You’re outfitting a crew, planning an event, or refreshing your team’s gear, and you need bulk screen printed t-shirts. They have to look sharp and hold up after the tenth wash.
We’ve printed shirts in-house at our Milton, WA shop since 1977. This guide walks you through choosing a blank, hitting your pricing breaks, sizing your group, and getting a design ready for print, so your order comes in on budget and on time.
NW Custom Apparel offers fast, reliable, and professional screen printing services with easy bulk ordering.
Simply upload your design or request our expert design assistance, and we’ll handle the rest!
Screen printing gets cheaper per shirt as your quantity goes up. The setup work, mixing ink and burning screens, gets spread across more pieces, so the cost per shirt drops.
The print also holds up. Plastisol ink on cotton survives 25 to 50+ commercial washes without cracking or fading, which matters if the shirts are headed to a jobsite or a season of practices.
Two things determine your price: the blank shirt cost and the decoration cost. The decoration cost includes a one-time setup fee per screen and a per-piece print charge that drops as your order grows.
DTG and DTF work well for small runs or full-color photo designs, but neither offers a volume discount the way screen printing does. At 100 pieces, screen printing typically runs 40-60% less per shirt than DTG for the same bold, solid-color design. If your logo is one or two colors and your order tops 24 pieces, screen printing is the wholesale screen printing method built for the job.
See our complete comparison on DTG vs. screen printing.
Once you’ve settled on screen printing, the next question is: how many shirts do you need to order?
That number covers every shirt printed with the same design, at the same print size, in the same location, using the same ink colors. You’re free to mix garment sizes and colors within that count. A 48-piece order could be 16 smalls, 20 mediums, and 12 larges, all in different shirt colors, and it still counts as one order.
Our screen-printing process ensures long-lasting, high-quality prints. We offer standard print areas up to 15×17 inches, and for larger designs, our jumbo prints can be as large as 15×23 inches. Whatever your design, it will look sharp, vibrant, and professional.
At 48 pieces, the setup cost for screens, ink mixing, and registration spreads thin enough to keep your per-shirt price reasonable. Below that number, the setup cost gets divided across too few shirts, and the price per piece climbs fast.
Same design, same colors, same placement. Change any of those and you’re looking at a new setup, which resets the minimum. Read our full breakdown on screen printing minimum orders for the details on how mixed designs and multi-location prints affect your count.
If your order sits below 48 pieces,from 24-47 pieces we charge a small batch fee of $50. Even smaller orders, then DTG printing has low minimum of 12 at all, and it’s worth a look for smaller runs.
Your total cost comes down to two line items: the blank garment and the decoration. The decoration includes a setup fee per color on every order.
| Quantity | 1-Color Print | 2-Color Print | 4-Color Print |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 pieces | Higher tier | Higher tier | Higher tier |
| 72 pieces | Mid tier | Mid tier | Mid tier |
| 100 pieces | Mid-low tier | Mid-low tier | Mid tier |
| 250+ pieces | Low tier | Low tier | Mid-low tier |
Pricing tiers vary by blank selection, ink colors, and print locations. Request a free quote for exact numbers on your design.
Adding a handful of shirts to reach the next pricing tier often lowers your total spend, not just your per-shirt cost. A Tacoma school fundraiser we worked with added 4 shirts to move from 96 to 100 pieces, and the total bill came in lower than the 96-piece quote.
Setup fees amortize the same way. A six-color design on 500 shirts costs pennies per shirt in setup once you spread it across the full run.
| Brand & Model | Fabric | Weight (GSM) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gildan Heavy Cotton (G500) | 100% cotton | 180 GSM | Construction crews, budget bulk orders |
| Gildan Softstyle (G640) | Ring-spun cotton | 153 GSM | Schools, events, softer feel |
| Bella Canvas 3001 | Airlume cotton | 145 GSM | Corporate events, retail-style fit |
| Next Level 3600 | Ring-spun cotton | 146 GSM | Premium brand merch, fashion fit |
| Port & Company PC54 | 100% cotton | 150 GSM | Mid-tier all-around workhorse |
100% cotton takes every ink type without issue. Cotton-poly blends need low-bleed plastisol to stop the dye from migrating into your print. Performance fabrics (moisture-wicking polyester) need specialty inks built for synthetic surfaces.
Gildan Heavy Cotton is our most-ordered blank for construction crews and budget-conscious groups. Bella Canvas 3001 and Next Level 3600 show up most on corporate event and company culture orders where the shirt itself is part of the brand experience.
Heavier fabric (180 GSM and up) holds up longer under repeated washing and rough use, which is why it’s the go-to for workwear. Lighter fabric (145-155 GSM) breathes better and drapes softer, which suits events and everyday team wear.
Workwear calls for heavyweight cotton. Events and team gear lean toward ring-spun cotton for a softer hand. Retail-style company merch fits best on Bella Canvas or Next Level. Not sure which one fits your order? See our full blank t-shirt selection guide for a side-by-side breakdown across every decoration method.
Your blank is picked. Now let’s make sure your design plays to screen printing’s strengths.
Read our screen printing ink types guide for a breakdown of plastisol, water-based, and discharge ink, and which fits your fabric and budget.
| Size | % of Order |
|---|---|
| Small | 10% |
| Medium | 20% |
| Large | 30% |
| XL | 25% |
| 2XL | 10% |
| 3XL+ | 5% |
Youth groups run differently. Plan for youth sizes to make up 30-40% of a school or league order, alongside the adult breakdown above.
Order 5-10% extras beyond your headcount. Late sign-ups, replacements, and giveaways come up more often than you’d expect.
Mixing sizes and colors within one order is fine, as long as the print design, colors, and placement stay the same across every piece. Not sure which sizes to pull? Order a free sample on any of our 60+ in-stock styles before you commit to a full run.
You’ve got a blank, a design, and a size breakdown. Here’s exactly how the order moves from here to your door.
Browse our catalog or call and describe your use case. Our team will point you toward the right fabric and weight. Each product comes with clear details on styles, sizes, and colors.
Email sales@nwcustomapparel.com or fill the form with a vector file, style numbers, quantity, size breakdown, location, and deadline. Expect a quote back within one business day.
We'll send color separation, print placement, and Pantone matches for sign-off. No screen gets burned without your written approval.
Standard turnaround is 10 business days from proof approval. Orders ship UPS anywhere in Washington, or pick up locally at our Milton showroom.
See our full order process breakdown and shipping and delivery policy for more detail on timelines.
Hear from our satisfied clients who have made us their go-to provider for bulk screen printed Tees and have seen the difference quality makes.
Still have questions? We’ve answered the ones we hear most below.
Our minimum is 48 pieces per design. That covers any mix of sizes and shirt colors, as long as the print design, ink colors, and placement stay the same across the order. Orders below 48, from 24-47 pieces we charge a small batch fee of $50. For even smaller orders work well with DTG printing, which has low minimum of 12.
Cost depends on your blank choice, number of ink colors, and print locations. At 100 pieces, per-shirt cost typically lands in the lowest pricing tier we offer, since setup fees spread across more units. Request a free quote with your design details for an exact number.
Yes. As long as the print design, ink colors, and placement are identical, you’re free to mix garment sizes and shirt colors within a single order.
It depends on your use case. Gildan Heavy Cotton suits workwear and budget orders, Bella Canvas 3001 and Next Level 3600 suit corporate and retail-style merch, and Gildan Softstyle fits schools and events looking for a softer feel. See our blank t-shirt guide for a full comparison.
Standard turnaround is 10 business days from proof approval to completion. Sample turnaround runs 3-5 business days if you request a physical sample first.
Yes, rush service is available. It fits best when your deadline is tight and your design is straightforward. Call 253-922-5793 to check current rush availability for your quantity and timeline.
Vector files work best: AI, EPS, or PDF. If you only have a raster image, send it at 300 DPI or higher. See our artwork preparation guide for full file specs.
Yes. We ship UPS to any Washington address, or you’re welcome to pick up locally at our Milton showroom, Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Don’t wait! Start by browsing our catalog and filling out the order form to get a custom quote for your bulk screen-printed t-shirts. Our team is here to help every step of the way.
