Print-on-demand t-shirts

[Gar]

Just wondering which one makes the best t-shirts. I'm on Zazzle at the moment, they're pretty good, but not a particularly good fit for me because they print white as transparent on coloured shirts, and my main character is mostly white. Do any of them let you choose what area of the image should be left blank and leave areas to be printed white?

[Rob]

It was my understanding that you could designate white as a color or a transparency but that you had to make note of it when you submitted the file for printing. At least that's how it worked with Spreadshirt.

I don't think any of the print on demand company's are great when it comes to quality. I can tell you a story about ordering 8 buttons from Spreadshirt and receiving fully half the order dented and damaged.

I can tell you another story about ordering shirts from Cafe Press that I still have today. For the post part they are all ruined because the image transfers flaked off (which made a real mess in my laundry) in the case of some of the shirts, peeled off in the case of the letters and generally could not stand the test of time.

By comparison the screen printed shirts I've ordered are still in excellent condition and though they show wear the graphics on them look brand new. And they cost me less per shirt than what I paid for the ones I bought at Cafe Press.

I think the best way to see which company to deal with is to design a shirt, open an account with them (free) and order your own shirt. If you do this for Cafe Press, Spreadshirt and Zazzle you will drop 45 bucks but you will have some idea of the best shirt quality. This is what I plan to do next month when I open my store.

;)

[Cary]

I did exactly what Rob is suggesting, only I skipped Spreadshirt. I ordered a shirt from Cafepress and one from Zazzle. Both the shirts came back looking really good actually. The Cafepress shirt was a baseball jersey with a character on the back and a smaller graphic on the front and it has held up pretty well for a couple years now. It's faded a bit but I wouldn't say it's any more faded than anything I have that's store bought or custom screen printed.

The Zazzle shirt was also in good shape, has held up, and I'm happy with it. I will say it cost me more than the Cafepress shirt, and the shipping took a bit long by a day or so, but beyond that they're pretty comparable if you choose to go that route. I'd say stick with a local screen shop. You can oversee their work a lot closer and you get better quality per your price which is really the point. Pay less make more.

[Gar]

I'm based in Ireland, so going local wouldn't really work out. Most of my readers are in the U.S., so if the shirts were printed here then they'd have to be shipped across the atlantic, which would mean additional cost and a longer shipping time.

The ideal solution would be topatoco, but an invite from them seems unlikely.