Computer Graphics Capabilities:

We use PC's and the software programs CorelDraw 10, Adobe Photoshop 7, and Adobe Illustrator 8 as our primary graphics software. We accept artwork files that can be imported in any of these programs.

If you are sending us photographs or computer art files that contain photo-like images, we usually get very good results with .tif, .psd (Adobe Photoshop) or .jpeg files. You can also send us .bmp and .gif files, but .tif, .psd, and .jpeg files give us the best results for creating photo t-shirts or computer art t-shirts. If you are using a digital camera to take your pictures, shoot them at the highest resolution that your camera allows. If you are scanning images to send to us, scan at 200 to 250 dpi, this will produce excellent results. If possible, keep file sizes under 5 meg. You can also compress your files using the program WinZip and we'll unzip them on our end.

If your files are very large, please e-mail us and we will direct you to our ftp server. If it is more convenient, you may also burn a CD and mail it to us.

If you are sending art to be used for screen printing, we prefer vector type files. These are files that have been created in programs like CorelDraw, Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand. Photoshop .psd or .tiff files saved at 300 dpi or greater should also produce an acceptable result.

Our program of choice is CorelDraw. If you send us CorelDraw .cdr files, please convert all text files to curves prior to sending to us. This can be done by doing the following: Once you have completed your layout, select all text items and choose "BREAK APART" from the Arrange menu. Select all the text again and choose "CONVERT TO CURVES." Then save and e-mail us your file.

We also get excellent results with Illustrator EPS (Adobe Illustrator) files or CorelDraw files that have been "exported" as .ai files. To send us .ai files that have been created as .cdr files in CorelDraw, follow the "Break Apart" and "Convert to Curves" procedure as outlined above and then use the "EXPORT" command to save your file in .ai format.

If you are an Adobe Illustrator user, please save your files as Illustrator EPS files. Also convert all text to OUTLINES. This can be done simply by selecting the text and choosing the "Create Outlines" selection under the "Type" menu. It is very important that you do this, as we may not have your fonts on any of our computers.

We also can use files created in Adobe Photoshop in their native .psd format. Try to keep file sizes under 5 meg. You can compress your files using a compression program like WinZip and we'll unzip them on our end.

A format that we also have very good results with is the Adobe .pdf (Portable Document Format). It is universally compatible with almost every computer platform.

Here are the type of files that we can accept:
(We use PC, not Mac)

CorelDraw (.cdr)	Corel Presentation Exchange 6/7 (.cmx)	Encapsulated Postscript (.eps)
Adobe Illustrator (.ai)	Postscript Interpreted (.eps)	Corel WordPerfect Graphic (.wpg)
Windows Metafile (.wmf)	Enhanced Windows Metafile (.emf)	Computer Graphics Metafile (.cgm)
Adobe Placed PDF Page (.pdf)	Portable Document Format (.pdf)	Macintosh PICT (.pct)
Micrografx Designer 6.0 (.dsf)	AutoCAD (.dxf)	AutoCAD Drawing (.dwg)
HPGL Plotter file (.plt)	Visio (.vsd)	3D Model (3Dmf/vrml)
Corel CMX Compressed (.cpx)	CorelDraw Compressed (.cdx)	Corel PhotoPaint Image (.cpt)
JPEG Bitmaps (.jpeg)	Windows Bitmap (.bmp)	Compuserve Bitmap (.gif)
TIFF Bitmap (.tif)	Kodak FlashPix Image (.fpx)	Kodak Photo-CD Image (.pcd)
Adobe Photoshop (.psd)	Paintbrush (.pcx)	Targa Bitmap (.tga)
Scitex CT Bitmap (.sct)	OS/2 Bitmap (.bmp)	Picture Publisher 4 (.pp4)
MacPaint Bitmap (.mac)	CALS Compressed Bitmap (.cal)	Wavelet Compressed Bitmap (.wl)
Portable Network Graphics (.png)	Microsoft Publisher (.pub)	Picture Publisher 5.0 (.pp5)
ANSI Text (.txt)	MS Word 97 (.doc)	MS Word for Windows (.doc)
Rich Text Format (.rtf)	Corel WordPerfect 4/5/6/7/8 (.wpd)	WordStar 7.0 (.wsd)
WordStar 2000 (.wsd)	Ami Professional (.sam)	Microsoft Image Composer (.mic)
Microsoft Image Composer (.mic)	Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 (.mix)

Camera-Ready Art: Bitmap (.tiff, or .psd files) artwork for screen printing on garments should be saved at (200 to 250 d.p.i.). Ideally, the art will be saved precisely sized to the imprint area specifications of the item that will be imprinted. Black and white line art should be scanned at least at 600 d.p.i. Line art drawings are best if sent to us in vector format, i.e. CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator, or Adobe .pdf formats.

If sending halftone images, keep in mind our maximum l.p.i. capability for printing on garments is 55 lines per inch.

You can send us artwork files via e-mail to info@fatmikes.net or on CD's or floppy disks that are PC readable.

We use scanners with 600 dpi optical resolution. We output through 720 dpi PostScript printers for creating positives for screen printing

We also accept simple artwork by fax and can often make it useable through computer recreation/touch-up methods.

We can also accommodate those individuals supplying hand drawn artwork, through scanning, photocopying, and traditional paste-up methods. Remember, if you have any questions regarding artwork, please send us an e-mail to: info@fatmikes.net. We'll be happy to help you.

Full Color Digital Imaging Capabilities:

We use Tektronix color laser printers and Epson color inkjet printers for digital image process printing.

Here's how it works: we use high resolution color laser imaging and/or inkjet printers to output your image on specially coated polymer material. The image is then applied to the garment through a high temperature/pressure fusion process. The result is very brilliant colors that look really great, feel great, and stand up to many washings! We print our images at 400 to 1200 d.p.i, depending on the application. We offer (2) imprint sizes for digital imaging:

1. Logo size (also known as "breast" or "heart" size). This is the typical imprint size for a company logo to printed on the breast area or sleeve of a shirt. The logo imprint size is any size 4" X 4" maximum or smaller.

2. Full size. This is our standard imprint size. This imprint size is for printing across the full front or full back of the shirt. The full size imprint is 10.5" X 8.25" (landscape) or 8.25" X 10.5" (portrait). You can use a standard sheet of paper as your guide for sizing when planning your design layout.

Our standard minimum order for screen printed garments, unless otherwise indicated, is 1 dozen. Our minimum order for multi-color screen printing is 2 dozen.

We print on manual screen printing presses--each garment that you receive from us is hand printed.

We offer screen printing on all types of sportswear in up to (10) colors on light colored garments and (9) colors on dark colored garments.

In addition to spot color screen printing, we also offer full color screen printing, commonly known as "process color printing." We offer (3) types: true 4 color process (CMYK), "simulated process" and "index color" printing.

Pantone Matching Systems (PMS) colors are designed for the offset printing industry, and for inks that are to be printed on paper. The system applied to plastisol inks comes very close to matching PMS colors. However, since plastisol ink is different from offset ink, an exact PMS color match cannot be guaranteed in any plastisol ink matching system.

Pantone color matching is available for $40 per color.

The following is a list of our most popular stock ink colors and the approximated PMS color. This color list is provided for your convenience and should not be used for exact matching due to differences in printing ink systems and manufacturers' ink lots.

All standard ink colors are available, if you would like to use a color not listed below please contact us for availability.

Stock Color Name (Approximate PMS Color # )
Yellow (107)	White
Orange (172)	Red (187)
Maroon (201)	Turquoise (320)
Purple (268)	Brite Green (348)
Gold (1235)	Lt. Blue (892)
Royal Blue (286)	Navy (282)
Pink (211)	Gray(430)
Light Gray (CG5)	Black
Brown (470)	Flesh (473)
Tan (721)	Forest Green (343)

We also offer special effects printing, which includes puff inks, shimmer metallic inks and foils, glitter inks, suede inks, fluorescent neon inks, glow in the dark ink, black light ink and reflective ink. These inks are available for an extra charge. Please contact us for more information.