Printed Cardigan

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  What's the best resolution to print in?

  We print at 200dpi, which is a good combination of quality and file weight. Ideally your image should be scaled to 100% at 200dpi, this means that no resizing of your file occurs stopping any interpolation.

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  Should I save my file as a TIFF or JPEG?

  For multi-colored or very detailed files we recommend using a tiff format, but they must be flattened. For simple colors and low detail files, a jpeg is fine.

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  Which color model should I choose? RGB or CMYK?

  If each individual color is specifically important to your design, choose CYMK as our setup will print each color with the closest possible match within our available range. If the relationship between the colors within the image is more important choose RGB, this will reduce all colors equally to fit within our range.

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  What does GSM mean?

  Grams per Square Meter (GSM) is an international standard for measuring the weight of paper or fabric. GSM uses the weight of a square meter (1000 x 1000mm) as an indication of the weight and thickness of a given fabric. We class 20-100gsm as light (summer fabrics, gauzes and fine silks), 101-249 gsm as medium (most clothing fabrics) and 250+ gsm as heavy (upholstery fabrics, and other specialist fabrics). To convert GSM to Ounces per square yard you just have to divide by 33.906, or if the fabric weighs 5.5oz/sq yard, to get grams/sq meter, you do this 5.5 oz/sqyd x 33.906 = 186.483 gm/sqm.

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  What are bleed areas?

  When designing your product, it’s best to make sure that your image is slightly larger than needed. In printing, the extra printed image is referred to as a “Bleed Area” or margin, and it is removed from the finished piece. A bleed area acts as a buffer for slight inconsistencies in the manufacturing process. however, it’s important to fill your bleed areas completely, or you may end up with white, unprinted strips along the edge of your finished product.

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  Do you print on garments a customer supplies?

  Unfortunately not. All our garments are printed on flat fabric, and sewn into finished products, which gives a better finished result and all-over print. We test meticulously so that we know what gets best results on our fabrics, and our facilities cater perfectly to them. We do however print sublimation paper to order, so if you have access to a heat press you can press your fabrics or flat garments easily.

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  Can you Align a Pattern or design across panels of a garment?

  We always strive for the greatest accuracy when printing and constructing your garments. However, due to unavoidable stretch or movement of the fabric during the stitching process, we cannot guarantee perfect pattern registration across garment seams. We are generally accurate within 2-3mm / 0.8-0.12", which Is close enough for most patterns, but may show slight issues with detailed geometric patterns.

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  Can I print my own Labels?

  Most of our garments now come with printable label space for you to add your own company information and branding. If you would like to sew in your own labels, we also offer Printed Fabric Labels here.

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  Why is there a barcode inside my clothing?

  Due to our internal processes here at Contrado, there will be a barcode printed on your garment. This is inside the clothing and will not affect your design. It is usually found towards the bottom.

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  How is your fabric printing eco-friendly?

  With environmental consciousness in mind, our fabrics are all printed using completely water based inks. This means no chemicals or solvents are used. Our heat fixing procedure fixes the colors and prints, avoiding the downsides of steaming, such as excess or contaminated water returning into the waste system. We have one facility where we conduct all the printing, production and fulfillment.

Please note: As we make everything by hand, all sizes may vary slightly.