Custom T-Shirts: A Buyer's Guide for Work and Teams

Last Updated: October 24, 2026

Table of Contents

• Custom T-Shirts Compared: Five Garments Side by Side
  • The comparison table
• Custom Work T-Shirts: Matching Fabric Weight to the Job
• Printing and Custom Embroidered T-Shirts: Which Decoration Suits Your Logo
• Logo Placement on T-Shirts: Getting Position and Size Right
• How to Order Custom Workwear Without Costly Mistakes
• What Custom T-Shirts Really Cost: Per-Unit Prices and Hidden Extras
• Sizing, Fit and Care: Keeping Personalised T-Shirts Looking Right
• Frequently Asked Questions

Custom T-Shirts Compared: Five Garments Side by Side

Choosing custom t shirts for a team, a trade business or an event usually comes down to one question: which garment will hold its shape and colour long enough to justify the spend? At Dprintclothing, we have supplied personalised apparel since 2015, and the answer almost always sits in the fabric specification rather than the price tag. Below, we compare five garments from our range on the numbers that actually matter, then work through decoration, placement, ordering and cost.

The comparison table

The spread between the cheapest and dearest garment here is £2.75 per unit. On a run of 100, that is £275, which is often less than the cost of reprinting a batch that shrank or faded. Weight and fibre blend decide how a custom t-shirt behaves after twenty washes, so read those columns before the price column.

Custom Work T-Shirts: Matching Fabric Weight to the Job

Fabric weight is the single best predictor of whether custom work T-shirts survive a real working week. Heavier cotton holds shape and resists transparency; lighter cotton feels cooler but shows wear faster.

For trade teams, we would steer you towards the B&C #E190 at 185gsm or the Russell Classic T at 180gsm.

A common mistake is buying the cheapest garment for a uniform that gets worn five days a week. The saving disappears the moment you replace half the batch inside a year. If you want a collar-based alternative for supervisors, the Printer Prime Polo Shirt is worth a look alongside the tees.

Printing and Custom Embroidered T-Shirts: Which Decoration Suits Your Logo

Decoration choice should follow the artwork, not the other way round. Custom embroidered T-shirts suit compact logos, crests and text up to roughly the size of a palm; printed decoration handles large graphics, gradients and photographic artwork that stitching cannot reproduce.

Embroidery gives a raised, textured finish that reads as premium on polos, jackets and heavier tees. It also survives industrial washing better than most print finishes because the thread sits in the fabric rather than on top of it.

Printing wins on flexibility. Full-colour logos, sponsor blocks and event graphics all reproduce cleanly.

Use the table below as a starting point for matching decoration to the job:

If your logo is embroidered, you can browse the custom embroidered Ultra Cotton long sleeve t-shirt to see how stitching sits on a heavier garment. For printed orders, the Russell Classic T and B&C #E190 both take decoration well because their ring-spun surface is smooth and tight.

Logo Placement on T-Shirts: Getting Position and Size Right

Logo placement on T-shirts follows a small set of conventions, and getting them right makes a modest budget look professional. The standard left chest position sits roughly 7-10cm below the shoulder seam, with the logo centred over the wearer's left chest.

Size matters more than most buyers expect. A left chest logo typically runs 8-10cm wide. A full front print can go to A4 or beyond, and a back print often suits A3. Oversized chest logos look promotional rather than uniform, which is rarely what a trade business wants on client-facing staff.

Placement rules worth writing into your order:

• Left chest for corporate identity, right chest for sponsor or accreditation marks
• Back print for event names, slogans or sponsor rows
• Sleeve prints for small logos, kept under about 6cm
• Never straddle a seam with embroidery; it puckers

How to Order Custom Workwear Without Costly Mistakes

Ordering custom workwear goes wrong in predictable ways, and nearly all of them are avoidable at the artwork stage. The most common is submitting a low-resolution logo, which forces a redraw and delays the whole run.

Work through this checklist before you approve anything:

Russell Classic T →

• Artwork supplied as vector (AI, EPS, SVG) or at 300dpi minimum
• Exact colour references agreed, ideally Pantone for embroidery thread
• Sizing split confirmed against real measurements, not guesses
• Garment, colour and decoration method locked in writing
• Delivery date confirmed against your event or start date
• One sample approved before the full run is released

If you are new to this, our guide on choosing the right custom clothing walks through the wider decision from garment type to order quantity. A common mistake is ordering exactly the headcount with no spares; add a couple of extra units in the middle sizes for replacements and new starters.

What Custom T-Shirts Really Cost: Per-Unit Prices and Hidden Extras

Custom t-shirts cost between £13.19 and £15.94 per unit in our range before decoration, and the extras are where budgets drift.

Most competitors stop at the garment price. The useful number is the landed cost per shirt, garment, decoration, setup and delivery added together and divided by the quantity you actually need.

A single printed tee carries a setup cost that a run of 100 spreads thinly.

Worked example: take the Fruit Of The Loom Valueweight at £13.74 for a 100-unit promotional run.

Three levers move the landed cost most:

• Quantity, setup and delivery dilute as volume rises, so quote at your real number, not a sample.
• Logo positions, each additional position adds decoration cost per unit; a left chest plus a back print is two charges, not one.
• Timing, standard delivery is cheaper than express, and express is the line most often added late when a date was missed.

Bulk discounts apply on larger runs, so it is worth asking for a quote at your real quantity rather than a trial batch.

Sizing, Fit and Care: Keeping Personalised T-Shirts Looking Right

Personalised t-shirts stay looking right when the garment is washed inside out, at low temperature, and never tumble dried on high heat. Heat is what breaks down print adhesives and shrinks cotton.

Ring spun and pre-shrunk cottons, like the B&C #E190, hold their size better through repeated washing.

Care rules that protect decoration:

• Wash at 30°C or lower, inside out
• Avoid fabric conditioner on printed areas; it dulls the finish
• Do not iron directly over embroidery; press from the reverse
• Skip the tumble dryer, or use the lowest setting

If your order spans tees and heavier layers, the custom Gildan hoodies follow the same care logic, and buying both from one supplier keeps colour matching consistent across the kit.

Getting branded clothing right is less about picking the cheapest garment and more about matching fabric, decoration and placement to how the kit will actually be worn. Dprintclothing handles both printing and embroidery in-house, works with Russell, Gildan, B&C and Fruit of the Loom, and offers bulk discounts on larger runs with a free online designer for artwork. Get started with Dprintclothing and build a workwear order that still looks sharp a year from now.

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