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 or JPEG on white, at the dimensions and DPI you set once in the template. The files attach to the Shopify order within a minute or two, where you download them or pull them with 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 print file you set up in the template renders. That's usually one per side, or several sides on one file if you mapped them that way. A print file whose sides the shopper left blank is skipped.
• 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. Then click Retry Failed on the order or Regenerate in Order files.

Both re-render the design with the settings it was ordered with, so a template change reaches designs added to the cart after you save it. See Orders and order files.

File specs#

Spec	What Pixel Wrangler does	Set it in
Format	PNG, PDF or JPEG, one File Type per template: every print file uses it	Template → Output Settings tool, step 1
Dimensions	Page Size — width and height in pixels, inches or millimeters, one size per template	Output Settings, step 1
DPI	Output Quality — one per template. Presets: Screen (72), Standard (150), Professional (300), Fine Art (600). The value is written into the file	Output Settings, step 1
Color mode	RGB. PNG and JPEG are RGB formats, and the PDF wraps the same render	—
Background	PNG renders with a transparent background: artwork only, no product photo. PDF and JPEG composite onto white	Follows the format
Bleed	No separate bleed setting. Build bleed into the canvas and page size	Canvas + Output Settings
Fonts	Google Fonts and custom .woff2, .woff, .otf and .ttf files render as set	Design Assets

DPI. 300 suits DTG and DTF; 600 is for fine-art and photo products. The DPI you pick is embedded in the PNG and JPEG 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 and DTF 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. PDF and JPEG are flattened onto white and print as a white box on a garment; choose them only when a partner asks.

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.

Will it print? DTG and DTF#

Here is what three print suppliers ask of a DTG or DTF file, beside what the Pixel Wrangler PNG gives them. Each sets its own rules; these were checked on October 5, 2026.

At 300 DPI and the finished size, the PNG has the pixel count every resolution rule in the table asks for. Two things to watch: soft edges, and detail on large prints (both in the box below). Pixel sizes for a front, a back and a sleeve are in T-shirt print sizes in pixels for DTF and DTG.

How files are named#

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

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

• Prefix — the File Name Prefix in Output Settings. Defaults to CUSTOM when blank.
• Variant identifier — one short code from one product option. Pick the Variant option (size or color, not both) under Variant Identifier Settings in Output Settings and give each value a code (M). Set these and the filename carries the size or the color, so nobody matches that option against the order by hand. Leave it unset and the segment is simply omitted.
• Print file name — the name you gave the print file (Front, Back, Wrap), with spaces turned into hyphens. Name print files the way your fulfillment partner expects to read them.
• id — the first eight characters of the design's 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; a print file is what renders. The mapping is yours:

• One file per side. The right call for apparel. Add a print file for each side, and Front, Back and Left sleeve each land as their own file, each a separate press job.
• Several sides in one file. Place more than one side on a print file and set where each sits on the page. Useful when a partner wants one sheet per order.
• A side placed on no print file renders nothing. The Output Settings tool warns you ("Final artwork won't be generated"). If a side is missing from an order's files, check its placement. Placing it applies to designs added to the cart after you save; for an order already in, email hey@pixelwrangler.io with the order number.

Surcharges hang off print 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, and Download artwork for many orders at once.
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 or DTF line#

Set the DPI to what your RIP wants (300 for DTG and DTF), name print files after your press positions, and set variant identifiers so the size or the color travels 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.

Questions about these files#

Is the PDF a vector file?#

No. It's the same raster render as the PNG, placed on a page and flattened onto white, with no vectors, live text or spot colors. For DTG and DTF, use the PNG.

Can each side's file be a different size?#

Not today. Every print file in a template shares one page size and DPI, so a sleeve's file is the same size as the back's. You set the sleeve's place and size on that page in Output Settings; check its file on a test order before you go live.

Can I get CMYK files?#

No. Files are RGB, with no choice of color profile. Printful, Gelato and DTF Transfers Now all ask for RGB or sRGB; if your prepress needs CMYK, convert there.

Will the files work for screen printing?#

No. Screen printing needs one separation per ink color, and Pixel Wrangler outputs one full-color raster file per print file. Separations stay with your separation software.

Where do the files land?#

They land on the Shopify order, usually within a minute or two of payment. Each file is linked on the order line and under More actions → Download Artwork, and the order is tagged px-artwork-ready.

Systems can also read the links from the px_customization.artwork_files metafield or, on Growth and Scale, the Artwork Export API. Files stay downloadable for 180 days from the order date.

Before you go live#

• File Type, Page Size and DPI match what your printer asked for
• Every side is placed on a print file
• Prefix and variant identifiers set, so filenames carry the product and its size or 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. Own the press? See the customizer for print shops.

Not installed yet? Pixel Wrangler Customizer is on the Shopify App Store, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial.