You’ve decided to order t-shirts either for a promotion or your staff. The decisions you make can really impact your budget. In this segment, we’ll give you some pointers on how to get the best deal AND the best shirt for your needs.

 
 
1. Quantity
Not surprisingly, your per shirt cost goes down when you order larger quantities of shirts. The driving factor of the cost is the screens the printer has to burn to print your shirt. Essentially, screens are the template the printer uses to get the artwork onto the shirt. A screen has to be burned for each color and each imprint area on the t-shirt.
 
For example, for a 1 location imprint, 4 color design, you will pay around $50 just for the screens. So, for 12 shirts, you are paying over $4.00 per shirt for the screens only. But if you order 500 shirts, you are paying only .10 cents per shirt for the screens.
 
2. Artwork and Imprint Location
Because of the cost of the screens, you want to carefully consider how to design your artwork and where it will go on your shirt. If you are ordering a small quantity of shirts and have a tight budget, you may want to consider using 1 or 2 colors for the design. You’d be surprised what a good graphic artist can do with a design using just two colors.
 
Plus, you want to consider how many places on the shirt you want the design. Do you want something just on the front left side or the entire back? Many people prefer to have the design on the back rather than the front of the shirt. The cost goes up the more locations you chose to imprint.
 
3. Color of the Shirt
White shirts are the most cost efficient option. However, you can order t-shirts in just about any color in the rainbow. Dark shirts (i.e. black) requires the printer to use a white ink base to ensure that the ink color is not affected by the dark color of the shirt. If you do not use a white base, the bright orange in your design may look more like burnt orange. And yes, the white base will count as 1 color in your design. So even if your design uses orange and red, you will have to pay for a 3 color imprint.
 
4. Material – 50/50 vs. Cotton

The most common options for t-shirts are 50/50 polyester/cotton blend or 100% cotton. The benefit of 100% cotton is it has a heavier feel. Some people worry that it will shrink. But most 100% cotton shirts are pre-shrunk and have very little shrinkage. For screen printing, you’ll get the best results with non-ring spun cotton. Make sure you choose non-ring spun cotton because an imprint on ring spun cotton can look washed out.
 
The 50/50 blend shirts are a bit more durable and will withstand frequent wearing and washing. Plus, 50/50 blend shirts have a lighter feel that some people prefer. 
 
Summary:

1.  It’s cheaper in the long run to order a few extra shirts on your initial order rather than re-ordering a few shirts here and there.

2. If you have to order a small quantity of shirts, consider limiting the design to 1 or 2 ink colors.

3. White is the most cost effective shirt to use.

4. The choice between 100% Cotton and 50/50 is a personal preference.