Artwork File Requirements for Printing Shower Curtains and Bath Mats

A printer can only reproduce what is in the file. When a finished curtain looks soft, banded or washed out, the cause is usually visible in the source artwork long before production.

Resolution: the number that decides sharpness

Textile printing is measured in pixels per inch at final size, not total pixels. A 3000×3000 pixel file is excellent on a bath mat and marginal on a 72-inch curtain.

The practical rule:

• Curtains: aim for 100–150 PPI at final print size
• Bath mats and smaller items: 150–200 PPI at final size
• Photo personalisation: at least 1000 pixels on the long edge, ideally more

Below that, softness is structural. No amount of sharpening rescues it, and over-sharpening produces halos around edges that look worse than softness.

Colour mode and profile

Screens are RGB and emissive. Fabric is CMYK-ish and reflective. Saturated blues, greens and oranges shift most; skin tones shift least.

Ask your supplier which profile they want. If they accept RGB, they are converting internally — which is fine, but it means you should not also convert, or you will double-shift the colour.

The most common colour complaint is “it looked more vibrant on screen”. It always will. Plan for it rather than being surprised by it.

Bleed and safe area

Textiles are cut and hemmed after printing. Anything within roughly half an inch of the edge may be trimmed or swallowed by the hem.

• Extend background art past the trim line (bleed)
• Keep text and key elements inside a safe area
• Do not place a border exactly at the edge unless the supplier confirms tolerance

Repeating patterns make this easier — there is no “edge” to lose. A centred logo or name is where bleed problems show up.

Scaling across a set

A 4-piece set is four different surface sizes. One file scaled blindly across all four produces a pattern that looks tiny on the curtain and enormous on the lid cover.

The fix is to art-direct per item:

• Curtain: larger repeat, more visual breathing room
• Bath mat: mid-scale, avoid cutting key motifs
• Toilet rug (U-shape): keep the cutout area clear of critical detail
• Lid cover: simplify — small surfaces punish busy art

Suppliers who scale per item produce sets that look designed. Suppliers who stamp one crop produce sets that look assembled.

File formats

Format	Typical use
PNG	Flat artwork, patterns, text with transparency
JPEG (high quality)	Photo-based designs, no transparency
TIFF	Large print files where quality matters most
PDF (vector)	Logos and text that must stay sharp at any size

Vector sources are worth keeping regardless of what the printer accepts, because they can be re-exported at any size later.

Text and fonts

• Convert text to outlines, or embed fonts
• Avoid very thin weights — they disappear on fabric texture
• Check accented characters if you offer international names
• Keep a minimum stroke weight for legibility at distance

Gradients and banding

Large smooth gradients are the classic textile failure. Fabric absorbs ink unevenly, and a subtle sky can print with visible steps.

If a design depends on a large gradient, add a small amount of noise or texture. It hides banding and reads as intentional.

A pre-flight checklist

• PPI checked at final print size, not just file dimensions
• Colour profile confirmed with the supplier
• Bleed added, safe area respected
• Per-item scaling decided for sets
• Text outlined or fonts embedded
• Gradients softened or textured
• File named clearly, with version

Ten minutes of pre-flight saves a reprint cycle and a customer conversation.