Batch processing a folder of designs onto a folder full of templates

[bradyboyy88]

I have one folder full of blank t shirt templates and then one folder full of really cool designs. I have used photoshop automate function to crop these templates to just being the shirt size but now I need to see if photoshop is capable of going one step further which is batch processing by adding this folder full of designs to each of these shirt templates in the other folder. Is this possible in photoshop? I will be placing each of the designs in the exact same position on these shirt templates to make the standardization a little easier.

thanks in advance and I really look forward to seeing if this type of batch work is doable.

[JJMack]

It is posible to automate the populating of Templates and even batch populate them one at a time. However Photoshop template design vary and many template design have built in demendendices. For example if a Template is populated by replacing  the contens of a smart object layer in the Photoshop template document.  All replacement image must have exactly the same size and resolution of the object that is in the Templates Documents smart object layer.

Most likely you will need to create a Photoshop Action or Script for each of your templates. Only if your templates have a common design.  A design designed for automated population could they be populated the with a single Photoshop action or script process. And there may still be some dependendicies or limitations on what can be popuated into templates.

There are many free and not free tee-shirt templates/mock up on the web.   There maye be some the have some process for populatine their templates.

https://www.google.com/search?q=T+shirt+Template+mockup&oq=T+shirt+Template+mockup&aqs=chrome..69i57...

Look for Actions and Scripts

https://www.google.com/search?num=50&newwindow=1&ei=_1bkW6CKHonT0gL26rngBg&q=Photoshop+Action+or+Scr...

[bradyboyy88]

Thank you for the response. I have seen these free templates but really I am using the actual PNG from the manufacturer since it replicates what the shirt actually looks like. So basically I have a bunch of blank t shirt pngs all perfectly sized the same in one folder. Then all of my designs perfectly sized the same in the other folder. Do you think a custom script would be the best way to automate the following tassk:

1. Open first blank t shirt png (Folder 1) in photoshop

2. Import the first design png (Folder 2) in photoshop design area

3. Position design at specified height and center the image

4. Save image as png to output folder (Folder 3)

5. Remove design png from design area

So steps 2 through 5 will loop around until all pngs in the design folder have been done. Then we loop back around to 1 for the next blank t shirt png (which would be another color blank shirt). So if I have about 100 different shirt pngs and a 100 different designs I will have about 10000 images being processed. I do not want to do this by hand lol and even creating an action for each templete(which to me are just pngs) is a ton of work.

So to be more clear, if you were to approach this problem would you write a custom javascript code to use in photoshop to do this or do you think it can be done with off the shelf actions in photoshop already? Looking at your post to that one guy it seems like he had a little bit different setup then my using a photoshop template where I use that word usely and mine is just a png file of the shirt.

Thanks again

[JJMack]

I do not understand what you have written.

"I am using the actual PNG from the manufacturer since it replicates what the shirt actually looks like"

Are these PNG files from the manufacture an actual t-shirt image?  Or are these png files a designs you will be putting on t-shirt.

If they are design.  Do any of the png images  have any transparent boarders.  Pasting or placing png image with transparent border can be a problem if these transparent boarder are important for positing the design.  Photoshop Copy and Place trim transparent boarders.

Are the PNG Design the correct size for your  T-shirt templates and have the correct perspective and distortion for the t-shirt in you template.  I would also think if these are designs to placed on T-shirts placement location may well depend on the design content.  Centered on the the t-shirt  may not be good location for many designs.

Actions can not deal with well with varying sized and can not user logic. Scripting would be better choice for automation your process

[bradyboyy88]

Yes they are just a png file of the shirt fronts. An example can be seen below on our site:

https://www.chesapeaketees.com/tshirtecommerce//uploaded/Edited Images/Shaun and Lebowitz/All Sport M1009/Heather Red Front.png

I have all of these images at 1100 x 830 resolution and the designs I have not really toyed with yet but I am going to basically get those cleaned up by trimming them and resizing them with transparent backgrounds using an action. This will leave me with two folders , one with all the perfectly sized blank t shirt pngs and the other folder with the designs that are already perfectly sized to fit on the other folders shirt pngs.  When you say the correct perspective and distortion are you referring to making them look like they are actually on the shirt or are you referring to dimensions? If the first , you are right I would love to have that done but unfortunately I am not that skilled to automate that aspect. You wouldnt do side work would you lol?

[Mike_Gondek]

You can make smart object with with a bounding box set to color of none for the max size of your art. You can additionally

I would then try making an action that

1. opens the desing file
2. cuts layer to clipboard
3. incases canvas size to shirt
4. pastes shirt layers
5. opens smart object
6. deletes art
7. pastes clipboard
8. saves smart object
9. saves over design file ( keep a backup obviously somewhere else incase somethingn goes wrong)

[bradyboyy88]

So this would mean that I have to run the action manually for each blank shirt file seperately right? I have a 100 or so shirt files of different colors. I do need to look into this bound box concept because to be honest I am not that familiar with smart objects as I work mainly in illustrator. I will let you know how this works out. I do have one question in case I was going to develop a script for this, would you recommend vbscript or javascript? I am familiar with both but have done work in vbscript but its more of a dated language so are the references outdated for that vs javascript?

[Mike_Gondek]

Questions on which scripting format to use to sue can be asked here Illustrator Scripting . 

To setup your bounding box using smart objects in Photoshop

double click the smart object to open in a .psb

Increase canvas size to size to printable area on shirt

Then save .psb and close and save. You iwl have your first version done manually.

Next record your script to remove old art and paste new art in center thus giving you a new version. The script will create all subsequent versions.

You then run this script on your artworks folder. and it will save over them adding the T-shirt.

[Bojan Živković]

If I can understand your problem then answer is yes, you can automate a process using actions to some degree. You can not loop through all templates but you can place all 100 different designs into one template and save files. You must manually open another template to run batch again. Please read this thread where I have provided action and explanation for similar request How to fit image in particular frame?