Print-ready files: specs, naming, per-side outputs and fulfillment hand-off

Every paid order with a customized line renders one print-ready file per output you configured: a PNG with a transparent background, or a PDF, at the dimensions and DPI you set in the template. The files attach to the Shopify order within a minute or two and reach fulfillment through a download, an order tag, a metafield or the Artwork Export API. This page is the spec sheet: what's in the file, what it's called, and how to hand it off.

The settings live in Sides and output files, the lifecycle in Order flow, and the endpoints in the Artwork Export API. This page is the whole picture.

What you get on every paid order#

Pixel Wrangler does nothing until an order is paid. Then, for each customized line item:

• Every output file in the template renders: one per side by default, or several sides laid out on one file if you mapped them that way.
• The order is tagged px-artwork-pending while rendering, then px-artwork-ready (or px-artwork-failed, which the app's Orders page flags with a retry).
• The file links are written to the order metafield px_customization.artwork_files, alongside artwork_status.
• A Download Artwork action appears under More actions on the Shopify order page, and the same files sit under Orders → Order files in the app.
• The line item carries the design details as _pw_* properties: the text typed, the images uploaded, a thumbnail, and one _pw_artwork__* property per print file.

Renders usually finish within a minute or two. If one fails, fix the cause (a deleted asset, an offline font URL, a corrupt upload) and click Regenerate on the order line.

File specs#

Spec	What Pixel Wrangler does	Set it in
Format	PNG or PDF, per output file	Template → Output panel
Dimensions	Width and height in pixels, inches or millimeters	Output panel
DPI	Presets: Screen (72), Standard (150), Professional (300), Fine Art (600). The value is written into the file	Output panel
Color mode	RGB. PNG is an RGB format, and the PDF wraps the same render	—
Background	PNG renders with a transparent background: artwork only, no product photo. PDF composites onto white	Follows the format
Bleed	No separate bleed setting. Build bleed into the canvas and output size	Canvas + Output panel
Fonts	Google Fonts and uploaded .woff2, .otf and .ttf files render as set	Design Assets

DPI. 300 suits DTG and DTF; 150 suits most sublimation; 600 is for fine-art and photo products. The DPI you pick is embedded in the PNG and used to size the PDF page, so a RIP or prepress tool reads the physical dimensions correctly: a 3600 × 4800 px file at 300 DPI opens as 12 × 16 in. Unsure? Ask your printer; changing it is one click.

Color mode. Files are RGB. Most DTG, DTF and sublimation RIPs take RGB and convert to the printer's color space themselves; if your prepress needs CMYK, convert there. Pixel Wrangler doesn't output CMYK.

Background. The base image (your blank product photo) is what the shopper designs over; it is not part of the print file. A PNG output contains only the placed elements on transparency, which is what DTG and DTF want. Choose PDF when a partner asks for it.

Bleed. The canvas is the printable area. If a product is trimmed after printing (cards, all-over prints, some wraps), size the canvas and output to include the bleed and position the base image so shoppers see the safe area. Nothing is added automatically.

How files are named#

{prefix}-{variant identifier}-{output file name}-{id}.png

For example, CUST-TEE-M-BK-Front-a1b2c3d4.png:

• Prefix — per template, in the Output panel. Defaults to CUSTOM.
• Variant identifier — short codes you assign per product option value in the Products panel (M, BK). Set these and the filename carries size and color, so nobody matches files against the order by hand.
• Output file name — the name you gave the output (Front, Back, Wrap). Name outputs the way your fulfillment partner expects to read them.
• id — a short unique id, so files never collide.

If you edit a design after purchase, the regenerated file gets an -edited-v2 suffix (v3 for the next edit). The original files keep their plain names and stay downloadable.

Per-side outputs and combined files#

A side is a canvas; an output file is what renders. The mapping is yours:

• One file per side. The default, and the right call for apparel. Front, Back and Left sleeve each land as their own file, each a separate press job.
• Several sides in one file. Map more than one side to an output and set where each sits on the page. Useful when a partner wants one sheet per order.
• A side with no output renders nothing, silently. If a side is missing from an order's files, check the mapping first, then Regenerate.

Surcharges hang off output files too: a back print can add a fee to the cart line (Shopify Plus only; see Surcharges).

Where the files land#

Four ways to get at them, from manual to automated:

1. The Shopify order page. More actions → Download Artwork. Also Orders → Order files in the app, with status and Regenerate per file.
2. Order tags. Most fulfillment tools and Shopify Flow can watch for px-artwork-ready and act.
3. Order metafields. px_customization.artwork_files lists every file with its URL, for systems that read metafields.
4. The Artwork Export API. An incremental feed of presigned download links, paged by cursor, with the SKUs and line item ids for each file. This is the production pattern for any volume. Available on Growth and Scale.

Pixel Wrangler hosts the files: rendered artwork for 180 days from the order date, the shopper's uploads and design data for 90 days. Pull what you need into your own storage after fulfillment.

Handing off to fulfillment#

Pixel Wrangler delivers the file; you decide who prints it. There is no native connection to any supplier, so the hand-off is one of the workflows below.

Your own DTG, DTF or sublimation line#

Set the DPI to what your RIP wants (300 for DTG and DTF, 150 for sublimation), name outputs after your press positions, and set variant identifiers so size and color travel in the filename. Then pick up files by watching the px-artwork-ready tag, or by running the Artwork Export API on a schedule into the folder your RIP polls. The urls feed scales through peak season, and the Bash and Python examples in the API doc are a working start.

A print partner or 3PL#

Two options. Give them an API key from Settings → Artwork Export API and let their system pull files by order number or date range. Or, for smaller volumes, download the artwork from the order and attach it to the job you send them. Agree the spec up front and set the template to match, so nothing is re-exported by hand.

Printful, Printify, Gelato and other POD suppliers#

Supplier integrations sync products and orders; the personalized artwork still has to reach the supplier's order:

1. The order is paid. Pixel Wrangler renders the print file and tags the order px-artwork-ready.
2. Open the supplier's order (or create it, if the integration didn't) and upload the PNG to the print area. A transparent PNG at 300 DPI is the format these suppliers generally ask for.
3. Approve and submit.

At volume, replace step 2 with an automation that watches the tag, fetches the file URL from the metafield or the API, and pushes it to the supplier's API. Pixel Wrangler gives you the file, the tag and the URL; the automation is yours to build.

When a file needs changing#

A typo in a name or a photo that slipped off the print area doesn't need a cancelled order. Edit design on the order line opens the shopper's design in the same editor, and saving regenerates the print files with an -edited-v2 suffix. Everything that hands artwork to fulfillment (downloads, the metafield, the API) serves the current version automatically. Details in Editing a customer's design.

Before you go live#

• Output format, dimensions and DPI match what your printer asked for
• Every side is mapped to an output file
• Prefix and variant identifiers set, so filenames carry product, size and color
• A test order placed and the file opened in the software that will print it
• Fulfillment knows which signal to watch: tag, metafield, download or API

That test order is the one that matters: a file that opens in your RIP at the right physical size is the whole point. Selling apparel? See Custom apparel on Shopify.