In the  ‘How-To Handbook’ section of the mid-September 2015 Resource Directory from Printwear Magazine, I took on the age-old question of how decorators should go about getting the correct art files that they need to do the best, highest-quality printing and embroidery.

I wanted to stay far away from canned answers about file types, so I decided to take a more procedural approach– explaining the process of communication and research necessary to get to the art one needs without taxing the customer. In the article I covered the following topics:

Letting go of the Lecture: We have a tendency to go straight to jargon and technical descriptions when asking for art; often enough we can skip these details and ask simple questions to narrow down what sort of assets the customer has without any kind of befuddling shop talk.

Not starting with Digitizing: When it comes to embroidery, the term ‘digitizing’ can be confusing. While we know that it denotes the process of interpreting art into a specific sequence of stitches consolidated into files made only to drive embroidery machines, customers think that a logo being digital (on a computer) is the same as being digitized (made ready to drive an embroidery machine). By using the industry incorrect, but more intelligible word ‘programming’ for our process, we can communicate the need for active, skilled work.

Pursuing Print Files: Customers may have worked with a designer and simply not know that someone has the files we need to do our job. Asking about previous print work and or designers can help us get to our resources.

Working around the Customer: Sometimes the customer can’t or won’t help us secure files, but there may still be places to find the assets we need. This is especially true in the case of national or multi-national companies and franchises. This segment helps you find assets that you may not have considered from signage previews, to style guides, to PDF documents online; any of which might have the clean artwork you require.

Education: Simple explanations with a focus on results can help a customer understand why you need the sort of files and the quality of art that you do, or, when all else fails, why you’ll have to charge them to create it.

All in all, the article should prove a useful resource, especially to those only recently initiated to the world of graphics, design, and decoration. Check out the full article for details, and feel free to tell the good people at Printwear that you appreciate their useful guides if you find it helpful!