The Bulk Order Playbook: Getting the Best Price on Custom Shirts for Your Business

Ordering branded apparel for a business isn't complicated, but a few decisions made early can swing your final cost by 30% or more. After printing for hundreds of local businesses, here's the playbook we wish every first-time buyer had.

1. Hit the price breaks

Print pricing works in tiers. The setup cost (screens, artwork prep) is the same whether you order 20 shirts or 200, so per-shirt cost drops sharply at each break. Typical tiers look like: 12, 24, 48, 72, 144+.

The practical tip: if you're planning to order 40 shirts, ask what 48 would cost. It's often only a few dollars more in total — and you'll have spares for new hires instead of paying setup fees again in three months.

2. Fewer ink colors = lower cost

Every color in a screen-printed design needs its own screen. A 1-color logo on 48 shirts might cost hundreds less than the same order in 4 colors. Most strong brand merch uses one or two colors anyway — a white logo on a black tee is a classic for a reason. Ask us for a 1-color version of your logo; you might like it better.

3. Pick the right garment, not just the cheapest

The $3 budget tee exists, and for a one-day event it's fine. But for staff uniforms or merch customers will actually wear, stepping up to a mid-range ring-spun cotton or a cotton-poly blend costs a dollar or two more and feels dramatically better. Your logo is only as good as the shirt it's printed on.

Things to consider:

• Uniforms: blends resist wrinkles and hold up to industrial washing
• Retail merch: softer ring-spun cotton — people wear what feels good
• Outdoor crews: moisture-wicking performance fabrics

4. Consolidate sizes at order time, not after

Collect everyone's size before you order. Adding "just two more larges" after the run means a new setup charge. Pro tip: order a couple of extra shirts in your most common sizes — future you will be grateful.

5. Get vector art if you can

If you have your logo as an `.ai`, `.eps`, `.svg`, or high-res `.pdf`, printing setup is fast and crisp. If all you have is a small JPG from your website, we can redraw it — just know it adds a little time to the first order. After that, we keep your art on file forever, and reorders are one email away.

Ready to run the numbers?

Send us your logo, quantity, and garment preference through our quote form — we'll price a couple of options so you can see exactly where the breaks fall.