# DecoNetwork vs. RSK Tech for Design-Your-Own Promotional Items



## Pwear (Mar 7, 2008)

We're upgrading an existing website that sells promotional items (etched glass, buttons, decals, water bottles, etc.) and we're looking for an online designer to give customers the ability to decorate their own products. We've used OSSDesigner in the past and it's great, but it's lacking in some features that we need for this site. The designer must have the following capabilities:

•Redirect to "thank you" page after order placement, so we can track conversions from our advertising.
•Order confirmation emails sent to customer after order placement.
•The ability for customers to pay with a credit card on the website, AND the ability for customers to pay via Paypal.
•Intuitive interface, with a selection of 1-color clipart pre-loaded (or the ability to modify the existing clipart and use our own selection).
•Seamless integration with our existing website.
•On the back-end, easy order fulfillment.
•Also on the back-end, the ability to set up promotional products for customization (not just t-shirts).
•The ability to customize the appearance of the designer.
•Excellent customer support.

I know we have alot of "must-haves". After doing research on many online designers I've narrowed it down to RSK Tech and DecoNetwork. My only caveat is that DecoNetwork is an entire ecommerce website-not just a design tool. That means the entire website will have to be Deco, and my existing website will have to be dropped. If you've used one or both, please share your thoughts!

Thanks,
Aaron


----------



## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

Pwear said:


> We're upgrading an existing website that sells promotional items (etched glass, buttons, decals, water bottles, etc.) and we're looking for an online designer to give customers the ability to decorate their own products. We've used OSSDesigner in the past and it's great, but it's lacking in some features that we need for this site. The designer must have the following capabilities:
> 
> I know we have alot of "must-haves". After doing research on many online designers I've narrowed it down to RSK Tech and DecoNetwork. My only caveat is that DecoNetwork is an entire ecommerce website-not just a design tool. That means the entire website will have to be Deco, and my existing website will have to be dropped. If you've used one or both, please share your thoughts!
> 
> ...


Aaron, seems like you are on the right track by shortlisting RSK Netshirt. It just about meets all the 'wishlist' features you have noted. DECO, as you already know, seems to be a full website package and not very customizable in terms of the theme and SEO side of things. All the Deco sites I've seen tend to share the same template. I rather have control over my website then follow standardized system (that I heard can be very buggy)

I've used RSK For a few years now and plan on sticking with them. Not many others can provide the same level of support and features of Netshirt. I'll address some points of yours

•Redirect to "thank you" page after order placement, so we can track conversions from our advertising.
*-Not something Netshirt does as the moment. I've raised this in a support ticket myself and they said they were working on it. Would be great for Google Analytics thats for sure.*


•Order confirmation emails sent to customer after order placement.
*Netshirt does this. Complete with order details and 'Proof' of the t-shirt/products designed*

•The ability for customers to pay with a credit card on the website, AND the ability for customers to pay via Paypal.
*-I use only Paypal on mine but I think you can integrate your own CC merchant account with them also. They have heap of other checkout options other then Paypal too.*

•Intuitive interface, with a selection of 1-color clipart pre-loaded (or the ability to modify the existing clipart and use our own selection).
*Easy, can do that in the admin.*

•Seamless integration with our existing website.
*-Netshirt can be added through an iFrame or Wrapper in your CMS/website. Very easy to make it look flush with your website*

•On the back-end, easy order fulfillment.
*-Very good backend fulfiment/order management. The design is made into a print ready format in PNG file, ready for print. I think screenprinters even have the option to have it in a vector format ready to print.*

•Also on the back-end, the ability to set up promotional products for customization (not just t-shirts).
*-Easy to add any sort of product that can be customized
*
•The ability to customize the appearance of the designer.
*-Can make your own theme for the netshirt.*

•Excellent customer support.
*-I get same day responses from the RSK Netshirt team. The great thing about Netshirt is there is a team of support and CS reps looking after its clients, so its easy to get in touch with somebody in the company. The same can't be said with other companies I tried. A lot of them were one-man shows and didn't put a lot of emphasis on customer support.*


----------



## brenden (Dec 11, 2008)

Hi Aaron and zhenjie,

Actually zhenjie while DecoNetwork comes with over 20 store themes in various color variants (so nearly 100 store themes) one of the powerful features of DecoNetwork is the fact that you can customize the interface as you want as you have full access and control of the CSS and HTML. This includes injecting jQuery if you want.

Website pages are automatically SEO friendly and have page name (ie "Long Sleeve Mens Gildan Tshirt") and page URLS (ie "www.mysite.com/products/long_sleeve_mens_gildan_tshirt". These are generated automatically so you don't need to manually do this. Of course you have full access to the CSS and HTML.

DecoNetwork is NOT flash based so fully function on devices like iPhones and iPads.

Take some of these websites which are all DecoNetwork but look completely different as they customised the store themes.

Under Construction
Stinky Monkey Brand
Raypec
Custom t shirt designer-Custom ink tees

To address your other questions:

>> Redirect to thank you page:
An important feature which DecoNetwork has. You of course can customise the thank you message.

>> Order confirmation:
You can set up as many order confirmation emails as you want. For example you might have a different confirmation email for a pickup order to a shipping order.

>> Pay with Credit Card or PayPal:
This is also available including the ability to set manual payment methods like check, cash or direct deposit

>> Intuitive interface with Clipart:
As stated you can customise the look and feel using web standard CSS and HTML. 15,000 clipart items are available. Some in full color and others in BW. The clipart items can be recoloured by the customer so if they want a pink basketball they can change it.

>> Seemless integration:
DecoNetwork offers a complete backend CMS so you don't need to go the hassle of setting up a Joomla or DotNetNuke website platform. You use the built-in tools to create web pages and you can add modules on each page to display products, designs, etc, on the DecoNetwork platform. It is not just an online designer you need a web developer to intergrate with an existing site and you certainly don't have to iFrame it in to use it. However if you chose to build or custom-code your site you can embed only the designer aspect or checkout process into an iFrame or direct link. Here are some DecoNetwork site owners doing this:

Print | Custom t-shirts | Design a t-shirt online and much more...
The Shirt Alert - Humor Shirts | Funny Shirts Sayings | Graphic Funny Tees

>> On the back-end, easy order fulfillment.
DecoNetwork's power is it's backend fulfillment system. It has an extensive fulfillment system where you can manage your orders, products, promotional items such as promo codes, gift certificates, discount table, etc. The next version has a desktop tool that can download orders to your computer live so you don't need to log in and retrieve orders daily. To assist our customers we've cataloged over 900 products by including the SanMar catalog. Therefore at a click you can add products from ranges such as Gildan, Hanes, Nike, Ramo, Port Authority, etc, so the benefit of this is you don't need to take photos of the products, all the prices are set and descriptions, titles and product codes. These are all provided by the supplier through DecoNetwork's partnership with them.

>> Promo products, not just t-shirts.

DecoNetwork has three type of product:

1. Blank products which you can decorate in either digital printing, sublimation printing or embroidery. Each of the output files is print or sew ready. So in the case of embroidery it is a real embroidery file in .EMB format which can save sand sew on a machine. Print files are PNG or PDF with transparent background so print-ready. Products can be anything that you can decorate so ranging from t-shirts, skateboards to chocolate (yes, we have a customer using DecoNetwork to print on chocolates!)

2. Pre-Decorated products: These are products (more likely your blank ones you set up) that are pre-decorated with designs. Like selling 'off the shelf products' so it might be a t-shirt or mouse mat with a design of a dog on it.

3. Non-decorable products: These are products that you cannot decorate in any way. I.e. bags of candy, iPhones, hammer or DVDs. They are products that people just buy in their natural form.

>> Customize designer: Likewise the designer is controlled visually by CSS so you can change the icons or colors to suit your brand.

>> Customer Support: DecoNetwork has a physical support office in three countries (USA, Australia and UK) therefore you can always bet someone is there to answer a phone call or respond to your email. This is backed by a distribution channel in over 100 countries so help is never to far away. Help topics and documentation is integrated into the software by simply clicking the "help" button or you can post to the DecoNetwork help site and a tech or other customer will respond. Wilcom's 30 year history has been built around strong product back by reliable support. There is also a network of DecoNetwork consultants who are not employed by the company but a group of individuals who offer private DecoNetwork consulting services to help build and grow your business online.

I hope this answers your questions. Feel free to reply or PM me if you have any more!


----------



## zhenjie (Aug 27, 2006)

Thanks for correcitng me Brenden, It's been a while since I trial Deconetwork and it looks like you guys have definitely made some improvements. There was a period there that put alot of people off the Deco system.


----------



## brenden (Dec 11, 2008)

No worries zhenjie. We're an Australian company (as you probably know) so if you ever want to know more you are welcome to drop into our office in Sydney and chat with the guys.


----------



## RenaRSK (Mar 16, 2011)

Looking forward to upgrading your RSK NetShirt Site to the very latest designer on the market - Another Happy RSK Customer - Cheers Zhen, Rena


----------



## indigoclothing (Apr 8, 2008)

To help balance the argument we have tried both systems recently and were frustrated with the level of customization we could achieve ourselves with the RSK product and the difficult to use backend.

In the end, for our new site, we opted for the Deconetwork solution, and while not perfect, it is good and has provided us with more of the features we needed.

I would recommend that people take their time to carefully evaluate both solutions. Luckily they are both good value for money so there is no major loss if you need to switch.


----------



## RenaRSK (Mar 16, 2011)

RenaRSK said:


> Looking forward to upgrading your RSK NetShirt Site to the very latest designer on the market - Another Happy RSK Customer - Cheers Zhen, Rena


 

Hi Alex, Thanks for expressing your views of the RSK designer, however, can I just point out that the levels of customization available have been vastly improved whereby we can satisfy clients with their branded requirements for a small fee if necessary. Alternatively we have a varied selection of skins available for FREE. Unfortunately all customisation must be done inhouse as we do not offer an open source solution. We try to accommodate all customers at all times with their specified needs.. As you quite rightly point out Alex the software is exceptionally popular and good value for money  Rena.


----------



## allhamps (Mar 15, 2007)

Ok, this is way new to me, but I am also looking for a "designer", to incorporate into my website so that customers can design their own items. My designs are 99% custom rhinestone transfers so I'm still not clear on the following points:

DecoNetwork - I would have to scrap my exisiting website and start all over with a template provided site from Deco?
RSK/DECO -can I upload my own artwork samples and my own item samples?
RSK - it can be incorporated into my existing website, and if so, how easy is that? Does RSK do it or can I? (I am NOT a programmer).
Maybe by PM I can get some pricing ideas or demo links?
Thank you to the original thread starter as I have been tearing out my hair trying to understand have a designer tied into my website!!


----------



## RenaRSK (Mar 16, 2011)

Hey there,


I have p.m'd you No need to worry about getting a new website
Just an easy install simple iframe, no more tearing out your hair 
lol ! Speak soon. - Rena @ RSK


----------



## brenden (Dec 11, 2008)

Hi allhamps,

I hope you don't mind but i'll publish my reply here in the forum for others to read instead of PM.

1. No you don't need to scrap your old website  Choice is yours as DecoNetwork is a hosted solution you can move your entire website content over to our platform and save any hosting fees you are being charged as all the hosting is included as part of our plan. Or you can, as some of our customers do, keep your existing website and simply embed the online designer and checkout into your site in an iframe or a simple link where a new page opens. i.e. imaging your website is www. allhamps. com then you can use your deconetwork designer on designer. allhamps. com or like I said use it for your whole www. allhamps. com website. (sorry about spaces in the web address but didn't want the forum to convert it to a page title  )

The DecoNetwork platform exposes the HTML and CSS so you can skin the website any way you like yourself to match your existing brand. And we are not flash based so no worries with changing the look and feel.

2. Yes you can create your own artwork collection for custoemrs to use. You can also use any of the 15,000 stock items availabel in Deconetwork or turn them off and just use your own.

3. With DecoNetwork you don't need to incorporate the solution into you website or you can. We have support offices in three continents (USA, Europe and Australia) who you assist with configuring your system. All support is free.

All our pricing is public at Flexible Pricing Plans Options That You Can Choose to Suit and you can watch my full tradeshow demo at YouTube - Wilcom DecoNetwork live demonstration

We can also do a private demonstration for you any time. In fact, today at 11AM Sydney time (30 minutes from now) and at 3PM Sydney time I am doing some live webinar demos. You can register at Webinar Online Tshirt Design Software Tool For Customizing Tshirts, Products, Embroidery & Print Designs or just PM me and I can arrange a private one at a time suited to you.

Cheers.

P.S. Indigo your site Indigo2Go | Online T-Shirt Designer for Custom Tshirts is looking awesome!


----------



## Riderz Ready (Sep 18, 2008)

Speaking from experience (3 years of installing systems such as OSS, Piki/Deco, RSK, Inksoft) we all seem to miss the most critical aspect of these tools - How Easy Is It For Your Customer To Successfully Create a Design. 

The backend, where the site resides, the cost, number of clipart images, etc, etc means zero if your clients can not successfully create thus purchase a product from you. For most of us on this site these tools can seem fairly simple but remember the average person coming onto your site has never designed anything and can get overwhelmed and bail out very quickly. This leads to an associated critical question? Do you have access to the email addresses of people who have started the design process but never purchased? This is critical as it allows you to make contact with these people to offer special discounts and more important start to better understand why you may be losing potential sales. 

For us and our type of business Inksoft was way ahead of the game in the simplicity of the design tool. With that said everyone's market and client base is different and you would be best served having 20 of your clients go to demo sites of these solutions and see what percent can actually complete a design. from this you have your answer which is best for you.


----------



## RenaRSK (Mar 16, 2011)

Riderz Ready said:


> Speaking from experience (3 years of installing systems such as OSS, Piki/Deco, RSK, Inksoft) we all seem to miss the most critical aspect of these tools - How Easy Is It For Your Customer To Successfully Create a Design.
> 
> The backend, where the site resides, the cost, number of clipart images, etc, etc means zero if your clients can not successfully create thus purchase a product from you. For most of us on this site these tools can seem fairly simple but remember the average person coming onto your site has never designed anything and can get overwhelmed and bail out very quickly. This leads to an associated critical question? Do you have access to the email addresses of people who have started the design process but never purchased? This is critical as it allows you to make contact with these people to offer special discounts and more important start to better understand why you may be losing potential sales.
> 
> For us and our type of business Inksoft was way ahead of the game in the simplicity of the design tool. With that said everyone's market and client base is different and you would be best served having 20 of your clients go to demo sites of these solutions and see what percent can actually complete a design. from this you have your answer which is best for you.


Great answer Mark and spot on !!! End user experience is our top priority hence our global success . Whether your 60 years old or 10 years old . Ease and fun using a design tool is ultimately what will make you MONEY . Cheers for your answer- Rena @ RSK


----------



## RenaRSK (Mar 16, 2011)

Yep you can upload your own artwork !! did you get sorted with a solution as yet ???? Rena@rsK



allhamps said:


> Ok, this is way new to me, but I am also looking for a "designer", to incorporate into my website so that customers can design their own items. My designs are 99% custom rhinestone transfers so I'm still not clear on the following points:
> DecoNetwork - I would have to scrap my exisiting website and start all over with a template provided site from Deco?
> RSK/DECO -can I upload my own artwork samples and my own item samples?
> RSK - it can be incorporated into my existing website, and if so, how easy is that? Does RSK do it or can I? (I am NOT a programmer).
> ...


----------

