Screen printing artwork
We prepare screen print ready artwork and colour separations — spot colour, halftone, simulated process and CMYK — for T-shirts, hoodies and promotional apparel. You get clean vector artwork split into one separation per screen, with underbase, chokes and halftones already done, ready to output to film.
Screen printing artwork has to be separated, sized and simplified before it can be burned to a screen. We prepare screen printing artwork, screen print colour separations and vector screen print designs that print cleanly on press, with the fewest colours your design needs.
| Price | Quoted per design — priced by colours and complexity |
| What you get | Separated artwork, one channel or layer per screen |
| File formats | AI, EPS, PDF, PSD and film-ready PDF |
| Proof | You approve a colour proof and the separations |
| Delivery | By email — nothing to ship |
Separation types
| Type | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Spot colour | Each solid colour on its own screen, matched to a Pantone or ink colour | Logos, text, bold graphics with 1–6 colours |
| Spot colour with halftones | Spot colours plus dot patterns for shading | Vintage, distressed and illustrated designs |
| Simulated process | Photo-real artwork built from a limited set of spot inks | Full-colour art on dark garments |
| CMYK / four-colour process | Cyan, magenta, yellow and black dots | Photos on white or light garments |
| Index colour | Square dots in fixed colours | Detailed art with crisp colour areas |
What we take care of
- Redrawing low-res art as clean vectors before separating — see vector art conversion
- White underbase for dark garments, choked so it does not peek out
- Trapping between touching colours so small misregistration does not leave gaps
- Halftones at a line count that suits your mesh — commonly 45 to 65 LPI for shirts
- Fine lines and small text sized to what your screens can hold
- Registration marks and colour names on every separation
Designs that suit screen printing
- One, two and three colour designs for low-cost runs
- Vintage, distressed and retro screen print graphics
- Bold typography and band or streetwear graphics
- Front chest, pocket, sleeve and oversized back prints
- Promotional apparel, event shirts and uniforms
- Sports, collegiate and team designs
Fewer colours, lower cost
Every colour in a screen print is another screen, another setup and more press time. We can simplify a design to fewer colours — using halftones to suggest extra shades — so the print costs less without looking cheap.
Screen print colour separation and halftones
Spot colour artwork prints each colour from its own screen, and works best for logos, text and bold graphics. Simulated process printing uses a handful of inks and halftones to reproduce photos and detailed art on dark garments. CMYK screen printing artwork uses four process inks on light garments. We supply screen printing separations as individual films or as a layered file, with registration marks and halftone settings matched to your mesh.
One, two and three colour screen print designs
Fewer colours mean fewer screens and a lower cost per shirt. We are often asked to rework artwork into a one colour screen print design or a two colour screen print design without losing its character. Single colour vector artwork and limited colour screen print art also suit bulk promotional apparel, where price per piece matters most.
- One colour screen print designs for promotional apparel
- Two and three colour designs with tonal halftones
- Front chest, pocket, sleeve and oversized back print designs
- Screen printing logos and screen printing typography
Screen print styles and transfers
We draw vintage screen print designs, distressed screen print graphics, retro and grunge artwork, streetwear screen print designs, band style graphics and sports screen print graphics. For screen print transfers, we lay out designs to your transfer supplier’s sheet size.
Common questions
Do you print shirts?
We prepare the artwork and separations. You or your printer burn the screens and print.
Can you separate a photo for a black shirt?
Yes, with simulated process separations built from a limited set of spot inks over a white underbase.
Should I use screen printing or DTF?
Screen printing is cheapest per shirt on larger runs with few colours. DTF suits short runs and full-colour art. See DTF designs.
Do you supply film positives or digital separations?
We supply digital separations as print-ready files. You or your printer output them to film or direct-to-screen.
Can you separate a photo for dark shirts?
Yes, using simulated process separation, usually with a white underbase plus a few spot colours.
Get a free quote
Send us your artwork, the garment colour, the number of ink colours and your print method. Choose “Vector art” as the product and mention “screen print separations”, and we will come back with a price. If you cannot attach artwork here, email it to hello@sewwhatembroiderydesigns.com.