If you're looking to create custom T-shirts for a business, club, team, event or simply for yourself, one of the first questions you're likely to ask is: how much does custom T-shirt printing cost?
The answer depends on a few things — particularly the size of your design, the number of print positions, the T-shirt you choose and how many you need.
At Varsity 1827, we offer professional custom T-shirt printing using DTF (Direct to Film) printing, with no minimum order.
That means you can order a single printed T-shirt if that's all you need, or talk to us about producing tens, hundreds or more.
Here's what determines the price.
What affects the cost of custom T-shirt printing?
The overall price of a custom printed T-shirt is generally made up of two elements:
The cost of the T-shirt + the cost of printing it.
The printing cost itself will depend primarily on the size and number of prints required.
So a small logo printed on the chest will generally cost less than a T-shirt featuring a small chest logo and a large graphic across the back.
Let's look at the main factors.
1. The size of your print
Print size is one of the biggest factors affecting the cost of DTF printing.
A small company logo on the left chest requires considerably less printed material than a large design covering much of the back of a T-shirt.
Typical print applications might include:
- Small left-chest logo
- Centre-chest logo
- Large front graphic
- Large back print
- Sleeve logo
- Individual name or number
You don't necessarily need to know the exact dimensions before asking us for a quote.
Send us your artwork, tell us roughly where you'd like it positioned and we can recommend an appropriate size.
2. How many positions are being printed?
Every separate print position adds to the overall cost.
For example, you might want:
Company logo — left chest
Large graphic — back
Website address — sleeve
That's three separate print applications.
Alternatively, a simple T-shirt with one logo on the chest only requires a single print position and will therefore cost less to produce.
When asking for a quote, it's useful to tell us not only what you'd like printed, but where you'd like each element positioned.
3. The T-shirt you choose
The blank T-shirt itself is another important part of the final price.
Not all T-shirts are the same.
There are inexpensive everyday options, heavier-weight garments, organic cotton T-shirts, performance fabrics and premium products with significantly different fabric weights, fits and finishes.
For some projects, a straightforward T-shirt may be exactly what's required.
For others, particularly merchandise or branded clothing where the garment itself is part of the proposition, we'd recommend investing in a more premium product.
If you don't know which T-shirt to choose, tell us:
What it's for
Who will be wearing it
The look you're trying to achieve
Your approximate budget
We can then suggest suitable options.
4. How many T-shirts do you need?
Quantity can affect the overall cost per garment.
Producing a larger number of T-shirts with the same artwork creates efficiencies compared with producing each garment individually.
However, that doesn't mean you need to order in bulk.
At Varsity 1827, there is no minimum order quantity for our custom print and embroidery services.
If you only need one T-shirt, we'll print one.
If you need 100, we can do that too.
What is DTF printing?
DTF stands for Direct to Film.
Your artwork is printed onto a specialist film before being transferred to the garment using heat and pressure.
The process allows us to reproduce detailed designs, fine lines and multiple colours on a wide variety of garments.
DTF works particularly well for T-shirts because it can reproduce artwork that would be difficult or impractical to embroider, especially larger designs and detailed graphics.
It's also well suited to smaller production quantities.
Does the number of colours affect the price?
One of the advantages of DTF printing is that the price isn't determined in the same way as traditional screen printing, where each additional colour can require additional setup.
That means a full-colour logo isn't necessarily dramatically more expensive to produce than a simple one-colour design.
This gives you considerably more creative freedom.
If your brand identity contains several colours, you don't necessarily need to simplify the artwork purely for production reasons.
Can I order just one custom printed T-shirt?
Yes.
You don't need to order 10, 25, 50 or 100 T-shirts to use our printing service.
There is no minimum order.
This can be particularly useful if you're:
- Creating a one-off T-shirt
- Testing a design
- Starting a new brand
- Producing a sample before a larger order
- Replacing a single club or team garment
- Ordering clothing for a very small business
- Creating something for an event or occasion
If you later decide you need more, we can reproduce the design for a larger order.
Is it cheaper to print more T-shirts?
Generally, yes.
Although we're happy to produce individual garments, larger quantities can benefit from production efficiencies.
So if you know you'll eventually need 30 T-shirts, it will usually make more sense to produce them together rather than placing 30 individual orders.
But we don't require you to order more garments than you actually need simply to reach a minimum quantity.
Is DTF printing cheaper than embroidery?
It depends on the artwork and the garment.
A small company logo on a polo shirt or quarter-zip may be ideally suited to embroidery.
A large graphic across the back of a T-shirt will almost certainly make more sense as a print.
For some projects, you can even combine the two techniques.
A club might choose an embroidered crest on the chest with a large printed design on the back, for example.
Rather than deciding purely on price, we'd recommend choosing the decoration method that will produce the best result.
For more information, read our guide: [Embroidery vs Printing: Which Is Best for Your Logo? →]
Can you print T-shirts I already own?
Potentially, yes.
If you already have garments you'd like us to print, get in touch before bringing or sending them to us.
We'll need to consider the fabric, construction and suitability of the garment for the printing process.
There is naturally more risk involved when decorating a customer-supplied garment, particularly if it's expensive or irreplaceable.
If you're thinking of purchasing blank T-shirts specifically to have them printed, we'd recommend speaking to us first.
We can source garments for you and recommend products we know work well with our printing process.
What artwork do I need for T-shirt printing?
The better the artwork, the better the finished result.
Where possible, we'd recommend supplying the highest-quality version of your logo or design available.
Vector artwork is ideal for many logos, while high-resolution artwork may be suitable for more complex graphics.
If you're not sure what type of file you have, don't worry.
Send us the best version available and we'll take a look.
If there's an issue with the artwork, we'll let you know rather than simply printing something that won't produce a good result.
What if I don't have finished artwork?
Talk to us.
You may have a logo but not know how large it should appear on the T-shirt.
You may have several elements that need arranging.
Or you may simply have an idea of what you want the finished garment to look like.
We can advise on what's practical before production begins.
Are custom printed T-shirts worth paying more for?
The cheapest possible blank T-shirt with a print on it isn't always the best value.
The quality of the garment makes a significant difference to how the finished product looks, feels and wears.
This is particularly important when you're creating:
- Company clothing
- Club merchandise
- University society clothing
- Sports team apparel
- Event merchandise
- Retail products
- Premium branded clothing
If people genuinely enjoy wearing the T-shirt, they're far more likely to keep wearing it.
For a business, club or organisation, that makes the garment considerably more valuable than something worn once and forgotten.
How can I keep the cost of custom T-shirt printing down?
There are several ways to make a project more cost-effective without compromising unnecessarily on the finished product.
Keep the number of print positions sensible. A single strong front or back design will cost less than decorating the chest, back and both sleeves.
Order together where possible. If you know you need multiple garments, producing them as one order is generally more efficient.
Choose the right T-shirt. You don't always need the most expensive garment, but choosing purely on price can be a false economy.
Use the right decoration method. Sometimes print is the answer; sometimes embroidery is. We'll advise you if we think there's a better approach.
How do I get an exact price for custom T-shirt printing?
Getting a quote is straightforward.
Send us:
- Your artwork or logo
- The number of T-shirts you require
- Where you'd like the design printed
- Approximately how large you'd like the print
If you haven't chosen a T-shirt yet, that's absolutely fine.
Tell us what you're trying to produce and your approximate budget and we'll recommend suitable garments.
Get a Custom T-Shirt Printing Quote
Whether you need one custom T-shirt or hundreds, Varsity 1827 offers professional DTF printing with no minimum order.
Send us your artwork and tell us what you'd like to create.
We'll advise on the garment, artwork, print size and positioning and provide you with a quote for the finished job.
From one garment to a complete collection.
