The RushDTF Team · Updated 2026-09-06 · 10 min read
Making a gang sheet is mostly file prep, not design work. Get the resolution, background and spacing right and the layout takes care of itself.
Making a gang sheet isn't a design skill — it's a file-prep and layout skill. If your artwork is already the way you want it to look on the shirt, the entire job is getting the resolution right, cutting a clean transparent background, and packing your pieces onto the sheet efficiently. Here's the process we walk customers through when a sheet comes in looking rough.
A gang sheet is a flat digital canvas, usually 22 inches wide, that you fill with every design you want printed in this order. Each design sits as its own separate image with clean edges and no background. When it prints, it comes out as one continuous piece of film that you cut apart with scissors along each design's outline. Your job before you hit order is making sure every individual piece is print-ready and placed sensibly on that canvas.
Vector files (SVG, AI, EPS, PDF) are ideal because they scale to any size with zero quality loss — a logo built as a vector prints exactly as crisp at 2 inches as it does at 20. Raster files (PNG, JPG) work fine too, provided the resolution is high enough at the size you actually intend to print it (see Step 2). Never start from a screenshot, a social media download, or a small web graphic — those are almost always too low-resolution to print cleanly at garment size.
The rule is 300 DPI at final print size. That means if you want a design to print at 10 inches wide, the file needs to be at least 3,000 pixels wide (10 × 300). Anything less and the print will look soft or visibly pixelated, because DTF reproduces exactly what's in the file — it doesn't sharpen or fix low-resolution art on its own.
Divide your image's pixel width by the number of inches you want it to print at. If the result is under 300, either shrink the print size or go back for a higher-resolution original — don't just upscale the file, since that stretches existing pixels rather than adding real detail.
This is the step that separates a professional-looking transfer from an obvious rectangle of film stuck to a shirt. Your design needs to be saved as a PNG with a transparent background — everything except the actual artwork should be see-through, not white. A white background prints as a white background: a solid white box around your logo that shows up clearly on any garment that isn't pure white.
Standard sheet width is 22 inches. Length is up to you — order the shortest sheet that comfortably fits everything you're printing this run, since you're paying for the total sheet area. Start with a 22" × 12" sheet for a small order (a handful of logos or one or two mid-size prints) and go longer only once you've laid pieces out and can see you need the room.
Each design needs a small gap around it — roughly a quarter to half an inch — so you have room to cut around it cleanly with scissors without slicing into the neighbouring design. Designs placed edge-to-edge with zero gap are the single most common cause of a customer accidentally cutting into the wrong logo during production.
| Design size | Recommended gap |
|---|---|
| Under 3" | 1/4 inch |
| 3"–8" | 1/4 to 3/8 inch |
| 8"+ | 3/8 to 1/2 inch |
Once every piece has clean spacing, look at the whole sheet as a puzzle. Rotate pieces so their empty corners interlock — a round logo has four wasted corners in its bounding box, and a small design can often drop right into one of them instead of sitting in open space elsewhere on the sheet. Group similarly sized pieces together rather than scattering big and small designs randomly; it makes it much easier to see gaps as you place things.
You're charged by the sheet, not by the design. Tighter nesting on the same length of film means more finished transfers for the same money — it's the only free discount available on a gang sheet order.
DTF prints in CMYK, so extremely bright neons and some electric colours can shift slightly compared to what's on your screen (which displays in RGB). If a design leans on a specific neon pink or lime green, expect a small colour shift and don't be surprised if it's not pixel-identical to the screen version. Also check that any dark detail lines aren't disappearing into a dark background — since the white underbase prints automatically, contrast issues usually show up as detail getting lost, not colours failing to show at all.
Before checking out, zoom into every design on the sheet at 100% and check for: leftover white background halos, text that's too small to survive cutting, spacing gaps that got squeezed out during nesting, and any design accidentally left outside the printable canvas. Then order — sheets print and ship from Regina in 1–2 business days, with free shipping over $149.
Upload your artwork, arrange it on a 22-inch canvas with live spacing guides, and see your price update as you nest designs tighter.
PNG with a transparent background for raster art, or SVG/PDF/AI for vector art. Avoid JPG, since it can't support transparency and will print a solid background box around your design.
300 DPI at the final print size. If a design is going to print 10 inches wide, the file needs to be at least 3,000 pixels wide. Vector files avoid this issue entirely since they scale without quality loss.
A quarter to half an inch, depending on design size. It gives you room to cut around each piece cleanly without slicing into a neighbouring design.
No. Our gang sheet builder lets you upload existing artwork and arrange it directly in the browser — you don't need Photoshop or Illustrator unless you're creating original art from scratch.
You pay for the total sheet area, not per design. Fitting more designs into the same sheet length by rotating and interlocking them means more finished prints for the same price — it doesn't cost anything extra.
Yes, and most orders do. Place larger designs first, then fill remaining space with medium and small designs to minimize wasted film.
Uploading artwork with a white background instead of a transparent one. It looks fine on screen but prints as a visible white rectangle around the logo on the finished garment.