Design Software for Screen Printing

The best software for screen printing is very used for the screen printing color separation. There are a lot of t-shirt design software, but sometimes it can be very difficult to understand and use them. The free rip software for screen printing is also very useful and you can find them on the internet. So, I hope that you find the software that suits you well!

Let’s get you started already!

Affinity Designer

Affinity designer offers both a vector design program and raster image processing technology. This lets illustrators create advanced, complex images that work well either in physical form or on the screen! This software works for Windows, Mac, and on iPads.

Affinity Designer won a recent Apple design award. Everything in the software is built for professional use. The program includes the ability to handle huge images and control multiple projects at one time. It also offers set up time-saving steps such as keyboard shortcuts.

On top of that, the software offers several different color control options to allow you to prep your design for printing!

This tool has a lot to offer and is rapidly gaining popularity. It also comes with a reasonable price tag of $54.

2. Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator has held onto its spot as the industry standard for pretty much any type of graphic design for quite a long while now. This doesn’t mean that Adobe is old-fashioned or out of touch, though! This software comes packed with every tool you need to create precise, clear vector designs for your screen prints.

This vector design software offers pretty comprehensive accessibility. You can use Illustrator on mobile apps as well as on Windows and Mac.

Adobe offers a free seven-day trial and a generous discount for teachers and students. You can choose to pay an annual fee of $240 or a monthly subscription of $21 at full price.

3. CorelDraw

CorelDraw often ranks as Adobe’s biggest competitor for screenprint design. It gives you a rich variety of vector design tools and an easy-to-use color separation program to prep your prints. Plus, students and beginning artists often find CorelDraw more intuitive and easier to learn than Adobe.

Nothing good comes without a price, though, and this program is no exception. It costs a whopping $500 plus additional fees if you want to update to the latest version in future years!

Like many up-and-coming design programs, CorelDraw has made a lot of advances in recent years. For example, you can now use this program on both Windows and Mac. A few years ago, its greatest drawback was that it was only compatible with Windows.

4. GIMP

GIMP is unique among most of the design tools listed here because you can use it for free! This popular open-source program uses raster editing rather than vector design. That said, it also comes with every kind of plug-in and upgrades imaginable.

GIMP doesn’t offer you an especially streamlined user experience because it’s crowdsourced or user-built.

If you know how to look for it, you can find any design tool you want to use within this program! For example, you can use Gimp for color separation, but you need a specific plug-in to make this happen.

5. Graphix Pro Studio

GraphixPro Studio provides design manipulation tools rather than advanced vector design capabilities. For example, you can take a t-shirt template and easily add a customer’s name to the design using this program. If you compare it to Illustrator, this program gives you the final steps of the process, rather than a beginning-to-end mastery of an image.

Depending on your skill level, this simplified program may offer everything you need, though! It comes loaded with a generous array of font options and color matching tools. It also provides business-related tools like a quote generator.

Unfortunately, this software has a one-time purchase price of $900, making it a serious investment! You will probably find this tool more useful if you run a small business. If you screen print as a hobby, the price point may put this design tool out of your reach.

6. Inkscape

Inkscape is another free, open-source tool that offers vector graphic design tools. It mostly works in SVG or Scalable Vector Graphics format. This program runs on Windows, Mac, or Linux computers, too, making it pretty universal!

To date, this program tends to get more use in small-scale illustrations like clip art and comics. It lacks the complex features necessary for advanced, large-scale illustrations. It also does not offer a color separation tool to translate your design into printable screens.

However, it does have a rapidly growing user base and a robust online community to provide education and support for new users.

This software may give you a solid boost if you’re just starting with vector design, too. You will likely find it much easier to master than an advanced program like Illustrator.

Color Separation Tools

The screenprinting process requires separate screens for every color in an image. This means that you have to separate the colors in your design. You need a tool to simplify this process, whether you create your own design, upload a photo, or even purchase a design pre-made.

7. EZ Screen

EZ Screen offers everything you could need in a color separation tool. It can break down even a complex image into just three or four color layers. It can prep the layers to work on any color of the material, preventing bleed through or images that don’t match the fabric beneath.

It also provides advanced options like using halftones and saving your designs in many formats. The only downside to this comprehensive package is that it does cost $795. This is definitely a tool intended for the business person making thousands of screen prints a week!

That said, EZ Screen does offer pretty great customer service and compatibility with any operating system.

Best Online Design Tool: DesignAShirt

Buy on Designashirt.comWhat We Like

• Easy to learn.
• Free shipping.
• Affordable design assistance.

What We Don’t Like

• Shirts run a bit small in size.
• Rush orders are expensive.

One of the leading online T-shirt design and printing services, DesignAShirt has designed and shipped millions of T-shirts to customers everywhere. The company’s experience shows, with a simple, uncluttered interface that helps even those with no design skills create attractive shirts quickly and easily.

After picking the shirt type, style, and color from dozens of options, creating an attractive design is straightforward. Select from the pre-existing clipart or upload your own photo, add text in a huge variety of fonts, customize colors, size, and effects like distress and outline, and you’re set.

If you can’t come up with a design you’re happy with, DesignAShirt also offers an affordable concierge service where a product consultant does it for you. Despite the name, T-shirts aren’t the only option—hoodies, caps, polos, and more are also available.

With its simple tools, free 10-day shipping, and competitive pricing, DesignAShirt is our top pick for an online T-shirt designing tool.

Best for Speed: Rush Order Tees

Buy on Rushordertees.comWhat We Like

• Select from available clipart or upload your own images.
• Fast, even on short notice in most cases.

What We Don’t Like

• Some complaints about customer service availability.
• Errors made are slow to be resolved.

Creating custom T-shirt designs on the Rush Order Tees site is a breeze. It’s fast, easy to use, and offers a solid range of customizable options.

Starting with one of a wide range of T-shirt colors, styles, and manufacturers, the site leads you through a straightforward series of steps so you end up with a design you’re happy with. Adding graphics and text only takes a few seconds, and there are plenty of customization options to help you get exactly the look you’re after.

With over 50,000 clipart images to choose from, you should be able to find some great graphics for your design. But you have something specific in mind, you can always upload your own graphics instead.

The company’s in-house team reviews each design, correcting any obvious mistakes before sending it for printing, and there’s both live-chat and phone support as needed. Throw in super-quick delivery options (including next day), and Rush Order Tees makes for a great, speedy T-shirt design and printing service.https://49a7639f6add46056fdf8efb63b8ec3d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Best for Mobile: Snaptee

Buy on Snaptee.coWhat We Like

• Design using a mobile app.
• Share designs and get commissions on design sales.

What We Don’t Like

• Interface may take a little getting used to.
• Not easy to search for designs.

While most T-shirt design apps and sites work best on a laptop or desktop, that’s not the case with Snaptee. Designed specifically for mobile, this iOS and Android app lets you choose from a range of designs uploaded and voted on by the app’s users, and then remix them in a variety of ways.

After selecting the design you’d like to start with, the app lets you choose your T-shirt style and basic layout. From there, you can use the design’s existing graphic, or upload your own via your phone’s camera roll, Instagram, and other sources.

The interface takes a couple of minutes to get used to, but it’s straightforward and powerful enough for most simple designs. Tweaking colors, effects, fonts, and more are all handled within the app, and once you’re satisfied with the end result, it’s simply a case of sending your masterpiece off to Snaptee for printing.

Payment is handled via credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or PayPal on your phone, and the company, which is based in Hong Kong, ships anywhere in the world for a flat fee. If you think your design is particularly good, you can share it with others and receive a commission when other customers order it.

Conclusion

Screen printing design software is designed to help the graphic designer produce high quality graphics for screen printing. By offering different color and print mode settings, the software allows you to create a design that will be translated into an accurate separations package for your printer.