Create print file for your ShopBase products

For ShopBase orders with personalized items, you will need to create a print file containing the artwork of personalized products and custom option values. This print file can be sent together with order information to suppliers. In this article, we will guide you on how to create a print file of personalized products with ShopBase.

A. Set up your print file

From your ShopBase admin site, go to Products > All products and choose the product you want to set up print file for.

In Personalization, click Create Print file.

In the Create print file page, click Upload your print template to upload your print file image for the product. The uploaded image should not have any personalized option as custom options will be set up in the next steps.

Add layers to set up personalization for your product in Layers.

Click Add text to an a text layer. This is suitable for products with Text field, Text area, Radio, and/or Droplist custom options that allow customers to add or choose a suggested text for their product.

You can click on each text layer to edit Text, Size, Color, Location, Layer size, Rotation, and Opacity. You can select a font from ShopBase system, or click Add new fonts to upload a new font upon your wish.

You can apply Stroke and Curve effects on your text layer. Please refer to this article for more information on special effects on text layers.

Click Add image to add an image layer. This is suitable for products with Image and/or Picture choice custom options that allow customers to upload their own images or select their favorite image from a list of pictures.

You can click on each image layer to edit Location, Layer size, Rotation, and Opacity.

If layers have been set up previously in Create preview page, they will be automatically synced here, and vice versa.

When new layers are updated in your print file, you can quickly sync the new changes to your preview image by clicking on Update Preview. Then, the new layers will be scaled to fit the image while maintaining their relative positions, avoiding extensive editing in the preview image.

You can combine layers into different groups to easily organize and manage them, as well as to create products with multiple design versions for your customers to choose from. Please refer to this article for more information about layer groups.

Add custom options for your products by clicking the + button in Custom options and filling in all required conditions. Please refer to this article on how to create custom options for your products.

For the demo product of this article, two custom options with Text field and Image type should be created in this step.

Once finished, click Save. In the pop-up, click Create to generate the print file for your product.

Print file will also be automatically generated for unfulfilled orders of this product.

When duplicating a product or cloning a product to another store, any relevant print file will also be duplicated to the new product.

B. Generate print files for your orders

Automatically generate print file

From your ShopBase admin site, go to Online store > Preferences.

In Print file generating, enable Generate Print file for the personalized products.

After this setting is enabled, once a print file is available for a product, it will be automatically generated for orders containing that product when the order payment status is Paid.

In order detail, print file has been generated for your order

By default, this setting is automatically enabled. You are free to turn off this setting if you do not want print file to be automatically generated for personalized item in an order.

For orders with Cash on Delivery (COD) payment method, print files will need to be manually generated.

Once the print file is generated for the order, you can click on:

Preview: to preview the print file.

Download: to download the print file.

Edit: to edit the print file's details. Please refer to section C on how to edit a generated print file.

Manually generate print file

If the Generate Print file for the personalized products setting is disabled in Online store > Preferences > Print file generating, you will need to manually generate print files for personalized items in your orders.

If this setting is enabled, you can also manually generate print files before the order status changes to Paid or if the order payment method is Cash on Delivery (COD).

From your ShopBase admin site, go to Orders > All orders and select the order you want to generate print file for.

In the order detail page, click on Generate print file.

You can also generate print file of multiple orders by going to Orders > All orders, select the orders you want to generate print files for and click Actions > Generate print file.

Once the print file is generated for the order, you can click on:

Preview: to preview the print file.

Download: to download the print file.

Edit: to edit the print file's details. Please refer to section C on how to edit a generated print file.

C. Edit a generated print file

You can edit an order's print file according to customer's request, or to make custom option values are displayed nicely on the product.

If a print file is successfully generated for an order, and is then updated in the Product detail page (such as renaming, adding, or deleting custom options), you can no longer edit it in the Order detail page.

From your ShopBase admin site, go to Orders > All orders and select the order with the print file you want to update.

In the order detail page, click on ... and select Edit.

Here, you can make the following changes to your print file:

For Text layers: Edit text value, size, color, letter case, location, layer size, rotation, opacity and effects. You cannot replace the font.

For Image layers: Replace photo, edit location, layer size, rotation, and opacity.

D. Filter orders with print files

From your ShopBase admin site, go to Orders.

You can filter orders according to the print file status by clicking on More filters > Print file status.

Select Any item is generating to filter out orders with at least one generating print file.

Select All items are generated to filter out orders with successfully generated print files for all line items.

E. Export orders with print files

Please refer to this article on how to export orders in CSV format.

To export print files of products in your order:

Click Orders with print files in Export template to export data of orders with successfully generated print files.

Click Customize export fields in Export template to customize which information you want to export from Available fields. To export print files of your order, select Lineitem Print file field.

Once exported, data will be displayed on Lineitem Print file column in the CSV file, including the print file of the products in PNG format.

F. Print file fee

Each personalized item with successfully generated print file in an order will be charged $0.3 a print file fee.

Print file fee is charged on each design per order. For example, if 2 different print files are generated for an order of 2 lineitems, the print file fee is $0.6. However, if the same print file is generated for an order of one lineitem with a quantity of 2, the print file fee is $0.3.

Print file fee will be charged to your ShopBase Balance. A Print file fee collecting invoice will be created when a new print file is generated.

G. Frequently asked questions

What will happen to orders' print files when the print file is updated in the Product detail page?

The updated print file will be applied for orders with ungenerated print files. Print files that have already been generated prior to the changes will not be updated.

What will happen to orders' print file when the print file is removed in the Product detail page?

Following the change, print files will no longer be created for new orders. Orders with successfully generated print files will be kept as it is and the existing print files will not be removed.

How can I re-generate print files for unfulfilled orders?

If a print file is successfully generated for an order, and is then updated in the Product detail page (such as renaming, adding, or deleting custom options), you can no longer edit it in the Order detail page (Please refer to section C. Edit a generated print file for more details).

Fortunately, you are still able to re-generate a print file by removing the old print file and create a new one in the Product detail page, then select to generate a print file for the order.

All actions, which include updating or deleting a print file, and updating a generated print file are recorded in your Activity log page.

Overview of ShopBase personalization

Set up preview for ShopBase products

Set up Personalization Preview mode

Create a custom option for a product