector only
- Best DTF upload
- Transparent PNG, ~300 DPI at print size
What vector actually means
A vector graphic doesn't store pixels. It stores instructions: a point here, a curve to there, fill this shape with that color. When you open the file, the software draws the shapes fresh at whatever size the screen or printer needs. That's why a vector logo looks as sharp on a business card as it does on a banner.
Vector art is built in programs like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity, Inkscape, and CorelDRAW. It suits anything made of clean shapes and solid colors: logos, type, badges, line art, crests, and most simple shirt graphics.
What vector does badly is photographic detail. A photo of a dog or a smoky watercolor has millions of subtle color changes. Trying to describe all of that with shapes either fails or produces a file so complex it's useless.
What raster actually means
A raster image is a grid. Every square in the grid is one pixel with one color. Photos from your phone, scans, Photoshop paintings, Procreate art, and most AI image generators all produce raster files.
Because the grid is fixed, a raster image only has so much detail. Stretch a 1000 pixel wide image across 12 inches of shirt and each pixel gets big enough to see. That's where the jagged edges and blur come from. Shrinking a raster image is fine. Enlarging it is where you get in trouble.
Raster's strength is the stuff vector can't do: photos, painted textures, soft shadows, gradients with grain, and distressed effects.
Vector vs raster side by side
| Vector | Raster | |
|---|---|---|
| Built from | Paths, points, fills | A grid of pixels |
| Scaling up | No quality loss | Gets soft or pixelated |
| Good for | Logos, type, line art, flat color | Photos, painting, texture, soft gradients |
| Common files | .ai, .svg, .eps, vector .pdf | .png, .jpg, .psd, .tif |
| Editing | Change shapes and colors cleanly | Paint and retouch pixel by pixel |
| File size | Usually small | Grows with pixel count |
The PDF and EPS trap
A file extension doesn't guarantee vector. A PDF or EPS can hold vector paths, but it can also just wrap a pixel image. If someone sends you "the vector logo" and it's a PDF, zoom in to 800 percent. If the edges stay crisp, it's real vector. If you see stair steps, it's a raster image in a vector costume. Same goes for an SVG that only contains an embedded JPG.
Which one should you send for DTF
A DTF printer prints dots, so every file ends up rasterized at print time anyway. What matters is that it gets rasterized at enough resolution, with a clean transparent background. Our artwork specs spell this out, but the short version is:
- File type: PNG with a transparent background.
- Resolution: about 300 DPI at the actual print size. A 10 inch wide design should be about 3000 pixels wide.
- Color: build in RGB and let the printer handle the conversion.
- No hidden backgrounds: a white box behind your art will print as a white box.
If you have vector art, you're in the best spot. Export it as a PNG at the exact print dimensions and 300 DPI, and the edges will be as sharp as the printer can make them. You can also resize freely before you export, which is handy when one logo goes on a left chest, a sleeve, and a full back on the same gang sheet.
If you have raster art, check the pixel count before you upload. Divide the pixel width by 300 to get the largest size it prints cleanly. A 1800 pixel wide image is good to about 6 inches. Our DPI checker does the math for you.
Fixing raster art that's too small
You have three honest options when a raster file is too low resolution for the size you want.
- Print it smaller. The free fix. If the art is 1500 pixels wide, a 5 inch print will look better than a blurry 12 inch one.
- Upscale it. AI upscalers can add believable detail to photos and illustrations. They work better on soft, organic images than on text and logos, where they tend to warp letterforms. Our guide on making an image 300 DPI walks through what actually adds detail and what just changes a number in the file.
- Redraw it as vector. For logos and type, rebuilding the art is usually the right call. Auto trace tools help with simple shapes. Complex logos need hand tracing. See how to vectorize an image in Illustrator for both approaches.
One thing that doesn't work: changing the DPI field from 72 to 300 in Photoshop without adding pixels. The file's metadata changes, the print size shrinks, and the detail stays the same.
Mixed files are normal
Plenty of good shirt designs are both. A vintage tee might be vector type sitting on top of a raster grunge texture. A band shirt might be a raster illustration with vector lettering. That's fine. Keep the type as vector as long as you can, place the raster pieces at full resolution, and export the whole thing as one 300 DPI transparent PNG at the end.
If the raster part has soft fades or glows, convert them to halftones before export. DTF film can't print a partially transparent pixel cleanly, so smooth fades into transparency often print with a hard edge or a faint haze. A halftone dot pattern gives you the fade without the problem.
FAQ
Is a PNG vector or raster?
Raster. A PNG is always a grid of pixels, even if it was exported from vector art. That's fine for DTF as long as it was exported large enough.
Is SVG better than PNG for DTF?
SVG is better as a working file because it scales. For the upload, export a transparent PNG at 300 DPI at the print size. That way you control exactly how the art gets rasterized.
Can I turn a JPG into a vector?
Yes, by tracing it. Simple, high contrast art traces well. Photos and detailed illustrations don't, and are better left as raster at high resolution.
Why does my vector logo have a white box when I export it?
The artboard background got exported. In Illustrator, check that transparency is turned on in the PNG export options. In other apps, look for a transparent background setting.
Get the file right, then print
Start from vector when you can, export a transparent PNG at 300 DPI at the real print size, and drop it into the builder. One sheet can hold every size of the same logo.