The Alomations Design Editor is an online t shirt design editor built for print on demand: you work in layers, set text in your own fonts, clean up images and come away with a print-ready file at 12 inches and 300 DPI. This tour covers its tools in the order a new user tends to need them, starting with layers and text and ending with crop, outlines and versions.
It is written for sellers opening the editor for the first time (it is part of the paid plans) and for anyone deciding whether they still need a separate desktop design app for shirt work. It does not list every button. It covers the ones you will reach for on your first designs, with the reason each one matters for a printed product.
Start with layers
Everything in a design sits on its own layer: the picture, each line of lettering, a shape or a badge. Working layer by layer is what lets you change one part without disturbing the rest, which matters the moment a buyer asks for a different word or a seasonal version.
Some looks in the style library, which holds 90 looks grouped by family, return the artwork and the lettering as separate layers. That means you can rewrite a headline on an AI-made design without touching the picture underneath. Uploaded artwork works the same way: it sits on an image layer that the image tools further down can edit.
A few layer habits save time from day one:
Copy layers when you want a second line of text in the same style, rather than starting again.
Select several layers together to move them as one, and save a group you will reuse, such as a name and a date that always travel together.
Right-click for the menu of common actions on whatever you have selected.
Use fit to canvas to size a layer to the canvas in one step instead of dragging corners.
Add text that prints well
Press T to add a text layer. You can upload your own fonts, so a shop with a consistent lettering style keeps it across every design. Check that each font's licence covers commercial print on demand use before you sell with it, as our guide to font licences explains.
Text on a shirt is read from a distance and on a moving body, so hierarchy matters more than decoration. Keep one line clearly dominant, make supporting lines smaller, and avoid hairline strokes that may fade or break up in print.
If the design will be personalized, add the name or date as an editable field instead of fixed text. The listing then reaches Etsy with personalization switched on, and when an order arrives the buyer's text is placed into that field before the file is printed.
Move, rotate and line things up
Once there are a few layers on the canvas, arranging them becomes the main job. Drag the rotation handle to turn a layer. Hold Alt while dragging to make a copy, which is the quickest way to build a repeated element. Hold Shift while dragging to lock movement to one axis, so a line of text slides straight up or across without drifting.
Group selection keeps a finished block together while you position it on the shirt, and saved groups let you reuse that block in the next design. Undo history covers the moments when an arrangement goes wrong.
Clean up image layers
Most print problems start in the picture rather than in the text. The editor gives image layers their own tools:
Eraser and crop, for trimming stray edges or cutting a photo down to the part you want printed.
Background removal in one click, for photos and artwork that arrive on a solid background. Our guide to removing a background cleanly for print covers what to check at the edges.
Enlarge, for a photo that is short of pixels for the print size, explained further in how to upscale a low-resolution image for print.
Redraw as vector, for flat art you want as crisp shapes rather than pixels.
Colour, outlines and dark shirts
Recolour lets you change a whole palette at once or pick out a single element, which is how one design becomes a set of colourways. Outlines add a stroke around artwork or lettering, so the design keeps a clear edge whatever colour sits behind it.
Shirt colour is the other half of the problem. Every design can come back in a light and a dark version, so it reads on white garments and on black. The light version turns lettering white even where it touches the drawing, while the dark version keeps painted art and line drawings readable. Tone rules per garment colour decide which version each shirt colour gets, automatically, and you can override them. Our guide to light and dark versions of a design explains when you need both.
Tool cheat sheet
| Tool | What it does | Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|
| Layers | Keeps each element separate | You want to change one part only |
| Text (T) | Adds a text layer in your own fonts | Lettering, slogans, names |
| Editable field | Marks text the buyer will personalize | Names, dates, initials |
| Copy layers and Alt-drag | Duplicates an element | Repeating a style or a shape |
| Shift-drag | Locks movement to one axis | Keeping text aligned |
| Rotation handle | Turns a layer | Angled badges and stamps |
| Group selection and saved groups | Moves and reuses blocks of layers | A name and date that belong together |
| Eraser and crop | Trims image layers | Stray edges, tight framing |
| Background removal | Removes the background in one click | Photos and scanned art |
| Enlarge | Adds resolution to a small photo | Images short of pixels |
| Redraw as vector | Turns flat art into clean shapes | Logos and simple illustrations |
| Recolour | Changes a palette or one element | Colourways and seasonal versions |
| Outlines | Adds a stroke around art or text | Designs that must read on any shirt |
| Undo history and versions | Steps back or returns to a saved version | Trying ideas safely |
Versions and the file you get
Undo history covers small steps back. Design versions cover bigger ones: keep the version that worked before you try a new idea, and return to it if the experiment does not hold up.
When the design is done, it comes back print-ready at 12 inches and 300 DPI (3,600 pixels on the long side), as a transparent PNG with an SVG alongside. That lines up with common print guidance: one print provider recommends 300 DPI for PNG files, and another calls PNG usually the best option for direct-to-garment printing because it supports transparent backgrounds. The transparent PNG is for production, not for your listing photos, because Etsy says transparent .png files are not supported as listing images. Mockups do that job.
Finished designs live in the Design Library, with folders, search and source filters for AI generated, uploaded and from automation, so the next step is choosing mockups and starting a listing run. Our features page shows how the editor connects to the rest of the workbench.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Design Editor on the free plan?
No, it opens on the paid plans. The free plan includes 40 credits a month once your Etsy shop is connected, up to 4 AI images a month, real orders and the listings manager.
Can I use my own fonts?
Yes. Upload them and they are available for text layers. Make sure each font's licence allows commercial use on printed products.
What file does the editor produce?
A print-ready transparent PNG at 12 inches and 300 DPI, 3,600 pixels on the long side, with an SVG alongside.
Do I need to disclose AI on Etsy if I start from an AI look?
Etsy says seller-prompted AI creations must disclose the use of AI, so add that disclosure to listings built on AI-generated artwork.
If you want to see the workbench before choosing a plan, start on the free plan and upgrade when you need the Design Editor.