Product Designs: PSD Upload Formatting Requirements
Overview
'Product Designs' can be created externally in Photoshop and saved as PSD files which can be imported directly into the platform to expand your design library.
There are 2 locations that the PSD file can be added via:
1. Create Virtual Products : Design wizard offers a PSD upload option as part of the creation process.2. Product Designs can be uploaded directly to Settings > Products Designs, which serves as a design library and is available in point 1.
Preparing the PSD file
There are several formatting rules to follow when creating / saving your PSD design files:
- Your PSD file name will be used as the Design name in the platform. This is currently capped at 32 characters.
- The PSD should be print size / resolution
- The PSD should be set to use RGB colour. If CMYK PSD files are uploaded, conversions will occur and may result in inaccurate colours.
- A maximum of 20 layers are supported - although for best performance we recommend using less.
- Layers should be basic - no stacking, blending, masking, grouping etc, as these can stop the psd from importing
- Layers can be a combination of raster images and interactive text
- Font information, approximate size and approximate position will be taken from the text layer
- Aligned or anchored text information will be ignored on import - this cannot be carried over from photoshop
- Text layers will always sit above Image Layers upon import
- Avoid text transformations in Photoshop (eg arcs, rotations, strokes, dropshadows) as these cannot be retained for interactive text
If the design is to be applied to multiple different product types, make sure the document has sufficient resolution for the largest print area it could potentially be applied to
Please note:
- Smart Objects and Layer masks are not currently supported
- Layer styles / Adjustment layers / Effects and 3rd party plugins are not currently supported - Any simulated Photoshop effects have to be rasterised
- Shape layers are not currently supported and must be rasterised
Importing the PSD to Create a Design
Important Note:
Any fonts used in the PSD file must be installed on the CPP platform in order for the routine to assign them correctly to the design. This must currently be done by a member of Custom Gateway staff. Please create a support ticket by emailing support@custom-gateway.com with details of the fonts to be added.
You will need to supply:
1) A .ttf or .otf file of the font
2) The exact name of the font as displayed in Photoshop (case sensitive)
3) Please indicate if the font is taken from google.com/fonts
If it does not already exist, a font group will be created for your company in CPP and the fonts will be added to that group for your unique access.
Please note that Google fonts are always installed in our Public folder.
Once you are sure that the fonts in your designs are present in the platform, you can begin adding your designs.
What next?
Uploaded Product Designs can be managed / maintained in the platform and re-used to create Virtual Products. Continue to add more PSD files to expand your design library.
FAQ's
Q - Why are colours of my design are different after import?
A - Check that your file is RGB colour prior to import. CMYK files will be auto-converted to RGB which can lead to inaccurate colours.
Q - Why is the text on my design in platform a different size vs my original design in photoshop?
A - Point sizes are converted because the KX platform uses CSS Pixels for text size. This means that changes in size are likely to occur. It is strongly advised that all imported designs are reviewed and updated in platform if necessary. Interactive tools are available to resize your text to the desired size.
Q - Why does text at an angle or on an arc get removed?
A - That information cannot be read when the file is imported. That means all text will come in horizontally by default. You can interactively edit your design in platform to rotate text. In the future we hope to enhance the interactive tools to also offer arc tools too.
Q - Why is my design showing with a different font?
A - All PSD Designs should only contain fonts that have already been installed in platform. If fonts are used in a design that do not exist within platform, the system cannot allocate the desired font to your imported design. It will therefore be substituted.
Q - The PSD file won't import / errors / times out?
A - Failure to import is usually tied to PSD formatting, file structure, or overall file size. Make sure the layers are simple text or raster images only - we recommend 10 or less.
A - Remove any filters / effects / masks and layer groupings.
A - If the PSD is very large (in mbs), make the canvas smaller or consider merging raster layers to reduce the file size.
Q - Why has my text stroke / pattern disappeared?
A - Photoshop modifications cannot be retained, so will be ignored during the import process
Q - My design shows text underneath an image - why is it switched after import?
A - Platform always sits text on a layer above imagery
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