Print Comparison: Redbubble Vs NeatoShop 2021.
Redbubble Vs NeatoShop DTG Print Quality Comparison. I ordered these particular samples in this comparison myself. As a disclaimer I will state that I am an affiliate of NeatoShop.
Redbubble Vs NeatoShop 2021.
Redbubble uses the Direct to Garment printing technique only and does not have Screen Printing. While their tees are usually slightly above the industry average for DTG quality they do not surpass all of their DTG competitors. This sample IS HORRIBLE. Most of the time you can usually find the same pop culture designs elsewhere such as NeatoShop, but they do have artsy tees as well that may not be available anywhere else.
NeatoShop does not have Screen Printed shirts as they specialize in Direct To Garment printing only. Their DTG printed T-shirts are the best in the Print On Demand industry to date that I have personally seen.
Most of the designs that you see on the Limited Edition Shirt-of-the-Day type sites (featured on the TeeFetch homepage) can be found at at these sites eventually as well as at other Print On Demand services not shown in this comparison.
Redbubble Vs NeatoShop Side by Side Comparisons 2021.
This is a side by side Redbubble Vs Neatoshop DTG print quality comparison of the same design from these two brands.
Here is the Thumbnail of the artwork for Both sites.
Redbubble Vs NeatoShop 2021 Rundown
Both of the Tee blanks were the basic Classic Black tees from each company. NeatoShop uses NextLevel Apparel and Redbubble uses Gildan.
Also NeatoShop printed the design better and slightly larger. NeatoShop also wins for ink coverage and thickness (it is even smoother). All this means that ultimately NeatoShop's print should last longer if washed and dried properly. The Reds look better on NeatoShop's version even though Redbubble's Reds have improved greatly over the years. The overall adjustment of colors both Red and White ( two extremes) are better on NeatoShop's as well as the White is much brighter than Redbubble's. Redbubble's print looks like it has pretreatment chemicals around it greying out the Black fabric. Since these comparison photos, I have washed the Redbubble one twice and that Greyish film surrounds the image still boxes in the design. It doesn't look like it is going to wash off. This is the first time I have ever had that issue.
Above you can clearly see the Greyish frame in the print area which I am hoping is pretreatment. It hasn't washed off. Ignore the two sweat drops in the upper left. I also as you see got the upper left corner wet to try to get the stuff off and the tee is still damp. That should darken the fabric much more than it did. That pretreatment is on thick.True to life, NeatoShop matches the design thumbnail. The Redbubble's sample as stated you can clearly see it is muted a lot in comparison to their own thumbnail mostly because of the issue with the pretreatment, either that or they printed this design with a nontransparent background. My money is on the pretreatment. Both brands have Black tees to work with here so the differences are due to the brand of Printers, the Printing Technique & Skill, any chemicals used, and the Inks themselves.
Redbubble Vs NeatoShop 2021 Conclusion.
This is below average for a Redbubble print. Their stuff is always muted in comparison to their thumbnails. I usually rate their stuff 3.5 stars (3 being average). I'd rate this a big fat 0 since the color, ink thickness, ink coverage and sizing isn't as good as it is on NeatoShop's version. But they are NO better than Zazzle and Cafepress with this sample.
Neatoshop is always consistent with their DTG printing & quality control, as a result so far I've always rated their printing 5 out of 5 stars. Their prints are never muted compared to their thumbnails. This is no exception. Their Reds printed better still. As stated this tee will outlast the Redbubble version due to higher ink concentration and ink thickness.
Overall, Redbubble prints aren't worth the money if you can get the design at NeatoShop. Their sublimated prints should still be okay. And for Pop Culture-based designs they don't last on their site long due to various legal issues such as DMCA notices.
I rate DTG (digital Direct To Garment) on its own merits and I do not compare it to Screen Printing which is also based on its own merits. Both printing methods have their pros and cons. This has been a DTG vs DTG Brand Vs Brand print quality review.
Why NeatoShop Is the Best Tshirt Print Quality.
Why NeatoShop is the best tshirt print quality.
Firstly, NeatoShop takes the time to calibrate each design individually to get a high contrasting color match. Secondly, the ink is laid down thick on a generous layer of pretreater assuring that the design will not be washed away anytime soon. (Wash Inside Out, On Cold, Tumble Dry Warm). Thirdly, the inks that NeatoShop uses is unparalleled in vibrancy. Finally, all colors especially at the Red end of the spectrum are true to expectations of having the best tshirt print quality. To elaborate, many side by side comparisons have been shown here to demonstrate such as the TeePublic Vs NeatoShop comparison.
Why NeatoShop is the best POD service.
For starters, their drop shipping program and POD Service are top notch. Also, with a quicker than average turnaround time, attention to detail, and outstanding customer service all areas are covered. Then, if something doesn't match up to their high standards, they will tweak their settings until things are correct.
In conclusion, I have reviewed many brands over the years and NeatoShop outshines them all from the very beginning through the present consistently. They are the absolute best DTG and POD service bar-none providing the very best t-shirt print quality.
Society6 Vs Neatoshop
Society6 Vs NeatoShop DTG Print Quality Comparison. Two of the top brands in the Pop Culture T-shirt market. I ordered the samples in this comparison myself. As a disclaimer I will state that I am an affiliate of both brands. Both pay their affiliate's close to the same rate for the referrals. I have no grudges against either brand and I am quite fond of both for their services, products and said affiliate programs. This is a Print Quality Only comparison but images of the product tags are shown for informational purposes only.
Society6 Vs NeatoShop.
Society6 uses the Direct to Garment printing technique for this tee being reviewed. They do offer sublimated products as well to their members and customers. Their Sublimation prints are better than their DTG prints (both are Print On Demand). And their DTG prints does not surpass all of their DTG competitors. Most of the time you can usually find the same designs elsewhere such as NeatoShop.
NeatoShop does not have Screen Printed nor Sublimated shirts as they specialize in Direct To Garment printing only. Their DTG printed T-shirts are the best in the Print On Demand industry to date that I have personally seen.
Some of the designs that you see on the Limited Edition Shirt-of-the-Day type sites (featured on the TeeFetch homepage) can be found at NeatoShop and Society6 as well as at other Print On Demand services not shown in this comparison.
This is a side by side Society6 Vs Neatoshop DTG print quality comparison of the same design from these two brands.
NeatoShop seems to have better ink thickness and ink coverage. NeatoShop also prints larger. NeatoShop's pre-treatment chemicals are also coating the tee as you can see on the Black of the fabric. Society6, while still a quality print does not quite equal NeatoShop's in ink. As you can see more threads show through without ink in the Society6 close ups.
NeatoShop's color range and contrast levels are also are superior. For instance, the Red is consistent everywhere on the design. Society6 on the other hand, the Red in the border and the letters are weaker than that of the blood and on the hearts. Also, on the Society6 version the Purple actually looks bolder than the NeatoShop version but as mentioned the ink coverage isn't quite as good. NeatoShop's sample comes closer to matching the actual design thumbnail shown on their website where as Society6's does not. Both brands have Black tees to work (Society6's fabric is even darker). So what it comes down to are the brand of Printers, the Printing Technique & Skill, and the Inks themselves.Society6 Vs NeatoShop Conclusion.
Not all of Society6's shirts are this noticeably different from than their design thumbnails. Usually, I rate their printing from 4 stars up to 5 stars as sometimes there are variations between what you see on the screen and what you actually get on the final product. In this case it is a 4 out of 5 stars as a result of being so different.
Neatoshop is always consistent with their DTG printing and quality control and so far I've always rated their printing 5 out of 5 stars. This is no exception.
I rate DTG on its own merits and I do not compare it to Screen Printing or Sublimation Printing which are also based on their own merits. All three printing methods have their pros and cons. This has been a DTG vs DTG Brand Vs Brand print quality review.
Tshirts Are Great Conversation Starters.
Tshirts are great conversation starters whether you intend for them to be or not. It doesn't matter where you are. It could be at: school, a bar, a bus stop, a park, a store, wherever. There is a strong chance that someone will comment on your graphic or slogan tee or you will comment on theirs. It's probably happened to you in the past and will probably happen to you again in the future.
There have been friendships and relationships started over a T-Shirt. Humor and bold statements can go a long way when meeting new people. A T-Shirt says a lot about a person. More than any suit and tie ever could. Granted many have broken up over tees too. Not to mention numerous fights because someone doesn't like a political movement or offensive tee in general. See the Controversial Tees Part 1 post for more.
Tshirts Are Great Conversation Starters.
Be it good or bad, happy or offensive, tees get a wide range of reactions from all sorts of folks. But let us focus on the funny and witty tees or even the ones with positive messages or causes. These tees make people laugh or inspire them. For the most part the happier T-shirts bring people together. Regardless of the race, politics, gender, religion, sexual orientation and so on and so forth. Sometimes as a hobby.
Am I Ready To Start A T-shirt Brand?
Before you quit your day job and spend all of your life's savings to start your own label, first ask yourself one thing, "Am I Ready To Start A T-shirt Brand?"
There are some guidelines you need to know and follow before you can answer that honestly. For starters, if your idea is to start a T-Shirt Label that is nothing but you own logo (especially a generic logo) then the answer is going to be a big fat "NO". Other than yourself, your parents, and perhaps your friends who else is really going to buy them? Is it impossible to be successful doing this... no but it is very unlikely. It would need to be something that really stands out from everything else on the market that looks good and has a relatable or powerful message behind it. Like the Life Is Good label does.
If you only have less than 20 designs in your portfolio, I would hold off on opening a shop. There is no point spending a lot of money for a real life brick and mortar business or an online T-shirt Shop if you only have a few designs to show. People like to browse and enjoy looking at graphic tees. Otherwise the shop would seem empty and incomplete.
Know your market. Who are you selling to? What Gender? What Age? Is it Pop Culture? Is it for the Wealthy or Working class? Do they like the idea? Do you know how to market to those people? If not do that research first. If you don't have a list of places that you can afford to advertise on that fits your targeted demographic then don't waste your time or money on starting a clothing line. This stuff is not easy. The competition is fierce, even for a Niche market. BE ORIGINAL.
Am I Ready To Start A T-shirt Brand?
Now depending on your answer and you must answer truthfully you will find out if your T-shirt Brand idea is good enough. If you feel that you are indeed ready to give it a go. You will need to get a LLC status ($900 dollars) to protect you if someone hurts themselves with your product (yes, even in the T-Shirt business), register your business name and logo and Trademarks ($1000+++), register your website domain name, Social Media names, alternate email addresses from Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc. Also be sure check out the information on EACH of these pages as well as many of the blog posts on this site.
The cost of starting ShirtPunch was $10,000. That covered everything that was mentioned as well as branded packaging and lawyers to set up the legal stuff. Find out about their story at The Star.I hope this advice helps you decide whether or not you are ready to start a T-Shirt Brand.
Why Choose Shopify For An Online T-shirt Shop?
Why choose Shopify for an online T-Shirt Shop? Because they have been around since 2006 and they know the game better than anyone else. Lots of small and large businesses use Shopify as their platform especially in the clothing business. I've seen many T-shirt brands come and go and the more successful of the lot were Shopify users. They are the ideal choice for start-ups and established brands that are self reliant and or that use Drop Shipping services (Neato has a damn good one). I'm impressed enough to be a proud affiliate of Shopify's services. This disclosure is in accordance with the FTC's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Is Shopify for an Online T-Shirt Shop Convenient?
Shopify is very quick to set up. You can start a trial for free to see if it is right for you. In as little as a minute you can set up the layout. Once you add your inventory and images you are ready to go on the fly. Granted you will need to optimize the shop with proper SEO and do some networking but Hell they make that easy too. They have integrated their platform with Pinterest so you can have your pin and boards work for you. Not to mention Call To Action buttons for the Facebook side of marketing. Twitter is a breeze too. They thought of it all. And for the reports... They are in-depth. Sales, Traffic, and so on.
There is a pricing plan to fit your budget, regardless of your business size.
- Basic ($29/month + 2.9% and 30p per transaction): unlimited products, 24/7 support, no transaction fees, fraud analysis tools and Shopify POS
- Professional ($79/month + 2.6% and 30p per transaction): the same features as the Basic plan, plus gift cards, professional reports and abandoned cart recovery
- Unlimited ($299month + 2.4% and 30p per transaction): the same features as the Professional plan, plus advanced report builder and real-time carrier shipping
Best Ways to Promote and Run Shopify For An Online T-Shirt Shop?
Promoting, marketing, and running any type of online shop is tedious. Shopify makes it a lot easier. They want you to be successful because that means that they are successful. Along with the Pinterest and Facebook integration mentioned above you can easily sign up for Affiliate Marketing companies to pick up a lot of that slack. Refersion is a very popular one that has proven successful for many Shopify users. Since many Shopify members do everything themselves, they can afford to do this because they are not going through some middle man. Especially if they do the printing in-house. After all, the POD Services and Screen-Printers take the biggest cut of the T-shirt Sales.
Shopify works for people that want to be a middle man as well by starting their own brand or even Limited Edition Tee site that uses a drop-shipper. But be careful with the latter, I've even seen some shops that do this business model go under because they could not keep up with the volume of sales. Which is no issue if you know how to handle the business like a professional and ANTICIPATE high volumes, Severe Weather, and other delays. Isn't that messed up? Too many sales and have to shut down as a result from getting too far behind in printing queues? It happens, so plan ahead, delegate to a trustworthy 3rd party printer or something.
As for advertising, don't waste your money on PPC ads or Facebook for a marketing strategy. Unless you have thousands of dollars to spend every month (or day) I wouldn't waste the time. Use that budget for targeting specific websites that fit your NICHE's demographic.Examples of Successful Shopify T-shirt Shops.
So Why Choose Shopify For An Online T-shirt Shop?
Because of the of all the options that are available to you from Shopify that's why to choose them. If you don't like any of the 100 default templates you can always code something yourself or hire an outside firm to help you set up as many features as your heart desires. If you want API go for it. There is nothing stopping you from integrating everything that you want into your ideal T-shirt shop. Lollapalooza uses Shopify and so does Third Eye Blind and that's two of the best damn endorsements there is.
Shopify Pros:
- No Hosting Worries. You only need a domain.
- Great Support - Forums, Guides, Blog Posts, Helpful People.
- Quick Setup - Templates make it easy.
- Reports - Detailed Statistics that truly matter.
Shopify Cons:
- There is the monthly cost of running whatever plan you choose, but what business doesn't have overhead?
- Like all 3rd party software, any add-ons and extensions used on Shopify requires updates. Just like your phone and computers constantly do. Staying on top of this is a necessity.
- Does not have the best blogging features. Shopify is eCommerce centered. The blog feature is more like an after thought. It is still useful but it is rather limited. Some people prefer the opposite and rely on the blog for customer interaction and bringing in traffic.
- Editing the items once they are entered is a bit bothersome. Be sure to add all of the product options for the item the first time... colors, sizes, styles etc.
The Pros outweigh the Cons in my opinion. Those are my reasons for choosing Shopify For An Online T-shirt Shop.
Controversial Tees Part 1.
Controversial Tees are popular and piss people off. They get world wide exposure then they are recalled. Some get people arrested and attest to the fact that T-shirts are not protected by any Freedom of Speech laws for whatever reasons or limitations. Here are some of the heavy hitters.
New Mexico Cleaner Than Regular Mexico Tee. This design and or a variation of it was recalled from Urban Outfitters stores a few years ago for being an insult to Mexico and Mexicans. Find one article about it at Today's website.
Young Aspiring Artist Infant Tees from Old Navy. This is a blatant attempt to destroy the feminine aspect of the mind. Parents, Artists, and all kinds of folks got rightly pissed off at these tees. Yes, Art is a bitch of a fields to profit in for most people. But kids should never be discouraged from wanting to be anything positive. As if being an astronaut or even a President is more important. Eff that. It took an artists to scribe a language, another to design the pyramids. Find one article about these tees HNGN's website.
Hang Loose Tee. TJ MAXX were in a heap of doody when this tee made them want to hang themselves. Just watch the clip above to get a vague sense of the controversy surrounding this "surfing" design." For those who prefer to read the article it is at the WKBN website. Apparently it is offensive to numerous groups of people but to list the types of people it would offend would probably be considered a hate crime in its own regard.
Zara's Striped Sheriff Tee. Well, besides the history lesson of its resemblance to the Holocaust garbs, it looks like a old-timey prison uniform with a stolen badge. Both interpretations are disturbing. But the whole Holocaust thing itself is reason enough to burn every surviving thread of these tees. Coincidence or inspiration? You decide. Full article can be found at War History Online's Website.
H&M had a similar issue with the above (missing the title of the design) skull tee. Personally, I see it as more along the lines of the occult "Masculine" and "Feminine" aspects which are separated by color and layer yet still connected via the overall shape. Perhaps it is even a Metal inspired tee but I can see where the Jewish community is coming from on this considering the history of the pairing of the design elements. I bet the company is still getting backlash. Full article on it at BuzzFeed's Website.
Controversial Tees.
As you can see there is no shortage of controversial tees so this will be a semi-regular thing here at TeeFetch, so stay tuned.
Common T-shirt Brands Tee Blank Color Swatches.
Here are the Common T-shirt Brands Tee Blank Color Swatches. Not much has changed in the past few years for msot ofthese brands as far as color names and availability. HANES does have more recent versions but I have had difficulty locating them. These swatches are useful when making mock ups. Use the information on the Design For Black Tees article combined with the swatches here to get an idea of what colors to aim for when designing your graphics. More Swatches may be added later.
Common T-shirt Brands Tee Blank Color Swatches.
Keep an eye out on this page for more tee blank color swatches.
Strangest Tees.
Here are some of the strangest tees that I have seen over the past 25 years or so.
A company called Orange, created a tee that converted sound waves to energy which is used to charge cell phones.
Keep in mind this is about function rather than design. As far as designs go it is ugly as sin in a toilet. It is definitely one of the strangest tees of all time.DragonWear is a company that sells industrial tees for the working force. What catches my attention is their Inherently Flame Resistant line of tees. The concept of a fireproof tee is always brilliant. It makes me wonder if designs can be Flame Resistant too. It is on the Strangest Tees because most people don't take the time to consider if their shirts are flame retardant.
All DragonWear FR fabrics are inherently flame resistant, tested in both in-house and independent state-of-the-art laboratories, and pass relevant industry certifications. We use advanced fabric technology; DuPont™ Nomex® inherently flame-resistant fabric and Polartec's® FR layering system fabric. All our products are designed for safety and comfort and offers the ultimate lightweight, breathable, wind-resistant, water-repellent, wicking comfort. The permanent fire-resistant protection won't melt, drip, or support combustion in the air. It cannot be washed out or worn away.
More of the Strangest Tees.
Bullet Proof T-shirts by Miguel Caballer Of Fashion, Offers "T-Shirts That Will Save Your Life". Well they don't look like typical tees but I'll include it for the concept. They are pricey as Hell too. For the price I'd hope they'd work as claimed but I'm not willing to test it out. I added it to the Strangest Tees because of appearance and function.
An oldie is the Hypercolor Tees from the early 90's. Heat changes the color of the tees, be it Hand prints and regular body heat, Hair Dryers, Sunlight. It is a gimmick that pups up from time to time. It will always make a strangest tee list until the day comes that all tees shall change color.