When you’re getting ready to order custom t-shirts for your team, event, or organization, a little preparation goes a long way. The custom t-shirt order process involves more decisions than most people realize, from picking the right blank shirts to getting your artwork files in order. Taking the time to sort out these details before you call a screen printer will save you stress, time, and money.
At RiverCity Screenprinting & Embroidery in San Marcos, TX, we walk customers through this process every day. The basics stay the same regardless of whether it’s a corporate event in Austin, a family reunion in New Braunfels, or a sports league in San Antonio. Here’s what you need to figure out before placing your order.
Set Your Deadline First
The single most important thing to nail down early is your deadline. When do you need these shirts in your hands? Screen printing turnaround time varies based on the complexity of your order, the shop’s current workload, and how much of the design process still needs to happen.
If you already have a finished design in a print-ready file format, you’ve got a head start. If you’re still working on the concept, factor in time for design work. Most screen printing shops (including ours) have in-house designers who can help you get your artwork where it needs to be. But that design phase takes time, especially if there are multiple rounds of revisions.
A good rule of thumb: reach out to your printer at least three to four weeks before your event date. Rush orders are sometimes possible, but they often come with higher costs and fewer options. For large bulk t-shirt orders (100+ pieces), you’ll want even more lead time.
Figure Out Your Quantity
Knowing exactly how many shirts you need is essential before you can get an accurate quote. This number affects everything from pricing to production scheduling.
If you’re ordering for a specific group (a baseball team, event staff, a wedding party), count your people and collect sizes ahead of time. Don’t guess. Ask everyone directly what size they wear and in what style, because running short on the day of your event is a headache nobody wants.
If you’re ordering shirts for a giveaway, a fundraiser, or merchandise for sale where you won’t know exact numbers, estimate attendance or demand as closely as you can. In these cases, order a spread of sizes. A common breakdown for general audiences is roughly 10% small, 25% medium, 35% large, 20% XL, and 10% XXL, though this varies depending on your crowd.
Many screen printers have a custom shirt minimum order quantity. At some shops, that minimum might be 12 or 24 pieces. Ask about this upfront so you’re not surprised. On the flip side, ordering in higher quantities almost always brings the per-shirt price down, which is one of the biggest custom t-shirt pricing factors to keep in mind.
Choosing Blank T-Shirts: Style and Material Matter
This is where a lot of first-time buyers get overwhelmed, because there are far more options than you’d expect. The blank shirt you choose is the foundation of your entire order, and it affects comfort, appearance, and cost.
Shirt Styles
The days of “one basic tee fits all” are long gone. Depending on the purpose of your shirts, you might want:
- Standard crew neck tees for everyday wear, giveaways, or team uniforms
- V-neck shirts for a slightly dressier look
- Tank tops for summer events, beach trips, or gym wear
- Long sleeve shirts for fall and winter events or outdoor work crews
- Baseball-style raglan tees (three-quarter length sleeves) for a casual, sporty look
- Performance/dri-fit shirts for athletic teams or outdoor events where moisture-wicking fabric matters
Your screen printing company should have an online catalog or physical samples you can look at. If you’re local to the San Marcos or Austin area, stopping by the shop to feel the fabric and see the fit in person is always a good idea.
Shirt Brands and Quality Tiers
Not all blank t-shirts are created equal. A basic Gildan or Hanes tee works great for large giveaways where cost-per-shirt needs to stay low. But if you want a softer feel, a more fitted cut, or a retail-quality look (think merchandise you’re selling), you might want to step up to brands like Bella+Canvas, Next Level, or Comfort Colors.
The blank shirt is often the single biggest factor in per-unit cost, so choosing the right tier for your purpose matters. There’s no point paying for premium blanks if you’re handing out 500 shirts at a 5K run. And there’s no point going cheap if you’re selling branded merch that represents your business.
Sizing Inconsistencies Are Real
Here’s something that trips people up: sizes aren’t universal across brands. A medium in one brand might fit like a large in another. This is a real problem in the custom apparel world, and it’s one of the most common complaints we hear.
Before you collect size preferences from your group, get a sizing chart from the specific brand and style you’ve chosen. Share that chart with your people so they can make informed choices. This one step prevents a lot of frustration on delivery day.
Also, consider how the fit runs. Some styles are “true to size,” others run slim, and others are boxy. Your printer can advise you on this based on experience with the specific blanks.
Pick Your Shirt Color Wisely
Shirt color isn’t just an aesthetic choice. It directly impacts how your printed design looks and can affect production cost.
Lighter shirt colors (white, light gray, natural) are generally easier and cheaper to print on because they require less ink coverage. If your design includes multiple colors, a lighter shirt lets those colors pop without needing an underbase layer of white ink first.
Darker shirts (black, navy, dark green) can look fantastic, but printing on them requires that white underbase, which adds a step to the process. This can slightly increase cost and production time.
The key is making sure your shirt color and your design colors work together. A dark design on a dark shirt won’t be readable. A pastel design on a white shirt might look washed out. Talk to your printer about color combinations before you commit. They’ve seen what works and what doesn’t on thousands of orders.
Get Your Artwork Right
Artwork requirements for screen printing are different from what you’d need for, say, printing a flyer at home. Getting this right upfront is one of the most important ordering custom t-shirts tips we can give you.
File Format and Resolution
Screen printing requires high-resolution artwork, ideally in vector format (AI, EPS, or SVG files). Vector files can be scaled to any size without losing quality, which is critical when your design needs to look sharp across shirt sizes from small to 3XL.
If you only have a raster image (JPEG, PNG), it needs to be at least 300 DPI at the actual print size. A small logo pulled from your website at 72 DPI will look pixelated and blurry when printed on a shirt. Don’t try to cut corners here. The quality of the artwork you provide directly determines how your finished shirts look.
If your files aren’t print-ready, a good screen printer can often clean them up or recreate them, but this adds time and potentially cost to your order.
Design Size and Placement
Think about where you want your design on the shirt and how large it should be. Common placements include full front, left chest, full back, and sleeve prints. Each placement has standard sizing, but you can customize.
One thing many people don’t consider: how the design scales across different shirt sizes. Some printers use a single print size across all shirts in the order. This means a design that looks perfectly proportioned on a large might look oversized on a small or get lost on a 3XL. Other shops scale the print proportionally to each size.
Ask your printer how they handle this, especially if your order includes a wide range of sizes. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference in the finished product.
Colors in Your Design
Each color in a screen-printed design requires a separate screen. More colors means more setup, which means higher cost. A one or two-color design is the most cost-effective option. Full-color photographic designs are possible but require a different printing method (like direct-to-garment or simulated process printing) and typically cost more.
If budget is a concern, simplifying your design to fewer colors is one of the easiest ways to bring costs down.
Approve the Proof Before Production
Once your printer has your artwork, order details, and shirt selection, they should send you a proof (also called a mockup) before production begins. Screen printing proof approval is your last checkpoint before ink hits fabric.
The proof shows you exactly how your design will look on the chosen shirt color, including placement, sizing, and colors. Review it carefully. Check spelling. Check that the colors look right. Make sure the placement is where you want it. Share the proof with anyone else who has a say in the final product.
Don’t rush this step. Catching a mistake at the proof stage costs nothing. Catching it after 200 shirts are printed costs everything.
Understand What Drives the Price
Custom t-shirt pricing factors go beyond just “how many shirts.” Here’s what typically affects your total cost:
- Quantity: Higher quantities lower the per-unit price. Bulk t-shirt orders get the best rates.
- Blank shirt brand and style: Premium blanks cost more than basic ones.
- Number of ink colors: More colors = more screens = higher setup costs.
- Number of print locations: Printing on the front and back costs more than front only.
- Artwork setup: If the printer needs to create or clean up your design, there may be art charges.
- Rush fees: Need them fast? Expect to pay extra for expedited production.
- Special finishes: Metallic inks, puff printing, discharge printing, or other specialty techniques add cost.
When you’re comparing quotes from different screen printers, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. A cheaper quote might be using a lower-quality blank shirt or fewer print colors than what you actually want.
Putting It All Together
The custom t-shirt order process is straightforward once you know what to prepare. Before you contact a printer, gather these details:
- Your deadline (with some buffer built in)
- Exact quantity and sizes needed
- Shirt style, brand preference, and color
- Your artwork files (highest resolution available)
- Number of ink colors and print locations
- Your budget range
Having all of this ready when you reach out makes the quoting process faster and means fewer back-and-forth emails. It also helps your printer flag any potential issues early, like a deadline that’s too tight or artwork that needs work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far in advance should I place my custom t-shirt order?
Three to four weeks before your event date is a solid starting point for most orders. If you already have print-ready artwork, the timeline can be shorter. Large orders (100+ pieces) or orders that still need design work should plan for more lead time. Rush production is sometimes available but typically costs more and limits your options.
What’s the difference between Gildan, Bella+Canvas, and Comfort Colors blanks?
Gildan offers reliable, budget-friendly shirts that work well for large giveaways and events where per-unit cost matters most. Bella+Canvas produces softer, more fitted shirts with a retail feel — popular for merchandise you’re selling or wearing regularly. Comfort Colors shirts are garment-dyed for a broken-in, vintage look and feel right out of the bag. Each serves a different purpose, and our team can help you pick the right one for your project.
Can I mix shirt styles or colors within one order?
Yes, most screen printers can accommodate mixed styles and colors within a single order, though it may affect production scheduling. The main thing to keep in mind is that printing on dark shirts requires an extra underbase layer of white ink, so mixing light and dark garment colors means additional setup. Discuss this with your printer during the quoting process so there are no surprises.
What happens if I don’t have a print-ready design file?
That’s common and completely fine. RiverCity’s in-house art department works with customers every day who are starting from rough concepts, low-resolution images, or hand-drawn sketches. Our designers can recreate your artwork as production-ready vector files. Just factor in extra time for the design phase — usually a few days depending on complexity and revision rounds.
How do I collect accurate sizes from my group?
Get the sizing chart for the specific shirt brand and style you’ve chosen, then share it with your group before collecting preferences. Sizes vary between brands — a medium in Gildan fits differently than a medium in Bella+Canvas. Having people reference the actual measurements prevents the most common sizing complaints on delivery day.
Ready to Order Custom T-Shirts in Central Texas?
RiverCity Screenprinting & Embroidery has been helping customers in San Marcos, Austin, San Antonio, and the entire Central Texas corridor create custom apparel for years. From 24 shirts for your softball team to 2,000 for a corporate event, we walk you through every step.
Got questions about your upcoming order? Request a quote or stop by our shop in San Marcos. We’re happy to help you figure out the details and get your project started right.