Designer: A How To
Welcome to ExpertShirt.com! On our site you can use a series of online tools to design your own custom t-shirt. Begin by clicking on “Start Your Design Here” on our homepage. The design application will then load, with the loading time depending upon your connection speed. At the top of the screen you will find buttons for the five steps involved in the t-shirt design process.
Step 1 is choosing your product. Pick a category of textile (t shirt, sweatshirt, etc…), then from the list that comes up for that category, click on a particular product. After having selected your t-shirt or other textile, choose a color by clicking on the color square. Be sure to check to see if the particular color you’ve chosen is available in all the sizes you need. Not all colors are available in all sizes of t-shirt.
Step 2 involves creating the design for your customized t-shirt. You can add clip art, add text, upload your own art, or any combination of the three. When adding clip art, click on a category (and a subcategory if provided) and then pick an image by clicking directly on it. The image will load in the center of the tshirt. For a few seconds, you will see a box made of a dashed outline. This outline shows the area in which we can physically screen print on the t-shirt . Remember to keep all your design components within this boundary.
You can move your image around on the t-shirt by clicking and holding on the image and then moving it where you wish. You can also change the size and rotation of the image by using the slide bars for Width, Height and Rotate. Clicking on the color box (which defaults to black) brings up your choices for ink colors. Click on the color you want in order to customize the color of your image.
If you have an image of your own that you wish to screen print, you will want to use the “Upload Your Own Art” function. You will need a preview jpeg at 72 dpi for use in the Design Studio and also a high resolution image for the Art Staff to work with. Specific instructions for various graphics platforms are listed under Custom Art Guidelines.
Adding text to your t-shirt is similar to adding clip art. First, type the line of text you want. Separate lines of text will need to be entered as individual lines; there isn’t a “return” feature as in a word processor. Choose a category of font styles and then click on the individual font that you want. Your text will appear in the center of the t-shirt. It can be moved around in the same way that images are, and you have the same options to change the size, rotation, and color. There are also Text Effect tools which allow you to arc text up or down on your t-shirt and also change the spacing, letter size, and size of the arc.
All of the above options for art and text can also be used on the back of your t shirt. Simply click the “Switch Side” button and proceed with your customized design.
You can add different t-shirts or other textiles at this point by clicking on the Step 1 tab and choosing an additional type of tshirt. A different shirt can also have its own ink colors, but the design itself must stay the same. Up to six different textiles can have the same screen print design. Remember that each different textile must have a minimum of 6 shirts ordered.
Step 3 gives you the option of adding names and numbers to the back of your t-shirt. Click on the color square to choose your letter and/or number colors. If you choose to add names and numbers, then you can not use the Designer to have an image on the back of the t-shirt. If you want to have a back image on your t-shirt along with names or numbers, call the Art Staff at 800-933-0074.
Step 4 is where you pick your shirt sizes. The minimum order for each type of t shirt is 6. When you click on the “Update Cart” button you can check your current total in the Quick Quote window.
Step 5 saves your design. Give the custom t-shirt design a name, fill in your e-mail address and a password so you can access it from the Customer Login section of the homepage. You can save a t-shirt design and then come back to it later to make changes before placing an order. You can also save variations on a t shirt design by giving each one a separate, distinct name.
Step 6 takes you to the Check Out page. Fill out the fields as directed and pay with a major credit card or PayPal. You can choose from Regular delivery or Rush, with Rush service adding an additional 20% to your total. Delivery dates for Regular and Rush are shown on both the website home page and on the check out page.
Congratulations! You’ve just designed your own custom screen printed t-shirt online. We hope you enjoyed the process and use ExpertShirt for your future t-shirt needs.
