Price of a custom T-shirt: screen printing, areas and colours

Even before talking about the logo, the price depends on the garment chosen. In the T-shirts family, models differ in their material, fabric weight, cut and finishes. A lightweight T-shirt, designed to be handed out at a one-day event, is not in the same category as a thick, fitted T-shirt intended to be worn by a team for months.

Each product page specifies the material, dimensions, available colours and attested certifications. Take the time to read them: a fabric that is too thin quickly disappoints and ends up at the back of a drawer, which amounts to paying for a material nobody will see.

Colour matters too. Depending on the model, the range of colours offered and its price may differ, and the colour of the textile determines that of the ink: a dark logo on a dark T-shirt will not stand out. The starting price shown further down, live, corresponds to the most affordable T-shirt in the family, before marking.

Screen printing is the benchmark for solid, durable colours on textiles. Its principle explains its pricing: each colour of the logo is transferred onto a screen, and each screen corresponds to a pass. A one-colour logo requires one pass, a three-colour logo requires three, perfectly aligned.

The maximum number of colours depends on the area and is shown on the product page; it is generally between one and four. If your artwork includes a gradient, screen printing is not suitable: it would be simplified into solid colours.

To reduce the bill without damaging your identity, there are several options:

• use the one-colour version of your logo, which most brand guidelines provide;
• let the colour of the textile act as a second colour;
• provide your Pantone references, Solid Coated range, so that each pass is right first time.

Your file must be vector, with text converted to outlines: the machine follows outlines, and without a clean outline it does not know where to stop.

A T-shirt offers several marking areas: the chest, the back, sometimes the sleeve. Each is defined with its exact dimensions, and each is a marking in its own right. A logo on the chest and a large design on the back are therefore two markings, each with its own number of colours.

This mechanism invites you to prioritise. The chest carries the identity: a discreet logo, often in one colour. The back lends itself to the message: event name, slogan, the name of a team or department. Finally, the sleeve adds a finishing touch when the budget allows.

Take a T-shirt for a charity run: a one-colour company logo on the chest and the name of the run on the back, in the same ink, keep the order simple and legible. Adding the logos of several partners multiplies the areas and colours; it is then better to group them in a single design on the back, created in few shades, than to scatter them all over the garment.

Screen printing requires set-up for each colour: it becomes all the more attractive the longer the run, since this set-up is spread over more items. The unit price therefore falls significantly with quantity, according to the volume pricing grid shown on each product page.

For a few items, or for very detailed artwork, other processes take over. Flocking and textile transfer suit single items as well as runs; digital printing accepts an unlimited number of colours, as solid colours. On each product page, only the processes actually possible on the chosen area are offered: compare them in the configurator, for the same quantity.

Also think about the size breakdown. A T-shirt order ranges from the smallest to the largest size; collect sizes from the future wearers before ordering. Unused items increase the real cost of each T-shirt actually worn, even if the unit price shown was low.

A successful order is prepared around four questions. Who will wear the T-shirt, and how often? How many colours does your artwork really need? How many areas are needed to get the message across? What quantity reaches a more favourable tier without creating excess stock?

Answering them before opening the configurator avoids back-and-forth. The price updates there with each choice — model, colour, areas, colours, quantity — and the quote can be downloaded immediately. The proof, generated at the actual scale of the area, lets you approve the result before any production.

Before manufacturing, our team checks every print, at no extra cost: legibility at actual size, contrast on the chosen colour, details too fine for the process. Embroidered polo shirts often complement a clothing allocation; the guide to the cost of embroidering a polo shirt details the logic. The production steps are explained on the Lead times and delivery page.