Artwork & Logo Requirements for Custom Team Uniforms: Files, Colours and Sizes

Published September 28, 2026 · Reviewed by the RUIJUN production team

Short answer: to get a clean mockup and a sharp print, send your club crest and sponsor logos as vector files (AI, EPS, PDF or SVG), give colours as Pantone numbers (or a photo of a garment to match), and keep any text on mesh fabric at least 8 mm high. If you only have a JPG or PNG, send it anyway – we redraw logos as vector at no charge, it just adds a day. Below is exactly what our design team needs, what happens when something is missing, and how the mockup and approval process works at RUIJUN.

Files we need for a mockup

• Club or brand logo: vector preferred (AI, EPS, PDF, SVG). A PNG with a transparent background at 1,000 px or wider is acceptable for the mockup stage.
• Sponsor logos: same as above, one file per sponsor. Ask sponsors for their “brand pack” – it almost always contains a vector logo and their Pantone colours.
• Colour references: Pantone codes (for example “Pantone 286 C”), or a photo of last season’s kit, or a colour name from our chart. Screen colours (RGB/HEX) are a starting point only – every monitor shows them differently.
• Design direction: a sketch, a photo of a kit you like, or a written description (“navy body, gold side panels, white numbers”). A tech pack is welcome but not required.
• Garment list: jersey, shorts, socks, long sleeve, goalkeeper – and whether men’s, women’s and youth cuts are needed.

Why vector matters

Sublimation prints at the full size of the garment panel, so a logo that looks fine as a 300 px web image becomes soft and blocky when scaled to 25 cm across a chest. Vector files are made of curves and scale without loss; that is why printers ask for them. If a vector does not exist – common for small clubs whose crest was drawn years ago – we trace it by hand and send it back for approval. Complex crests with fine detail or gradients take longer to trace; simple shapes are done the same day.

Colour: how to get what you expect

Sublimation reproduces the great majority of Pantone shades closely, with a few exceptions: true neon (fluorescent) and metallic colours cannot be printed, and very deep blacks print slightly softer on mesh than on interlock. To avoid surprises:

• Give Pantone codes for the main body colour and each logo colour.
• If matching an existing garment, post us a piece or a cut swatch – we colour-match against the fabric, not a photo.
• Ask for a printed colour swatch panel with your sample. It shows your exact colours on your exact fabric, which is the only reliable proof.
• Remember that the same Pantone will look slightly different on mesh and on interlock because of texture; if your jersey and shorts use different fabrics, we adjust the print to match them visually.

Minimum sizes and placements

Element	Minimum size	Typical placement
Text on interlock	5 mm cap height	Sponsor tags, care notes
Text on mesh	8 mm cap height	Sleeve and chest sponsors
Thin lines / outlines	0.5 mm on interlock, 1 mm on mesh	Crest details, pinstripes
Club crest	6–9 cm wide	Left chest
Front sponsor	up to 25 × 10 cm	Centre chest
Back number	20–25 cm tall (adult), 15–20 cm (youth)	Centre back
Player name	5–6 cm letter height	Above number
Sleeve sponsor	up to 8 × 6 cm	Left or right sleeve

League rules sometimes fix number height and sponsor area – tell us the league and we follow its specification.

What our designers do with your files

Within 24–48 hours of receiving the brief you get a digital mockup showing front and back, with colours, logos, names and numbers in place, on the actual jersey pattern for the cut you chose. Revisions are free until you approve; most designs settle after two or three rounds. Before production we send a final “print-ready” proof – this is the version you sign off, and the sample and bulk are made from it exactly.

Behind the mockup, our team also builds the full-panel print files: every size is laid out separately so that stripes, gradients and sponsor logos stay in proportion from XS to 6XL rather than being stretched.

Common artwork problems and how we handle them

• Logo has a white box around it. A JPG with a white background – we remove the background or redraw the logo.
• Sponsor sent a low-resolution screenshot. We redraw it as vector and send the sponsor a proof to confirm their brand colours.
• Design supplied as a Word or PowerPoint file. Fine for direction; we rebuild it in production software.
• Two sponsors want the same chest position. We show both options in the mockup and the club decides.
• Copyrighted logos. We reproduce third-party brand marks only with the sponsor’s permission, which is normally implied by the sponsor supplying the file.

Do you need a designer?

No. Most clubs come with a crest, a colour and an idea. Our in-house designers create the kit from that. If you have a professional designer, send the artwork as a print-ready PDF with fonts outlined and colours in Pantone; we check it against the pattern and flag anything that will not print well.

Checklist to copy into your message

1. Club/brand logo (vector or PNG)
2. Sponsor logos (vector or PNG) and where each goes
3. Pantone codes or a reference photo for colours
4. Design idea or reference image
5. Garments needed, quantities and cuts (men/women/youth)
6. League specifications, if any
7. Deadline and delivery country

FAQ

Do you charge for design work or mockups? No. Mockups, revisions and redrawing logos as vector are free.

Can you copy a design from a photo? We can create a design in the same style, but we do not copy another brand’s protected design or logos.

What file do I get back? A PDF mockup for approval, and after the order a copy of the final proof for your records. Print files stay on file with us for re-orders.

Can I use a font of my choice for names and numbers? Yes – send the font file or name it; we have the common team fonts in-house.

How long is artwork kept? Indefinitely. Re-ordering next season needs only a new roster.

Ready to start? Send your logo and a description and you will have a mockup within two working days. For the ordering steps that follow, see how to order team uniforms step by step.

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