Design App For Pressing T Shirts

best t shirt design software

If you're looking to make t-shirts, then you need the right t shirt design software. Most graphics software will offer the same basic features which are usually enough to get you started, but if you're serious about your designing, you need to find the right software for you.

There are so many graphics programs available that it's often hard to choose the right one.

Here are 5 which we think will help you design amazing t-shirts!

1. CorelDraw Graphics Suite

Vector graphics as well as other image formats
Includes fonts and clip art
Free 15 day trial

CorelDraw Graphics Suite is one of our favorites. It has a 15 day free trial and then offers you an annual subscription or you can buy it outright.

One thing we love is that this software creates Vector images and also lets you work with other image formats as well, so you're not restricted with how you can use it. It's easy to create your t-shirts but you can also use it for most other projects too.

CorelDraw Graphics Suite comes with:

7,000 free clip art images and vehicle wrap templates
1,000 high-resolution images
1,000 fonts, including both TrueType and OpenType
150 ready designed templates
600+ fills – fountain, vector and bitmap

Learn more about CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6

The package includes full image editing software with easy ways of adding text to your graphic and joining different images together.

For those new to designing it has tutorials to help you get started and offers lots of tips along the way. The pre-designed templates and images provide lots of practice material. With many royalty free images included, you can even add them to your own designs.

It also includes some pretty neat features to add that something special to your designs including symmetrical designs, shadows, mosaic and the ability to sketch your own design.

One new feature for 2019 is Non-Destructive Effects. This allows you to experiment with different effects on your image, without altering your source image.

It can take a little while to get the hang of creating the best designs, but that can be said with most graphics software. When you use CorelDraw Graphics Suite you're not restricted to t-shirt designs, so there are no limits to your imagination.

Tutorial Below

2. Adobe Illustrator

Vector graphics as well as other image formats
Includes fonts and clip art
7 day free trial

Many people instinctively think of Photoshop when they think of Adobe, but Illustrator
is the way to go for t-shirt designs. Illustrator includes Vector graphics, but you can also work in other image file formats as well.

It has a 7 day free trial and after that you can take up a monthly subscription, or an annual subscription. It also offers access to Creative Cloud, and this comes with its own slightly higher monthly fee.

Adobe Illustrator comes with:

Adobe Portfolio – their own selection of images
Adobe Fonts – a range of fonts for you to use in your images.

If you'd like to sign up and try the software, follow this link to Illustrator

You will need to check exactly what you get with each package before you take up a subscription as they are not all the same, and this, for us, is one of the drawbacks. It can be a little confusing finding the right package for you.

Having said that, it comes with a range of tools to help you edit your images and create your t-shirts.

If, like most of us, you use the same options time and again, you can customize your toolbar so you can find the things you want quickly and easily.

With illustrator you can work with different layers to create graphics, logos and illustrations. If you draw your own designs you can scan these in to work on them and add various textures and features. Freeform gradient is one brilliant addition as this gives you greater control when working with colors as it blends different shades together more naturally.

One thing we really like is the way you can work with fonts. You can add shadow or twist them to create some truly incredible t-shirts.

Adobe Illustrator comes with online tutorials for everything you need to know, but there are a lot of them. While this is obviously a good thing because they have everything covered, it may take you a while to find the help you're after.

Tutorial Below

3. Inkscape

Vector graphics as well as other image formats
Free to use

Inkscape is free to download and free to use but it still has a lot of the functionality of paid for applications.

As with other graphics software you are not restricted to Vector images so you can use this to create a number of different projects.

It has everything you need to help you create and edit images and its features include:

Pencil tool, pen tool and calligraphy tool
Shape tools
Fonts and text editing tools
Multiple layers
Color tools

You can create your own designs by hand or scan them in and add them to other designs or enhance them with color or text.

Fonts can be added and these are adjustable to fit in with any image or you can use them to create your own slogans with adjustable spacing and shapes.

In fact, Inkscape can do pretty much what paid for applications can do, but if you plan to work with large files, then you might find you struggle. This is a good choice for anyone who prefers smaller files.

Tutorial Below

4. Fatpaint

Vector graphics as well as other image formats
Free to use

Fatpaint is another package which is free to use, but it still has all the functionality needed to create stunning t-shirts. One great advantage of this one is that you don't need to download or instal anything. Just log in and you're ready to get started. You will need Adobe Flash, but that's about all.

For a free package it also has some great extras including:

Over 900 fonts
Thousands of Vector cliparts
3D templates

One of the things we love most about this, is how easy it is to create 3D images and graphics which really make your t-shirts come alive.

You can upload your own images or photographs, and use the online tools to crop or resize, or it really is very simple to transform your design by combining it with other images or text.

The one drawback is that it is funded by advertising, so you will be interrupted now and then by adverts. However, for a small fee you can become a Pro subscriber which means you can work uninterrupted and also helps them keep the site going.

For free software, this is very impressive and the images it creates are professional and colorful.

Tutorial Below

5. GraffixPro Studio

Vector graphics as well as other image formats
Includes inventory management

Our last recommendation is GraffixPro Studio, which offers a little more than other design software packages. It is a paid for application and you will need to contact them to arrange a demo.

However, this software has many advantages for those running a t-shirt printing business and it has been designed for those looking to make t-shirts for a living.

To help you with your designs it includes:

Over 45 fonts
T-shirt templates
Over 350 images

The software is easy to use and even beginners will be able to find their way around quite easily. It includes features to help you create a distressed look, add shadows and manipulate artwork. You can add your own designs or use their library of ready made artwork.

One of the biggest advantages of this software, is the additional features it includes to help you run your business.

Barcoding: Every time you create a job or an order, it will create a unique barcode.
Quote Generator: Your can save yourself time by using the quote generator every time you receive an enquiry.
Inventory management: A real help to any business owner as it will keep track of all your stock, including the size and color. If any particular design is low on stock, it will even let you know to print some more.

The price tag for this software is quite high, but for those looking to run a t-shirt printing business, it will soon pay for itself as it's a one-stop shop for everything you need to run your business.

Tutorial Below

Happy designing guys!