how should i design my custom T-shirts...???

[proverbs]

i was planning to create my own t-shirt designs and have them printed, not to sell, just for my personal use. if i were to make the design on Illustrator and print it on a t-shirt, what would be the best way to do this?

i found some websites that do custom printing like customink.com and cafepress.com - are all these companies the same for the most part? does one offer higher quality printing or materials?? is it better to go directly to a print shop?

the first several shirts i will print are just cool pictures that i found on the internet with some effects and words added with Illustrator.

 

[Aperture]

Come on guys! Surely someone has experience with this..

This is a topic I am very interested in as well.

 

[ChicoWeb]

I've made quite a few shirt designs. I've used Illustrator for some and PSD's for others. It depends on what the printer wants. The first two were done in AI and the second are done in PS.

 

[proverbs]

can i ask which company you used to print it? did you print mass quantities or just 1?