The Best Software For T-Shirt Design
Have you ever wanted to dip a toe in t-shirt design? While this used to be a considered a niche hobby that only those who were seriously into art tried, new technology is making it easier for more people to put the designs from their minds onto a t-shirt.
As far as t-shirt design software, you have tons of different choices – including basic graphic editing programs. If you’re looking for help figuring out which t-shirt design software option let you make great designs without having to spend too much time or money, take a look at some of our top picks.
T Shirt Design Software Comparison Table
Product | Free trial | Operating system | Specifically for t-shirts | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Adobe Illustrator  | Yes | Windows, Mac | No | |
InkXE  | No | Web | Yes | |
FatPaint  | N/A | Web | No | |
Adobe Photoshop  | Yes | Windows, Mac | No | |
SonicShack Design Studio 
| N/A | Web | Yes | |
GraffixPro Studio
 | Yes | Windows | Yes | |
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
| Yes | Windows | No | |
GIMP 
| N/A | Windows, Mac, Linux | No | |
T-Shirt Factory Deluxe 
| N/A | Web | Yes | |
Flash T-Shirt Design
| Yes | Web | Yes |
$$ |
T-Shirt Design Software FAQ
Image by lukasbieri via Pixabay.com
1. How does t-shirt design work?
2. Why use software?
3. Is t-shirt design easy?
4. How expensive is t-shirt design software?
How We Reviewed
Image kreatikar via Pixabay.com
Everybody has different needs when it comes to t-shirt design software, so we did our best to choose the best software to fit everybody’s needs. We have some options on our list for beginner t-shirt designers who simply want to make the projects in their head come to life, plus more advanced options for the power user who wants to create a professional-quality design at home.
To help us choose from all the different t-shirt design software on the market, we looked at numerous factors, including price, general features and ease of use. While we want to bring you high-quality choices that can produce awesome designs, we also understand that not everybody is a design professional and learning some programs takes a lot of time.
While the exact software you choose will depend on what you’re looking for, you can rest easy knowing that every bit of software on this list is designed not only for high-quality creations but also for ease of use.
Overall Price Range
Everybody has different needs when it comes to t-shirt design software, so we did our best to choose the best software to fit everybody’s needs. We have some options on our list for beginner t-shirt designers who simply want to make the projects in their head come to life, plus more advanced options for the power user who wants to create a professional-quality design at home.
To help us choose from all the different t-shirt design software on the market, we looked at numerous factors, including price, general features and ease of use. While we want to bring you high-quality choices that can produce awesome designs, we also understand that not everybody is a design professional and learning some programs takes a lot of time.
While the exact software you choose will depend on what you’re looking for, you can rest easy knowing that every bit of software on this list is designed not only for high-quality creations but also for ease of use.
Best Top 10 T-Shirt Design Software
Adobe Illustrator |
|---|
Adobe Illustrator is the true top dog when it comes to designing t-shirts, but that’s because it’s not a t-shirt design program at all. Illustrator is actually a graphics editing program that offers tons of great features that make it arguably the best tool no matter what kind of design work you’re doing. Pros Cons Pricing Adobe Illustrator CC is currently priced at a whopping $. Where To Buy You can buy Adobe Illustrator CC directly from Adobe. Warranty There is no warranty provided with Adobe Illustrator CC. |
InkXE |
|---|
If you’re more in the market for software that allows you to run a print business, InkXE is what you’re looking for. You can use InkXE to allow customers to create custom designs for just about any product you can imagine, then purchase them online. Pros Cons Pricing The standard version of InkXE costs $$ and the more expensive version costs $$$. Where To Buy You can buy InkXE at inkxe.com. Warranty There is no warranty on this software. |
FatPaint |
|---|
If you’re looking for a free graphic design tool that lets you bring your t-shirt designs to life without much graphic design experience, FatPaint is a good choice. Pros Cons Pricing FatPaint is completely free. Where To Buy You can download FatPaint at fatpaint.com. Warranty There is no warranty included with this product. |
Adobe Photoshop |
|---|
Adobe Photoshop is one of the most powerful graphics editing programs you can buy for a PC, but you’ll need to spend some time learning it before you can create great designs. Pros Cons Pricing You can pick up Adobe Photoshop CC for $. Where To Buy The best place to buy any Adobe software is directly from adobe.com. Warranty There is no warranty included with Photoshop. |
SonicShack Design Studio |
|---|
SonicShack is a web app that allows its users to create t-shirt designs online and sell them through the SonicShack store. Pros Cons Pricing SonicShack is free. Where To Buy You can download this software at sonicshack.com. Warranty There is no warranty on SonicShack Design Studio. |
GraffixPro Studio |
|---|
It may be one of the more expensive options, but GraffixPro Studio gives you a great compromise between ease of use and great features. Pros Cons Pricing GraffixPro Studio will cost you $ for the premium version. Where To Buy You can buy this software at graffixprostudio.com. Warranty There is no warranty with this software, as is usually the case. |
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite |
|---|
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2019 with ParticleShop Brush Pack for Mac -...
CorelDRAW is similar to programs like Illustrator and Photoshop but is designed with beginners in mind, so it’s a great t-shirt design software if you’re looking for powerful simplicity. Pros Cons Pricing CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018 costs $. Where To Buy You can buy this program at coreldraw.com.
Warranty There is no warranty on the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. |
GIMP |
|---|
GNU image manipulation program, or GIMP, is a powerful free tool that allows you to do pretty much anything with images. However, it’s not quite as full featured as an expensive program like Photoshop. Pros Cons Pricing CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2018 costs $. Where To Buy You can buy this program at coreldraw.com.
Warranty There is no warranty on the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. |
T-Shirt Factory Deluxe |
|---|
Another dedicated t-shirt design software option, T-Shirt Factory Deluxe is designed to give you an affordable way to make t-shirts without having to be a design professional. The result is a solid t-shirt design tool. Pros Cons Pricing T-Shirt Factory Deluxe is completely free. Where To Buy You can download this program at t-shirt-factory-deluxe.software.informer.com. Warranty There is no warranty for T-Shirt Factory Deluxe. |
Flash T-Shirt Design |
|---|
If you’re looking for the most capable t-shirt design software that doesn’t force you to learn a complicated graphics editing program like Illustrator or Photoshop, Flash T-Shirt Design is probably the best choice on our list. Pros Cons Pricing At $$, this is tied for the most expensive option on our list. Where To Buy You can download this software for free from numerous websites, but it’s unclear which websites actually sell the software. Warranty There is no warranty on Flash T-Shirt Design software. |
The Verdict
Source: Giphy
At the end of the day, there’s no replacement for a skilled designer when it comes to creating great t-shirt designs. However, that doesn’t mean those of us without years of graphics design experience can’t get in on the fun too.
Any of the software on our list will do. If you’re looking for power and don’t mind learning, CorelDRAW, Illustrator and GIMP are both great. If ease of use is your primary concern, you’ll probably want to opt for something a bit simpler like FatPaint or SonicShack Design Studio. No matter what you choose, you can’t go wrong with something from out list of the 10 best t-shirt design software options.
Featured Image by Skitterphoto via Pixabay.com
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