I bought a “BUCK FUSH” bumper sticker in Santa Monica and put it on my Jeep. I took it off though, because Bush started his war and I was working in Orange County – “Reagan Country” – and it’s hard to explain to people the meaning and intent of my sticker when we’re locked in our metal cages on the freeway.
After the war I went back to Santa Monica to get another one, but the table from which I bought mine no longer carried it. I’ve looked for “BUCK FUSH” bumper stickers online, but I don’t like the design; so I’ve made my own (rectangular and ellipse) and have thought about using Café Press to make them.
I’ve never used Café Press, and I’d like to get some feedback from people who have used them. I understand that there is no up-front cost to me. They create the design, I advertise the product on my site and sell them, and they keep the base price while I keep the markup. Sounds good to me!
I’d like to hear from people who have used Café Press to get their opinions of them.
I haven’t used them before either, but I’ve heard a lot of people - here and elsewhere - that have given rave reviews. I mean, after all - you’re not expending a lot of your own time and none of your own money. They produce the thing, and whatever you get is all gravy. I’ve heard the markups can be a bit high, but since you’re not spending money on marketing, etc., this doesn’t seem to be a huge problem.
I’ve found the quality of their printed fabric goods (bags, t-shirts) to be just horrible. I won’t buy from cafe press shops any more. On the other hand, I have heard that their non-fabric goods are OK - and it was the cheap printing method that made the t-shirts and bags so bad, so it wouldn’t apply to bumper stickers. In summation, I wouldn’t give them rave reviews precisely, but they are probably fine for what you’re looking for.
I don’t want to get into trouble for posting a “commercial link” or “spam”, so if you want to see the sticker you’ll need to go to cafeshops.com and include /oddjobs at the end of the URL.
I am wearing a CafePress t-shirt right now. I think the quality has improved over the last year, because a t-shirt I bought a long time ago through them isn’t nearly as nice as this newer t-shirt I’m wearing.
Bear in mind that when you have t-shirts that are basically flat colors or large block printing, they are treated by CafePress (and printed) as if they are detailed photographs. They don’t have that “silkscreened” look that you usually find with such types of t-shirts. That’s just the nature of CafePress—the owner of the CafePress “store” uploads high-res graphics of their design to CafePress’s server. As far as I know, these files are all printed the same—the highly detailed photographic ones, and the simple block lettering ones. That’s just the nature of the technology.
Another point: CafePress is not responsible for a crappy quality graphic supplied by the “store” owner. There’s going to be a visual difference between a 100 dpi graphic and a 300 dpi graphic. And that is out of CafePress’s control. They simply print the file they are given. It’s not their fault if some of the people who sell stuff are completely clueless about graphics.
I also have a totebag that I got from CafePress, and I like it fine. It has that rough-hewn “canvasy” texture to it, but it works for the design. I don’t think that you can expect super-smooth graphics when you’ve got something printed on heavy canvas, after all!
And, (yes, I am a big CafePress customer, so it seems), I even have a bumper sticker made by CafePress. Very good. Very durable (so far). I see no difference between it and all the other plethora of bumper stickers I have plastered on my car.
For those interested in festooning their cars with a variety of anti-W stickers, this http://irregulartimes.com/sanybodybut.html is a CafePress shop that offers a wide selection.
AND, they will create custom ones if they don’t have what you want. (Yep, I contributed a couple to the mix - it was fun!)
I’ve been using CafePress for years now, and haven’t had a problem with their stuff, eithr selling or using. The shirts I bought via CP are still holdingup well, with minor fading, and the mugs I had were as good as anything I’d buy in a brick-n-mortar store.
(And I always use high-resolution 300 dpi images for my own CP stuff. No low-res crud here. Just wrapping up a new design right now, actually…)
I recently bought my first cafe press item from a fellow doper who makes stuff for sale there.
The T-Shirt took a little over two weeks to arrive (which I thought was a bit long) but the shirt is fine quality and the silk screening is quality work.
I am setting up a little store at the moment and have used 300dpi all the way through, I was wondering, does anyone have experience of using any highre dpi and if so is there a difference in quality? Any tips people have about CafePressing would be greatly appreciated!
I don’t believe the dpi is going to make a difference; from what I understand, the printing is (or is similar to) dye sublimation, which is basically a high-tech iron-on, not true screenprinting. Generally the quality of dye-sub printing is lower than a true screenprint, though it’s cheaper and eaisier to do.
I don’t believe the dpi is going to make a difference; from what I understand, the printing is (or is similar to) dye sublimation, which is basically a high-tech iron-on, not true screenprinting. Generally the quality of dye-sub printing is lower than a true screenprint, though it’s cheaper and easier to do.