Create your gang sheet in Photoshop

Prepare sharp artwork on a transparent canvas. Smart Objects keep your designs safe while you size and arrange them.

Download PSD template

Back to the gang sheet guide

5 steps
About 15 minutes
300 pixels/inch

1Open the canvas 2Place as Smart Objects 3Size and arrange 4Save the PNG 5Check the file ✓Checklist

Open the template or make a document

The canvas is the sheet, at 300 pixels per inch with a transparent background.

Open our template
Download the PSD for your sheet size from the size picker on this page. It’s already 300 px/in and transparent, with the safe area on a GUIDES layer. Save a working copy.
Or make a new document
File → New. Units Centimeters. Width 58, height 50 (half metre) or 100 (1 metre). Resolution 300 Pixels/Inch.
RGB, 8 bit, transparent
Color Mode RGB Color, 8 bit. Background Contents Transparent. You should see the checkerboard straight away.
Check Image Size
Image → Image Size should read about 6850 × 5906 px for the half metre. Changing the resolution number later doesn’t add detail, so get it right now.

UnitsCentimeters
Half metre58 × 50 cm · 6850 × 5906 px
A421 × 29.7 cm · 2480 × 3508 px
A329.7 × 42 cm · 3508 × 4961 px
1 metre58 × 100 cm · 6850 × 11811 px
Resolution300 pixels/inch
BackgroundTransparent

File → New

Place each design as a Smart Object

Smart Objects keep the original quality, so you can resize without damage. They can’t add detail that isn’t in the source, though.

File → Place Embedded
Pick your design file. It arrives as a Smart Object with handles around it. Press Enter to place it.
Check the source size first
Open the original and look at Image → Image Size. Divide its width in pixels by 118 to get the biggest width in cm it can print sharp (300 DPI).
Remove any background
Use Select → Subject or a layer mask on the source, or supply a transparent PNG. A white box behind a logo prints white.
Keep effects solid
Skip drop shadows, outer glows and soft feathered edges. Solid edges print clean.

Smart Objects in the Layers panel, GUIDES ready to hide

Size, duplicate and arrange

Set the real print size in the Properties panel, duplicate the layer, and space the copies out.

Set the width in cm
With the layer selected, Window → Properties. Lock the proportions and type the width, for example 25 cm or 9 cm. Or Ctrl / Cmd + T and type a percentage.
Duplicate
Ctrl / Cmd + J duplicates the layer. Move copies with the Move tool; hold Shift to keep them lined up.
1 cm gaps
View → New Guide Layout makes an even grid. Keep 1 cm between designs and 5 mm from the canvas edge.
Stay on the canvas
Anything past the canvas edge is cut off in the PNG. Zoom out (Ctrl / Cmd + 0) to see the whole sheet.

Good layout1 cm between designs, inside the safe area, transparent everywhere else

Common mistakesOverlapping, off the edge, and a white box behind the sun

Export the full sheet as a PNG

Hide the guides and save a PNG with transparency. Don’t flatten, trim or resize.

Hide the GUIDES layer
Click its eye icon. Hide any notes, mock-ups or sample artwork too. Whatever is visible is what prints.
File → Save a Copy → PNG
Keep Transparency ticked. This keeps your 300 px/in setting and the full canvas.
Or File → Export → Export As
Format PNG, Transparency ticked, Scale 1x. Don’t use Save for Web (Legacy), which limits size and quality.
Keep the PSD
Save your layered file as well so you can edit it next time. Don’t trim away empty sheet space, and never export a JPG.

MenuFile → Save a Copy
FormatPNG
TransparencyTicked
SizeFull canvas, unchanged
NotJPG · Save for Web · flattened

Save a Copy → PNG

Check the exported PNG

Open the PNG outside Photoshop and confirm the size, transparency and sharpness.

Open the PNG
A checkerboard or dark grey behind the artwork means it’s transparent.
Check the pixel size
Half metre: about 6850 × 5906 px. 1 metre: 6850 × 11811 px. A4: 2480 × 3508 px. Much smaller means the resolution or scale was wrong.
Zoom to 100%
Edges should be crisp. Soft, blocky edges mean the source image was too small for the print size.
Read it once more
Spelling, quantities, nothing mirrored, guides hidden.

MyGangSheet.png6850 × 5906 px · 58 × 50 cm · PNG

Checkerboard behind the artwork (transparent)
Full sheet size, nothing trimmed
Sharp when zoomed to 100%
Spelling and quantities checked

✓Preflight

Preflight checklist

Tick these off before you upload. It takes a minute and catches the usual problems.

Tick them off as you go

Nothing is saved or sent. It’s just a checklist to help you.

Upload finished gang sheet Artwork rules and the sharpness check

Related guides

More helpful resources

Adobe Photoshop: the short version

Make the page or artboard the exact sheet size (half metre 58 × 50 cm, A4 21 × 29.7 cm, A3 29.7 × 42 cm, 1 metre 58 × 100 cm), transparent background, 300 DPI. Place every design at its real print size with 1 cm between designs and 5 mm from the edge. Hide guides and notes, then export the whole sheet as a PNG with transparency on. Open the PNG and check the size, the checkerboard and the spelling before you upload.