JPEG File

A JPEG file compresses a photo or graphic by throwing away data the algorithm judges least visible to the eye, a lossy process that shrinks file size dramatically but leaves blocky artifacts around hard edges and text once it's compressed hard or re-saved a few times. Unlike a PNG, JPEG has no transparency channel at all, so any area outside the artwork gets filled with a solid color — almost always white — that bakes itself permanently into the file.

This is the format we see first from more buyers than any other, because it's the default output of phone cameras, screenshots, and plenty of scanned logos passed down through three companies. The white box problem shows up constantly: a customer emails a JPEG of their logo, we drop it onto a black hoodie mockup, and suddenly there's a bright rectangle sitting on the chest where a transparent background should be.

A JPEG can still work for full-color, photo-based prints like an all-over sublimation design, where a solid background is expected anyway. For a logo or spot-color design meant to sit on colored fabric, ask whether the customer has the same art saved as a PNG, AI, or EPS file with the background actually removed, rather than trying to key out white in a photo editor afterward.

The common mistake is sending a JPEG pulled from a website or a group text and assuming quality holds up at shirt size. Screen resolution and print resolution aren't the same scale, and a file that looks sharp on a phone can be well under 100 dpi once it's stretched to 10 inches wide.