Best online retailers for graphic t-shirts
August 29, 2022 1:56 PM Subscribe
Where are all the cool kids buying screen-printed tees these days?
I have been running into a problem lately when ordering t-shirts online: the screen-print job is so poor the graphic fades after only a few washes. The worst offender has been TeePublic, whose design began peeling after the first wash before disappearing entirely by the end of the year. I had a similar issue with a shirt from Society6.
My question is twofold: what sites do you recommend for purchasing high quality graphic tees, and conversely, what sites should be avoided due to low quality screen-printing?
I have been running into a problem lately when ordering t-shirts online: the screen-print job is so poor the graphic fades after only a few washes. The worst offender has been TeePublic, whose design began peeling after the first wash before disappearing entirely by the end of the year. I had a similar issue with a shirt from Society6.
My question is twofold: what sites do you recommend for purchasing high quality graphic tees, and conversely, what sites should be avoided due to low quality screen-printing?
I don't know what kind of stuff you're into but I have quite a few I like from Cotton Bureau. They are commonly used by podcasters who want to make t-shirts but they have a bunch of other stuff too.
posted by primethyme at 2:02 PM on August 29, 2022
posted by primethyme at 2:02 PM on August 29, 2022
I made one purchase from Cotton Bureau.
While the design has held up (for years!), the very symmetrical design was printed noticeably off-center.
Other people might be able to put up with such a thing, but it made the shirt all but unwearable for me.
ymmv, shrug emoji
posted by MrJM at 2:55 PM on August 29, 2022
While the design has held up (for years!), the very symmetrical design was printed noticeably off-center.
Other people might be able to put up with such a thing, but it made the shirt all but unwearable for me.
ymmv, shrug emoji
posted by MrJM at 2:55 PM on August 29, 2022
(That would be annoying to me too, but the dozen-plus [literally] cotton bureau shirts I have bought have never had a problem like that. Either I'm lucky or you're unlucky.)
posted by primethyme at 2:56 PM on August 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by primethyme at 2:56 PM on August 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
I can't speak to their quality today (especially the "digital reprints") but I have Woot shirts from...2010-2014? that are still in constant rotation in my wardrobe. More recently I have transitioned to TeeTurtle and have been very happy with the quality.
posted by tubedogg at 7:45 PM on August 29, 2022
posted by tubedogg at 7:45 PM on August 29, 2022
I'm definitely going to un-recommend woot, especially the digital reprints; they don't hold up and the shirts aren't the quality they used to be; basically after Amazon purchased them, it's all slowly gone downhill. I stopped paying attention to them around somewhere between 2016 and 2018. I can't imagine they've improved at all since then.
posted by Aleyn at 9:53 PM on August 29, 2022
posted by Aleyn at 9:53 PM on August 29, 2022
The ones from Woot Shirts (woot.com) and 6DollarShirts.com have survived many washings after many months.
I haven't bought any from Woot recently though. I have more shirts than I need.
posted by kschang at 11:07 PM on August 29, 2022
I haven't bought any from Woot recently though. I have more shirts than I need.
posted by kschang at 11:07 PM on August 29, 2022
My kid got a dozen adult-sized shirts from SnorgTees for Christmas. So far, they are holding up well to constant wear & frequent washing; the designs are still crisp & shirt colors haven't faded.
posted by belladonna at 9:43 AM on August 30, 2022
posted by belladonna at 9:43 AM on August 30, 2022
I used to love Cotton Bureau but some shirts I got there a few years ago (2019-ish) do not have the same quality screen printing that older ts from there have. My circa 2017 shirts have high quality very durable screen printing that has lasted through a billion washes and looks great as it fades. The circa 2019 shirts have a rubbery screen print that wears off/flakes off.
I’d love to get more shirts from them if they’ve fixed their process.
posted by jeoc at 12:43 PM on August 30, 2022
I’d love to get more shirts from them if they’ve fixed their process.
posted by jeoc at 12:43 PM on August 30, 2022
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posted by limeonaire at 1:59 PM on August 29, 2022