What size should a t-shirt design be? Sizes by placement in inches, centimetres and pixels

A standard full-front t-shirt design is 12 × 16 in (30.5 × 40.6 cm), which is 3600 × 4800 pixels at 300 DPI; most front designs are 10–12 in (25.4–30.5 cm) wide within it. A left chest logo is about 4 × 4 in (10.2 × 10.2 cm), 1200 × 1200 pixels, and a full back about 12 × 14 in (30.5 × 35.6 cm), 3600 × 4200 pixels. Make the file at 300 DPI at the size it will be printed: its width and height in inches times 300 are its pixels.

There is no single standard. Every printer, press and blank has its own print area, and the sizes below are what printers publish as usual, checked against several of them (listed at the end). Your printer’s own print area always wins, so read it before you design.

T-shirt design sizes by placement

Placement	Design size	Pixels at 300 DPI	Printers publish	Where it goes
Full front	12 × 16 in (30.5 × 40.6 cm)	3600 × 4800 pixels	10–12 in (25.4–30.5 cm) wide	Top about 3 in (7.6 cm) below the collar
Oversized front	15 × 18 in (38.1 × 45.7 cm)	4500 × 5400 pixels	12–15 in (30.5–38.1 cm) wide	Top about 3 in (7.6 cm) below the collar, on large shirts only
Centre chest	8 × 8 in (20.3 × 20.3 cm)	2400 × 2400 pixels	6–10 in (15.2–25.4 cm) wide	Top about 3 in (7.6 cm) below the collar
Left chest	4 × 4 in (10.2 × 10.2 cm)	1200 × 1200 pixels	3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm) wide	Top about 3 in (7.6 cm) below the collar, on the wearer’s left
Pocket	3 × 3 in (7.6 × 7.6 cm)	900 × 900 pixels	2.5–3.5 in (6.4–8.9 cm) wide	On the pocket, or where one would be
Full back	12 × 14 in (30.5 × 35.6 cm)	3600 × 4200 pixels	10–14 in (25.4–35.6 cm) wide	Top about 4 in (10.2 cm) below the collar
Upper back	10 × 5 in (25.4 × 12.7 cm)	3000 × 1500 pixels	8–12 in (20.3–30.5 cm) wide	Top about 3 in (7.6 cm) below the collar
Yoke (back of the neck)	3 × 3 in (7.6 × 7.6 cm)	900 × 900 pixels	1–3 in (2.5–7.6 cm) wide	Just below the collar
Short sleeve	3 × 3 in (7.6 × 7.6 cm)	900 × 900 pixels	2–4 in (5.1–10.2 cm) wide	Centred between the shoulder seam and the hem
Long sleeve	2.5 × 12 in (6.4 × 30.5 cm)	750 × 3600 pixels	10–15 in (25.4–38.1 cm) long	Down the outside of the sleeve
Youth full front	9 × 12 in (22.9 × 30.5 cm)	2700 × 3600 pixels	7–10 in (17.8–25.4 cm) wide	As the adult full front, scaled down
Youth left chest	3 × 3 in (7.6 × 7.6 cm)	900 × 900 pixels	2.5–3.5 in (6.4–8.9 cm) wide	As the adult left chest
Women’s full front	10 × 12 in (25.4 × 30.5 cm)	3000 × 3600 pixels	9–11 in (22.9–27.9 cm) wide	As the adult full front, on a narrower body

The design size is the box the artwork fits in, not the shirt. A design that is wider than it is tall fills the width and leaves the height empty, which is normal. “Printers publish” is the range of widths the printers listed at the end give for the placement, or of lengths for a long sleeve.

What DPI should a t-shirt design be?

300 DPI at the printed size. DPI is how many pixels of the image land on each inch of the shirt, so the pixels a file needs follow from the size it is printed at:

pixels = inches × 300, or centimetres ÷ 2.54 × 300

150 DPI is the lowest that still looks sharp at a normal viewing distance, and the least some printers accept. Below it, fine lines and small text soften first. The DPI number saved in a file changes no pixel: a 72 DPI file with enough pixels prints as well as the same file marked 300 DPI, and a small image enlarged in an editor gains pixels but no detail. To see how large an image you already have can print, use the image print size calculator.

Left chest logo size

A left chest logo is usually 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm) wide, and 4 × 4 in (10.2 × 10.2 cm) is the most printers give for an adult shirt: 1200 × 1200 pixels at 300 DPI. It goes on the wearer’s left, its top about 3 in (7.6 cm) below the collar, centred roughly halfway between the middle of the shirt and the armpit seam. A wide logo uses the width and stays short; a round or square one looks right a little smaller. On youth shirts, keep it to about 3 × 3 in (7.6 × 7.6 cm).

Printful gives embroidered left chest logos the same limit, and simple, bold shapes stitch best.

T-shirt back print size

A full back is usually 10–14 in (25.4–35.6 cm) wide. 12 × 14 in (30.5 × 35.6 cm) (3600 × 4200 pixels) is a common size, its top about 4 in (10.2 cm) below the collar, where it reads well when the shirt is worn. Two smaller backs are common too:

• Upper back: about 10 × 5 in (25.4 × 12.7 cm) across the shoulders, for a name, a word or a wide logo.
• Yoke: about 3 × 3 in (7.6 × 7.6 cm) just below the collar, for a small logo or a web address.

Some printers allow taller backs, up to 16 in (40.6 cm), on larger shirts. On a small shirt the bottom of a tall back print lands low on the back, so design for the smallest size you print.

Oversized prints

An oversized front is about 15 × 18 in (38.1 × 45.7 cm) (4500 × 5400 pixels). Only some printers, products and sizes take it: on a small shirt it runs into the side seams and under the arms. Printful, for one, offers its larger front area on some products from size L up. The design has to fit the narrowest shirt it is printed on.

Youth and women’s t-shirts

Youth and women’s fitted shirts are narrower, so their designs are smaller:

• Youth full front: 7–10 in (17.8–25.4 cm) wide, with 9 × 12 in (22.9 × 30.5 cm) (2700 × 3600 pixels) a common size.
• Women’s fitted front: 9–11 in (22.9–27.9 cm) wide, with 10 × 12 in (25.4 × 30.5 cm) (3000 × 3600 pixels) a common size.

A unisex shirt in a small size takes the adult sizes. If you sell one design on adult, women’s and youth shirts, make one file per size of print, or one file at the largest size that the printer scales down.

Design for the smallest shirt you print on

If you print one size of design on every size of shirt, as one file per design makes simple, pick the size against the smallest shirt you sell: a design sized for an XL can run into the seams of a small. An adult small laid flat is 18 in (45.7 cm) across the chest and 28 in (71.1 cm) long, and a full front has to fit across it with room to spare at the sides.

How to set up a t-shirt design file

1. Find the print area. Ask your printer, or read the product’s file guidelines, for the largest area it prints at the placement you want, and measure the smallest shirt size you will print on.
2. Choose the design size. Take the size for the placement, within that area: 12 × 16 in (30.5 × 40.6 cm) for a full front, 4 × 4 in (10.2 × 10.2 cm) for a left chest logo, 12 × 14 in (30.5 × 35.6 cm) for a full back.
3. Work out the pixels. Multiply the inches by 300, or divide the centimetres by 2.54 and multiply by 300: 12 in across is 3600 pixels.
4. Make the canvas that size. Create the document at those pixels, or in inches at 300 pixels per inch, before you start, rather than designing small and enlarging it at the end.
5. Export a PNG with a transparent background. Keep the background transparent so that only the design is printed, and export at the full size.
6. Check the pixels against the printed size. Divide the width in pixels by the printed width in inches: 300 or more prints sharp, and below 150 the print looks soft.

In Photoshop, set the new document’s width and height in inches and its resolution to 300 pixels per inch, and Photoshop works out the pixels. In Illustrator, draw on an artboard of the print size and export a PNG at 300 ppi. In any other editor, enter the pixels from the table. For the file itself, what makes it print-ready (format, transparency, colour and what each printing method needs), see print-ready t-shirt files and DTF print file requirements.

When customers design the shirt in your shop

When customers design their own shirts in an online shop, the size is set once per product instead of per order. In PrintBlob, each side of a product has a print area with its real print size, and while a customer places an image the designer shows its resolution at that size and warns below 150 DPI, before they order. With PrintBlob Pro, each printed side becomes a transparent PNG at 300 DPI at exactly that size when the design is added to the cart: the bundled t-shirt’s 28 × 36 cm front becomes 3307 × 4252 pixels. Pro also adds back and sleeve printing and your own products, each with its own print sizes (Mockups), for $69 a year or $99 once (limited-time offer until 31 December 2026) (Free and Pro compared). Other products have their own sizes: hoodies and sweatshirts, mugs, tote bags and caps; measuring your own blanks is in print areas and print sizes.

Try the designer: upload an image, resize it on the shirt and watch the resolution note change.

Questions about t-shirt design sizes

Sources

The sizes in the table were compiled on 20 October 2026 from these printers’ published guidance, and the illustration’s scale from two blanks’ size charts:

• Printful, T-shirt design placement guide: left chest, centre chest, full front (12 × 16 in, and 15 × 18 in on select products), back and sleeve.
• Printify, T-shirt design size: every adult placement, including oversized front and back of the neck.
• Bonfire, T-shirt design size and placement: adult and youth sizes and distances below the collar.
• Vistaprint, T-shirt design sizes: sizes with pixels at 300 DPI, youth and toddler.
• 4over4, T-shirt print size guide: adult and youth sizes in inches and centimetres.
• Transfer Express, Finding design sizes and transfer placement: pocket, yoke, short and long sleeves.
• Quality Logo Products, What size shirt printing: men’s, women’s and youth fronts and backs, sleeves.
• ooShirts’ size charts for the Gildan 5000 and the Bella+Canvas 3001: an adult small laid flat is 18 in (45.7 cm) across the chest and 28 in (71.1 cm) long.