Hey All,
I’m thinking of setting up an account at CafePress to make a couple t-shirt designs I had floating in my head. I was reading their FAQ and they said that they don’t use screenprinting; rather they use a process called dye-sublimation. While I’m familiar with screenprinting and know that screening one or two shirts at a time would be cost-prohibitive, I have no experience with this other technique. Has anyone here used CafePress or the process involved? I’m mainly concerned that the items might end up faded and worn after only a few washings. Can anyone vouch for the quality involved here? Am I better off just taking them to the local screenprinters and doing a limited run there? Thanks for your help guys!
I poked around the web a while back asking the same question. Most people seemed pretty pleased with CafePress. I started my own store, but it isn’t live yet. I ordered a mug and a shirt with my logo on them and should receive them later this week. I’ll post again with my opinion.
I use CafePress to sell a bunch of T-shirts and things, and I’ve also bought some of the products as well (“I’m not just the president, I’m a client!” 
), and I’ll gladly testify that their stuff is tops.
I’ve worn T-shirts from CafePress for over a year now, and while there’s a little fading (the colors aren’t as intense as they were originally), the image still holds up great. I suspect the image would be even more durable if I actually followed the recommended washing directions (turn shirt inside-out, wash in cold water), but I don’t, and still get great results.
Bottom line: CafePress has good stuff, and is worth using.
Can I get a shirt that says:
On the front side:
This is my face, not my ass.
On the back side:
This is my ass, not my face.
Then a hat that says:
Before talking to me, read my shirt.
Are you asking me to do requests? 
I just got my Cafe Press stuff. Overall, I’m happy. The mug is very big (which I prefer) and the logo looks good. It’s a bit dark, but you can still see the detail in my image.
I also got a t-shirt. It’s a good quality shirt. The logo printed quite well. I scanned in the cover of my new book and made that the image on the shirt back, and it came out great.
My only beef is that you can see a faint outline around my logo on the shirt front. It’s a shade or two darker than the shirt, and so you can see it, but it’s not obvious. Hopefulyl it will fade with washing, but then again it might get more obvious! This shirt is a gift for a friend, so I won’t know for sure until I order more.
Also, I got an email just yesterday saying the items were shipped. That’s fast!
Ask OpalCat about it…she does a lot of stuff like the “Jesus on a pogostick” all her Fathom goodies and oither website fun stuff with CafePress.
I have a hat that she sent me from there, seems good quality to me.
Anyhow, either email her directly or run over to Fathom and ask your queston over there. http://fff.fathom.org/forums/
I have a number of cafepress stores (for some examples, see http://shop.opalcat.com) and while they bring in squat for money, they are a lot of fun. Here are some tips:
• The image you upload should be as big as possible. At least 1500 x 1500 or so. The bigger the original image, the higher quality the print will be on the product.
• Contrast is your friend. Especially on the fabric products (shirts, mousepads, etc)… especially avoid overly dark designs… dark colors next to dark colors tend to bleed into one big dark blob, espeically after a few washes.
• Some light colors look muddy on the grey fabrics (ash grey tshirt, sweatshirt, etc)… I’d recommend a slightly different version of your image for those products. I’ve even gone black-and-white for them.
• The designs last longer if the clothes are washed inside out.
If you have any questions or need help feel free to email me
I don’t like Cafe Press -
I’ve had stores there, and I’ve bought stuff from others’ stores.
The colors do fade - a lot. Not only on t-shirts, but also on the coffee mugs. Also, one shirt I ordered had the colors really wrong - this guy’s face showed up purple. Fortunately, the whole shirt faded and now doesn’t look like anything.
I sell t-shirts, and I finally bit the bullet and ordered some from a screenprinter instead of doing the ‘one off’ thing at Cafe Press.
I can sell them cheaper, they’re better shirts, and I’m getting more profit per shirt.
Of course, I also had to take the risk of buying shirts people might not buy. And I have to do my own ‘fulfillment’ - I have to package and ship stuff. And if I sell enough to people in-state, I’ll have to pay sales tax.
But overall, I’m really glad I did it myself.
I own two CafePress products, a stein and a mouse pad, and I think both of them are top-rate. Thumbs up to CafePRess from me.