Ah, the classic t-shirt. There’s not a garment out there that has the comfort and feel of one. Affordable and long-lasting, t-shirts are a common staple in dresser drawers around the world. And while it’s a simple piece of clothing, there is a lot more to a t-shirt than one might initially think. Among the topics we’ll cover in this article are:
- Pricing
- Customization
- Weight (yes, weight)
How Custom Tees are Priced:
You’re looking to buy cheap custom t-shirts but are unsure of what a fair price to pay should be. Here’s how we do it at Good Guys Signs. We factor in four main things that determine how we price shirts. There are the screens with which to precisely lay the print down, the ink that will be the graphics on a cheap t-shirt, labor to print and fold, and the actual shirt cost. Those are the primary factors that help us determine the price we sell shirts for.
In a nutshell, for economy-priced, custom-printed shirts, you are paying to imprint the shirt and for the cost of the shirt.
T-shirt Pricing Example:
Were you to purchase 12 shirts with two colors on the front and two on the back, that means we have to use four different inking screens for the job. The cost on our end for making screens is $15 per screen. For this “2/2” job, our real cost is $60 just to make the screens. If this $60 of cost is only spread out over 12 shirts, each shirt costs us $5 just to make the screens. If this same design is spread over 36 shirts instead, then the math is friendlier for the buyer. $60/36 shirts = $1.67 per shirt for screens. The math works the same for setting up the press. If $15 in labor is needed to set up a t-shirt printing press for your printed design, the more shirts you spread the cost over, the cheaper and cheaper the cost per shirt becomes. Ink and labor are pretty uniform, so those 2 variables—the number of screens and setting up the press—have the most impact on your cheap custom tee’s price.
Obviously, as you buy more shirts, the price per shirt gets cheaper and cheaper to imprint. Once you have the imprint price, we add the shirt cost to the imprint price to come to your final price.
Custom Company T-Shirts:
There are varying reasons to have custom t-shirts for your company. The first is that a t-shirt with your business name and logo is your brand. Even when you aren’t at the workplace, wearing that custom tee is advertising; it’s promotion of your company. It’s a free method with which to “broadcast” your business. You put your brand in the minds of potential clients. By wearing your company shirt as opposed to street clothes, you will earn sales where you otherwise would not.
Also, a business with non-uniformed employees appears unprofessional to many customers. It can have a rag-tag feel. You went as far as to start a business, so follow through with a professional appearance whenever you interact with people.
Finally, there is something to be said for the psychology of wearing branded t-shirts in the workplace. Check out this article about ways a uniformed staff brings about so many positives for your company.
Customization of T-Shirts Have you seen a plain, logo-less blank t-shirt? That’s rhetorical. Why not stand out from the herd? Do you have a favorite music group? Animal? Car? Customizing your torso garment with a design gives you personality and individuality. A customized tee signals to the world what you’re passionate about, what your company is, or the message you want to send to people.
Available Styles of Cheap T-Shirts:
We sell several different styles of cheap t-shirts. For a list of the ones we sell, click here.
People tend to describe t-shirts based on how the different fabrics feel and which ones are better than others. For example, someone might say about tri-blend tees, “This shirt is awesome. The fabric is super soft.” Another person might say about a cotton shirt, “This has a good, thick feel to it. Very sturdy.”
Different fabrics and thicknesses will feel different to the touch. Fabrics that we carry are:
- Cotton
- Polyester / Synthetic performance wicking
- Cotton/Poly Blends
Click here to learn more about these fabrics and how they feel to the touch.
With the contract printing work we do for many companies, we have become versed in the fact that the brand Gildan is the most popular t-shirt for bulk orders. On goodguyssigns.com, we have chosen a collection of shirt styles that are almost always available.
T-Shirts Weight:
You may never have put thought into the weight of t-shirts. You may never have had to. But certain factors do come into play with regard to weight. T-shirt weight is measured in ounces per square yard of material. A shirt that is listed at a weight of 3 ounces will be half the total weight of a t-shirt that is listed at 6 ounces, regardless of whether it’s a kids small shirt or a men’s 5X.
T-shirts, on the light end, run around 3 ounces. More standard tees weigh in at about 5 ½ ounces. Heavier, thicker t-shirts are between 6 and 7 ounces.
Certain scenarios will determine the choice of weight. For example, if you will be wearing your custom shirt in a warmer climate, then lighter is better. A heavier t-shirt has a higher perceived value, and that perception might ding your wallet harder than a lightweight shirt. Again, consider the situation. For example, maybe you’re buying a dozen tees for employees who will be participating in a 5K charity run. A shirt that is lighter and moisture-wicking is the play in this situation.
Customizable Area to Print-
The imprint area on a cheap custom t-shirt is a little more than a foot wide and about 1 ½ feet in height. The imprint area will be affected by the size of the shirt. The bigger the shirt, the larger is its imprint surface area. That space will conversely be smaller on petite ladies’ and children’s tees.
How to Order Custom Cheap T-Shirts:
Many customers want to purchase just one shirt or a couple. Those people would ask the question, “What styles are available for no minimum printing?” With silk screen printing, the setup process is timely and costly depending on the number of colors desired, as mentioned earlier in the article. Print shops like ours, and most others out there who do print via silk screen, generally have a minimum number of shirts for an order. To be totally transparent, our minimum number for an order is 12 shirts.
How Soon:
One of the two questions we get asked is how soon our products will get to customers. No matter how many custom t-shirts you order, no matter how many colors you want in your print, we guarantee your shirts will arrive at your door within two weeks of the order being placed. We are located in Tampa, Florida. Depending on your proximity, the timetable to get your product to you varies. The closer you are to the southeast U.S., the sooner you will receive your shirts. But, to reiterate, no matter where you are in the country, two weeks will be the absolute longest you’d wait for your order to get to you.
In Closing:
There’s the lowdown on cheap custom t-shirts. Should you still have questions or are ready to place an order, we are here for you. Give us a call at (800) 614-8040, or head to our website at www.goodguyssigns.com. We’ve been in the shirt printing business for a while. You’ll be thrilled with our pricing, speed, and overall service. We look forward to helping you out with shirts, banners, yard signs, and more.
