T-Shirt Design Size: Print Areas in Inches and Pixels
Left chest 3.5 in, full front 12 to 16 in, sleeve 1 to 4 in: t-shirt design sizes, placement from the collar, and the pixels each one needs.
By Gaël Pons
Published
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T-shirt design size depends on placement: about 3.5 inches wide for a left chest logo, 10 to 16 inches for a full front or back, 1 to 4 inches on a sleeve. For a pixel image, plan on 300 pixels per inch: a 12-inch design needs 3,600 pixels across.
What size should a t-shirt design be?
The right t-shirt design size depends on where the design sits on the shirt: a left chest logo stays small, around 3.5 inches, while a full front or full back print spans 10 to 16 inches. The table pulls together the print size ranges in Shopify’s guide to logo placement on shirts and the standard sizes listed by Adobe Express in its t-shirt logo FAQ, both checked on October 14, 2026.
| Placement | Typical size (width × height) | In centimeters |
|---|---|---|
| Left chest | 2.5 × 2.5 to 5 × 5 in, standard 3.5 × 3.5 in | 6.4 to 12.7 cm, standard 8.9 cm |
| Center chest | 6 × 6 to 10 × 10 in | 15.2 to 25.4 cm |
| Full front | 12 × 12 to 16 × 16 in | 30.5 to 40.6 cm |
| Back of neck (under the collar) | 1 × 1 to 3 × 3 in | 2.5 to 7.6 cm |
| Upper back | 10 × 5 to 14 × 6 in | 25.4 × 12.7 to 35.6 × 15.2 cm |
| Full back | 10 × 12 to 14 × 16 in | 25.4 × 30.5 to 35.6 × 40.6 cm |
| Sleeve | 1 × 1 to 4 × 4 in | 2.5 to 10.2 cm |
Centimeters are converted at 2.54 cm per inch and rounded. These are typical ranges, not a rule: your printer has the final word on what fits their machines, and Adobe Express also advises confirming the sizes with your shop.
Where should a logo go on a shirt?
Logo placement on a shirt is measured down from the collar: most designs start 3 to 4 inches below it and sit centered on the garment, while a left chest logo moves to one side and a sleeve design rides near the shoulder. Here are the usual starting points from the Shopify guide:
- Left chest: 3 to 4 inches below the collar, never reaching past the armpit.
- Center chest: 3 to 5 inches below the collar line, depending on the size of the design.
- Full front: the top edge of the design 3 to 4 inches below the collar.
- Back of neck: centered, about 1 inch under the bottom edge of the collar.
- Upper back: centered, starting about 4 inches below the collar.
- Full back: centered, starting 3 to 4 inches below the collar.
- Sleeve: most often the outside of the left sleeve, up near the shoulder, about 2 inches above the hem of a short sleeve.
“Centered” means the visual middle of your design, which Shopify calls the anchor point, lines up with the middle of the garment. Trim any empty margin around the artwork before you send it: if the file carries extra blank space on one side, a design centered by its file edges will look off-center on the shirt.
What size is a left chest logo?
A left chest logo is usually about 3.5 × 3.5 inches, the standard size given by Adobe Express, within a wider range of 2.5 to 5 inches in Shopify’s guide. At 300 pixels per inch, a 3.5-inch logo needs 1,050 pixels across.
At that size, fine details are the first to suffer. A tagline, a web address or hairline strokes that look fine on screen can turn into a smudge: keep the symbol and the name, and save the rest for the back. If the logo will be stitched rather than printed, thread has its own minimums, covered in our guide to custom embroidered t-shirts.
How big should a full front design be?
A full front design usually measures 12 to 16 inches wide, with its top edge 3 to 4 inches below the collar, according to Shopify’s guide. Below that, you’re in center chest territory: 6 to 10 inches, a good fit for a bold logo that shouldn’t cover the whole shirt.
The upper limit comes from the shop, not from the shirt. Shopify notes that printing companies set a default design size for each print location, and that image resolution, printer capacity and print location all affect how big a logo can go. Ask for the maximum print area for the front and for the back before anyone finalizes the artwork, and ask for the number that matches your method: screen printing a logo and pressing heat transfer vinyl onto shirts don’t run on the same equipment.
Should the design size change with the shirt size?
A full front or full back design can grow with the shirt size: Adobe Express states that these large designs start at 12 × 13.5 inches and increase with t-shirt size. A small left chest logo rarely needs to change, since 3.5 inches leaves room on a small shirt as well as on an XL.
If your order mixes sizes, from small to XXL, ask your printer whether they print one size on every shirt or scale the design up for larger ones. A print chosen to fill an XL can look crowded on a small; one sized for a small can look lost on an XXL. When the shirts are the first run of your own label, settle this once and write it down with your other production decisions, as part of the steps to start a clothing brand.
How many pixels does a t-shirt design need?
A t-shirt design saved as a pixel image (PNG or JPG) needs 300 pixels for every inch of print, the resolution Shopify’s guide calls high resolution. To get the image size for t-shirt printing, multiply the width and the height in inches by 300: a 12-inch full front needs 3,600 pixels across.
| Design | Size in inches | Pixels at 300 DPI |
|---|---|---|
| Sleeve or back of neck | 3 × 3 | 900 × 900 |
| Left chest, standard | 3.5 × 3.5 | 1,050 × 1,050 |
| Left chest, large | 5 × 5 | 1,500 × 1,500 |
| Center chest | 10 × 10 | 3,000 × 3,000 |
| Upper back | 14 × 6 | 4,200 × 1,800 |
| Full front, Adobe Express start | 12 × 13.5 | 3,600 × 4,050 |
| Full front or full back, large | 16 × 16 | 4,800 × 4,800 |
For a size in centimeters, divide by 2.54 to get inches, then multiply by 300. To check a file you already have, type its pixel width and height into the pixel calculator above: it shows the largest size that prints sharp, in inches, and nothing gets uploaded. Why printers settle on 300 is explained in our guide to what 300 DPI means.
A logo can skip the arithmetic altogether. Saved as a vector file (a file that stores shapes instead of tiny colored squares), it has no pixel count and stays sharp at 3 inches or 16, which is why printers ask for one. If a shop wants your logo “in high res,” our guide to what a high resolution logo really is explains the difference between a big PNG and a vector. Format, colors and outlined text are the other checks, all on the seven-point print-ready logo checklist.
How can you check a t-shirt design size before ordering?
The simplest way to check a t-shirt design size before ordering is to see it at full scale: print the design at its real size, cut it out and tape it onto a shirt, measuring down from the collar. Put the shirt on: one look in a mirror tells you whether 3.5 inches feels timid or 12 inches feels loud.
Then try it in color on our free t-shirt mockup generator. Upload your logo, pick the product (t-shirt, hoodie, sweatshirt or tote bag) and its color, choose the print area (on a t-shirt: Left chest, Center chest, Back or Back of neck), then adjust the logo size until the proportions look right. The preview toggles between a realistic photo and a 360° 3D view, no sign-up needed, and on a dark shirt a black single-color logo turns white automatically. You can get the mockup in HD by email, free.
A mockup shows proportion, placement and contrast, not exact inches, and it never replaces the proof your printer sends before production. That proof is the one to check line by line.
One logo file for the chest, the back and the sleeve
Whatever size you settle on, the shop will most likely ask for the logo as a vector. Depixelise turns an image of it into one, 100% free: no account needed, no watermark on the files. Upload a JPG, PNG, SVG or WebP up to 10 MB, and in about ten seconds the converted logo appears in a large preview, and you can zoom in to check every edge.
The pack is delivered by email. Its SVG is a vector format that print shops, embroiderers and engravers commonly work from, and the same file covers a 3.5-inch chest logo and a 14-inch back print. Alongside the SVG, you get a 2000-pixel transparent PNG (at 300 DPI, that covers about 6.7 inches, plenty for a left chest logo), a single-color variant, and a white negative version for dark shirts.
FAQ
How big is a pocket logo on a t-shirt?
A pocket logo on a t-shirt is usually 3 × 3 inches, the size Adobe Express gives for a design placed on a pocket, half an inch smaller than its standard left chest. At 300 DPI, a pocket logo calls for 900 × 900 pixels.
Which side is the left chest on a shirt?
The left chest is on the wearer’s left, so when you face the shirt, the logo sits on your right. In our mockup generator, the Left chest option places the logo on the right side of the preview for exactly that reason.
What is an oversized print on a t-shirt?
An oversized print is a design larger than the default size a printer sets for that location on the shirt. Shopify’s guide keeps it apart from the maximum size, the largest possible print size for a custom shirt, which depends on image resolution, printer capacity and print location, so ask whether your shop offers oversized prints, and up to what size, before planning a design that big.
Is a t-shirt print area square?
A t-shirt print area isn’t always square: Adobe Express starts the full front at 12 × 13.5 inches, a little taller than wide, and Shopify’s upper back runs wide and short, from 10 × 5 to 14 × 6 inches. Your design keeps its own proportions inside that box, so a long wordmark hits the width limit first and a tall crest hits the height.
Does a t-shirt design need a transparent background?
A t-shirt design needs a transparent background whenever the shirt isn’t white: a white rectangle left behind the logo prints as a visible box on colored fabric. With the background removed, the shirt color shows around the logo, which is what you want on a navy, gray or black tee.