Welcome to Gatorprints.com Design Tutorials!
New to the site?
Start by taking a look at the Designer Quick Reference Sheet or
our Order Demonstration Video by clicking the buttons below.
View the Quick Reference Sheet View Order Demonstration Video
Click a question link below to jump to the corresponding tutorial.
How do I add a photo?
How do I add text?
How do I edit text?
How do I add photos from my Facebook account?
How do I add photos from my Instagram account?
How do I resize photos?
What is the recommended size and resolution of my artwork?
What are Layers and how do they work?
Can I save different versions of my design?
How do I add a background color to my design?
How do I add text?
Click the + ADD button located in the green bar at the top of the designer
Click ADD YOUR OWN TEXT
Enter the text you would like to display on the canvas area
Click the check mark button next to the field that you entered your text into
Your text is placed in the canvas area and will be set to color and font defaults
Text can be edited in many different ways including changing the font face, color, opacity, rotation, flipping, curving, and much more.
Listed below are options available to edit text from the EDIT OPTIONS menu.
Text editing options will appear within the EDIT OPTIONS menu when clicking on the text item within the canvas area. You may also select text items by clicking on their corresponding Layer within the MANAGE LAYERS menu.
Changing Font Color
Select the text item within the canvas area
In the EDIT ELEMENT menu, click on the Color color bar under Fill Options
Click & drag the slider located on the right to to select the main color hue
Then click & drag within the corresponding color square on the left to adjust the color’s saturation
You can also enter a color’s hexadecimal color value (web colors), in the bottom field to assign a specific color
Click the green check mark button to apply the current color selection; or the red X button to discard the current color selection
Changing Opacity
Opacity is the level of transparency or show-through that an item has. To change text’s transparency:
Select the text item within the canvas area
In the EDIT ELEMENT menu, click & drag the Opacity slider under Fill Options to change the item’s opacity from 0%-100%
Changing the Typeface or Font
Select the text item within the canvas area
In the EDIT ELEMENT menu, click on the Typeface dropdown located under Text Items
Scroll through the available fonts and click on your preferred typeface to apply it to the currently selected text item on the canvas
Changing the Line Height (Leading)
Line height (also known as leading), is the measurable space between two lines of text.
To adjust line height for multiple lines of text:
Select the text item within the canvas area
In the EDIT ELEMENT menu, click & drag the Line Height slider under Fill Options to change the spacing between lines of text
Changing Text Alignment
Text alignment changes the orientation for multiple lines of text so that it aligns to the left, center, or right border of the textbox.
Begin by selecting the text item within the canvas area
In the EDIT ELEMENT menu, click on Left Alignment, Center Alignment, or Right Alignment button options to change the text to the corresponding orientation
Changing Styling
Styling option makes selected text either Bold, Italicized, or Underlined. Note that some styling options may not be available for all designer fonts.
Begin by selecting the text item within the canvas area
In the EDIT ELEMENT menu, click on the Bold, Italic, or Underline button options located under Text Options to change the text’s styling
How to Curve Text
Begin by selecting the text item within the canvas area
In the EDIT ELEMENT menu, click on the circular switch button under Text Options to enable Curved Text
Radius– Click & drag the Radius slider to change the size of the circular path that the text is applied to
Spacing– Click & drag the Spacing slider to change the amount of space between the characters along your circular path
Reverse– Click the Reverse circular switch button to reverse the orientation of the selected text from the outside circle path to inside the circular path
How to Transform Text
Begin by selecting the text item within the canvas area
Angle– change the angle or rotation of text along it’s center axis by clicking & dragging the slider next to the Angle option located under the Transform section of the EDIT OPTIONS menu
Scale– change the scale or sizing of text from it’s center axis by clicking & dragging the slider next to the Scale option located under the Transform section of the EDIT OPTIONS menu
Centering Text Within the Canvas Area
Begin by selecting the text item within the canvas area
Within the EDIT OPTION menu under Transform, click on the Center Horizontal or Center Vertical button to center the selected item within the canvas area.
How to Flip or Mirror Text Orientation
Begin by selecting the text item within the canvas area
Within the EDIT OPTION menu under Transform, click on the Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical button to flip the selected text item along it’s horizontal or vertical axis
How to Reset Text to It’s Original Setting
Individual text items can be reset to their original orientation at any point using the Reset Element option.
Note that this will reset & remove any formatting that you have applied to the element since it’s first placement within the canvas area.
Begin by selecting the text item within the canvas area
In the EDIT ELEMENT menu click on the 2 circular arrows icon located under the Transform options (to the right of the Flip Vertical & Horizontal buttons), to reset the text item to it’s original formatting
How do I add photos from my Facebook account?
Click the + ADD button located in the green bar at the top of the designer.
Click ADD PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK
Click the Facebook Log In button
Enter your Facebook Log In username and password
Click SELECT AN ALBUM and select which photo album you would like to access
Click on the photo you would like to select
The selected photo will be loaded onto the canvas
How do I add photos from my Instagram account?
In your Elements panel, located to the left of the design area, click the Instagram icon to enable the Instagram panel.
Click the Log In button to enter your Facebook login credentials.
Once you have completed the login process, your Instagram photos will be displayed for selection.
Simply click the photo you would like to add and it will be loaded into the Designer preview window.
How do I resize items?
Some imported items may be much larger than the viewable canvas area.
To resize items within the canvas you can:
- Click & drag the image to reposition it within the canvas area until the Resize Arrows are viewable at the lower-right corner of the selected photo. Then click & drag these arrows to resize the photo within the canvas area. Using this method you may have to reposition and resize the photo several times, if it is very large, to fit it to the canvas area.
- Click the item to select it, and use the Scale option slider located under Transform within the EDIT ELEMENT panel.
What resolution and size should my uploaded artwork files be?
To insure that your artwork is reproduced clearly, please be sure to submit properly scaled artwork at the correct resolution.
Ideally your artwork file will be the same size as the final print and have a minimum resolution of 150 pixels per inch (ppi, also referred to as dpi).
If these requirements are not met, your printed design may appear pixelated, jagged, or have noise artifacts in the final print.
For instance, if you have a logo file for a business card and it is 3″ x 2″ at 150 pixels per inch, and you upload it for a banner that is 18″ x 36″, the scaled up image may become fuzzy and the text and artwork will not be crisp and clear. The correct image size for the banner should have been closer to 14″ x 30″ (the logo size as it appears on the banner), at 150 ppi for a clear print.
Uploaded images that do not meet these minimum requirements will be printed without review by our staff, and the resulting product prints are accepted when you approve your design order from this site.
What are Layers and how do they work?
Items that are added to the canvas area are placed within their own Layer. Layers stack above and below each other to allow repositioning of your items from front to back.
To view the Layers of your current design, click the MANAGE LAYERS button located in the green bar located at the top of the canvas.
The MANAGE LAYERS menu displays background layers near the top of the list, and foreground layers near the bottom.
To reposition an item’s layer stacking order:
Locate the icon that resembles 4 small horizontal lines to the left of the layer name you want to reposition
Click & drag it into the preferred stacking order placement. You will see the items visually repositioning themselves as you move the layer up or down.
How to Lock or Unlock Layers
When adding multiple items to your canvas area it may become difficult to select items positioned on top of one another.
To make selecting items easier, simply lock the Layers that you do not wish to edit. Once your edits are completed, simply unlock the Layers to continue editing them.
To lock or unlock layers:
Click the item in the canvas or within the MANAGE LAYERS menu to select it
Click the lock icon located to the right of the item name within the MANAGE LAYERS menu
How to delete layers/ items:
Click the item in the canvas or within the MANAGE LAYERS menu to select it
Click the delete icon (small circle with an X in it), located to the right of the item name within the MANAGE LAYERS menu. Note that this will delete the layer AND the item within it from the canvas area.
Can I save different versions of my designs?
Yes! Once you have a design created on the canvas area, you can then save and reload it onto the canvas at a later time.
This allows you to create a design, save it, continue making changes, and revert to a previous design version if you like.
Please note that saved versions of your artwork can only be reloaded for the specific product you saved the design version for.
To save your current design:
Click the 3 vertical dots located at the far right side of the green bar located at the top of the designer, this menu is the ACTIONS menu.
Next click SAVE to save the current version of your design in the canvas area.
To load a saved design:
Click the 3 vertical dots located at the far right side of the green bar located at the top of the designer, this menu is the ACTIONS menu.
Next click LOAD within the ACTIONS menu. Your design library will display with your currently saved designs for the individual product.
Click on a design thumbnail to load it within your canvas area. Note that this will delete the current artwork in the canvas area.
How do I add a background color to my design?
Many of our design templates already include an editable background layer that can be selected via the MANAGE LAYERS menu.
The background layer may be selected and have it’s color changed via the EDIT ELEMENT menu.
If the product you selected does not contain a background layer for color, you may easily create your own.
Begin by clicking the +ADD button located in the green bar at the top of the designer
Click on CHOOSE FROM DESIGNS in the ADD menu
Select the BASIC SHAPES library from the drop down menu, and then click on a rectangular shape or other shape similar to the canvas area.
The selected shape will be placed on the canvas area
Select the shape and resize it to fill the canvas area.
You now have a background layer that you can recolor using the Fill Options located in the EDIT OPTIONS menu