Photos to t-shirts

As explained, which software is the best for turning photos into black on white images for printing? Needs to be black/on white for what we want. Mediums for printing to include, t-shirts, umbrellas, tote-bags etc, but I don't think that matters. Any one can help?
Thx,
Mike
A free trial, or free sample of ability would be good too...

I believe you can use one of the filters in GIMP, or Photoshop. But GIMP is free and basically the same thing as Photoshop.

If you have Illustrator you can try doing a live trace or live paint with two or three colors. Try with different options until you get the level of detail you're after. If your computer is slow, be prepared to stare at an hour glass for a while each time.

Photoshop can desaturate, or you can use a B&W adjustment layer. This won't really be ideal if you're screen printing unless the drawings are pretty basic.

If you give us more detail on what kind of images you plan on printing, you might be able to get more specific help.