Fat Penguin Production Guide
Artwork Preparation for Shirts, PET Cups, and Boards
Practical file preparation guidance for transparent art, print areas, spot colors, and proof review.
Reviewed 2026-08-03
Preserve the source, then make a production derivative
Keep the original artwork intact and identify the version you are approving. Preview images, social images, and production exports serve different purposes and should not overwrite one another. Fat Penguin records the source-design version and keeps production files private while public previews use stable URLs and checksums.
For shirts and boards, transparent PNG artwork is the safest general starting point. Do not enlarge a tiny raster and expect new detail to appear. For cups, use the exact capacity and rim template because the printable wrap and taper differ by SKU.
Color and edge checks
PET cup printing uses spot-color planning, so artwork should have intentional separations and a known color count. DTG can reproduce continuous color, but very thin translucent edges and unintentional background pixels can still create visible halos. Board artwork must include adequate resolution at final size and deliberate transparent areas when contour cutting is expected.
A proper proof confirms placement, scale, side, garment or substrate, and source version. It does not invent or restyle the customer design.