USING YOUR OWN FONTS, GRAPHICS, AND PHOTOS

With T-shirt Maker, you can use virtually any of your own fonts, graphics, and photos. For best results, click on any topic below for more information:

Using Your Own Fonts

Using Your Own Graphics

Using Your Own Photos


USING YOUR OWN FONTS

You and the T-shirt Maker factory must have the same fonts.  Otherwise, your manufactured T-shirt will not look like the one you design on your computer.

The T-shirt Maker factory has over 200 popular TrueType fonts installed on its equipment.  If you have any of those fonts on your computer, they will automatically appear in T-shirt Maker's font list, and you will have full use of them. (See The Fonts Toolbox.)  At a minimum, you should have Arial and Times New Roman fonts on your computer.

To use any other font - including Postscript and TrueType fonts - create the text for your design in a draw program such as Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, or Print Artist for Windows.  Save the text as a Windows Metafile (WMF) graphic file, then import it into T-shirt Maker.


USING YOUR OWN GRAPHICS

You can import graphic files in any of the most popular formats available.

From the Draw window:

1.	Choose Import Image from the File menu.

2.	Where it says "List files of type," select the type of graphic you want to import.

3.	Where it says "Drives," select the drive containing the graphic file, if necessary.

4.	Where it says "Directories," select the directory containing the graphic file you want to import.

5.	Where it says "File Name," type or select the file you want to import.

6.	Select OK.

Power tip:  When possible, import WMF or CGM graphics only. These types of graphics can be resized without loss of quality. In contract, "bitmap" files such as TIF, BMP or PCX files, will get the "jaggies" if you resize them. If you do use bitmap files, try not to resize them any more than necessary. Use the Zoom tool to magnify the graphics to make sure that they don't have too many jaggies. WHAT YOU SEE WHEN YOU ZOOM IS WHAT YOU'LL GET.

About TIF and GIF files:  All GIF and some TIF formatted files use a patented compression scheme called "LZW".  For licensing reasons, T-shirt Maker is legally prevented from importing GIF or TIF-LZW formatted files.  If T-shirt Maker is unable to import a TIF file, it is because the file was created using LZW.  If possible, create a TIF file that does not employ LZW, or use the BMP format.  If you upgrade to Gift Maker, you will not have this limitation.


USING YOUR OWN PHOTOS

With T-shirt Maker, you can have a favorite photo reproduced on a T-shirt, along with any combination of fonts and graphics. There are two ways to do this:

Scan the photo yourself and import it into T-shirt Maker.

Send your photo to the factory (** RECOMMENDED **).


SCANNING YOUR OWN PHOTO

If you scan your own photo, do the following:

1.	Scan at 200 dpi if you do not intend to resize the photo in the T-shirt design. Scan at the highest resolution supported by your scanner if you do plan to resize the photo.

Note:  You might end up with a huge file. That's one reason we recommend you send us your photo.

2.	Save the scanned image in TIF or BMP format.

3.	Import the TIF or BMP file into T-shirt Maker. See Using Your Own Graphics for more information.

If you then resize the photo, you may get jaggies in the final T-shirt. To check for this, use the Zoom tool to magnify the image. What you see when magnified is what you'll get. See Zooming  for more information. Depending on your scanner, you might not get the best possible color reproduction.


Sending Your Photo To The Factory

For best results, we recommend you send us a print of the photo(s) you want on the T-shirt. The operators at the factory use high-end scanners and know what they're doing. Your print will be returned to you.

If you send in a photo, please take care to ensure that it is protected from scratching and folding. Any imperfections in the photo will be reproduced on the T-shirt. You can protect a photo be placing it in a photo sleeve, available from any stationary store.  In addition, pack it with some sturdy material (e.g., cardboard) so that it won't get damaged in the mail.

Cropping Photos

You can reproduce a portion of a photo -- such as a persons head -- on the T-shirt.

Here are some ways to show what part of the photo you want used:

o	Insert and secure the photo under the plastic film of a "magnetic" photo album page.  Use a crayon or permanent marker to outline the area of the photo you want to use.  Be sure to draw the same shape (e.g., square, rectangle, circle, or diamond) used in the corresponding design.  Make sure the photo can't slide around in the album page.

o	Make a photocopy of your photo and include this with the actual photo.  On the photocopy, outline the area of the photo you want to use.  Be sure to draw the same shape (e.g., square, rectangle, circle, or diamond) used in the corresponding design.  Make sure the photo can't slide around in the album page.

If you send more than one photo, please enter a description for each photo in the Add Photo window. Write the same description in pencil on the back of the print, so that operators can match up the correct photo with the correct  place for the photo in the T-shirt design.