Artwork Prep Tool
Client sends a 72 DPI JPG scraped from their website with a white box around it? This tool does the three things that file needs: remove the flat background, tell you the real effective DPI at print size, and export a transparent PNG stamped at true 300 DPI. Everything runs locally in your browser — client artwork is never uploaded.
1 · Load artwork
No file loaded.
2 · Remove background
Flood-fills inward from the edges, removing pixels similar to the background color. Works on flat backgrounds (white, black, solid colors). It cannot remove photo backgrounds or gradients — be honest with yourself about which files qualify.
3 · Size check & 300 DPI export
Effective DPI: —
Export upscales to print width × 300 pixels and writes real 300 DPI metadata into the PNG. Upscaling cannot invent detail — if the DPI check says red, ask the client for a better file instead of shipping a blurry print.
How to use this
What "print-ready" actually means. Three requirements, in order of how often clients miss them: transparent background (no white box), enough pixels at final size (300 DPI at print dimensions is the industry norm), and tight cropping. This tool fixes the first and third, and measures the second honestly.
Effective DPI is the only DPI that matters. A 3000-pixel-wide design printed 10 inches wide is a clean 300 DPI. The same file stretched to 15 inches is 200 DPI and will print soft. The checker computes pixel width ÷ print width — green at 280+, yellow 200–280, red below 200.
Background removal limits. The flood-fill method is perfect for logos on white or solid backgrounds — the most common client-file problem. It will not extract a design from a photograph, and it will not fix a JPEG that was screenshotted three times. For anything beyond flat backgrounds, you need real design software or a redraw.
After export. The PNG drops straight into your separation workflow — open it in the Spot Color Separation Studio to split spot colors, or print it to film as-is for one-color jobs. If the design needs to go on a mockup for client approval, take it to the Mockup + Quote Generator.
FAQ
Why transparent PNG and not JPG? JPG can't hold transparency — the white box around the design becomes part of the print or shows up in the film. PNG carries an alpha channel, so empty areas stay empty.
Does upscaling to 300 DPI add quality? No — it adds pixels, not detail. The export's job is correct size and correct metadata; the DPI checker's job is telling you when the source file simply isn't good enough.
My background isn't white. How do I remove it? Use "Pick background color from image", then click the background on the canvas — the tool samples that color and removes everything similar that's connected to the edges.
Is my client's artwork uploaded anywhere? No. The file opens in your browser's memory and never touches a network.