Why one shirt quote is double another: what really sets the price of custom apparel

Five decisions set the price before anyone prints

The price of a custom t-shirt or embroidered polo comes down to five things: how many you order, which garment you choose, how the logo is applied, how many places it goes, and how soon you need the boxes. Change any one of those and the per-piece price moves, sometimes a lot. That is why two quotes for what sounds like the same shirt can be far apart: they usually are not quoting the same shirt.

I am Becky Moffett, and we at Qualigraphics have been producing printed and promotional products in Dallas for more than thirty years. Screen-printed t-shirts and embroidered polos are what we are asked for most, and the most common question after the quote goes out is why it is not lower. This guide walks through each cost driver in the order I would explain it across a desk, so you can decide where your money should go.

Why the hundredth shirt costs less than the tenth

Every decorated order has work that happens once, no matter how many pieces follow. For screen printing, a screen is prepared for each ink color and the press is set up and registered before the first shirt is printed. For embroidery, the logo is converted into a stitch file that tells the machine where every stitch goes. That setup effort is roughly the same for twenty shirts or five hundred, so the larger the run, the thinner it is spread across each piece.

This is also why a second small run a month later costs more per shirt than adding those pieces to the first order. If you think more people will join the team, or that sizes will need swapping, it is usually cheaper to order a modest number of spares up front than to reorder. I would rather talk a client into a few extra mediums today than quote a rushed reorder of six shirts in three weeks.

Quantity also affects which options make sense. A very small order of shirts with a multicolor design may be better served by a simpler logo version or by embroidery, while a large order can absorb a more ambitious print without the per-piece price climbing. Tell us the real headcount and the likely spares, and we can show you where the price breaks fall for your specific design.

The blank garment is the price floor

Before any ink or thread, there is the shirt itself. A basic cotton tee, a soft blended tee, a performance polo that wicks moisture, a woven button-down and a quarter-zip pullover all start at very different prices, and within each type there are economy, mid-range and premium brands. The blank often accounts for a large share of the final number, especially on polos and outerwear.

Choose the garment for how it will be used, not just how it looks in a catalog photo. A one-day event shirt that people wear to the park can be a straightforward cotton tee. A polo that sales staff wear to client meetings every week needs to hold its shape and color through many washes, and paying more for that blank is cheaper than replacing faded shirts in six months. Women's cuts, youth sizes and extended sizes are available in most lines, and extended sizes typically cost more because they use more fabric.

• Fabric: cotton, blends and performance polyester price differently
• Brand tier: economy, mid-range and premium lines of the same style
• Style: tee, polo, woven shirt, fleece and outerwear each start higher than the last
• Color: some garment colors cost more than white or basic shades
• Sizing: extended sizes usually carry an upcharge

Ink colors, stitch counts and print locations

Decoration is priced by complexity and by location. In screen printing, each additional ink color means another screen and another pass, so a one-color logo is less expensive than a four-color design. Printing on a dark shirt usually needs a white base layer under the colors so they stay bright, which adds a step. In embroidery, the main factor is the number of stitches: a large, dense logo with filled areas takes longer on the machine and costs more than a small, clean mark.

Each location is its own decoration. A left-chest logo, a full back, a sleeve hit and a name on the back are four separate setups and four separate charges. When budgets are tight, cutting a location usually saves more than downgrading the shirt. If you are unsure which method suits your design, my guide on screen printing or embroidery for company apparel explains where each one shines and where it struggles.

Bags, drinkware and giveaways follow the same rules

Apparel is usually only part of the order. The tote bags, tumblers, pens and lanyards that go with the shirts are priced on the same logic: the item itself, the imprint method, the number of colors in the imprint, the number of sides or positions, and the quantity. Product pages on our site show per-unit price ranges for many items, and those ranges step down as quantity goes up for the same reason shirts do.

Two details move promotional item prices more than people expect. The first is the imprint method: a one-color printed logo, a full-color imprint, an engraving and a laser-etched mark are different processes with different costs, and the right one depends on the material. The second is packaging. Items that arrive in bulk cost less than items individually boxed, wrapped or assembled into kits, which is worth knowing when you plan a gift or an attendee bag. When a client gives me a total budget and a headcount, I work backward from the per-person number and suggest items that fit, rather than starting from a product and hoping the math works.

The line items that surprise people

Some costs only appear once the details are known. If the logo arrives as a small image pulled from a website, it may need to be redrawn before it can be printed or stitched; our design and art team prepares production-ready artwork, and it helps to know early whether that step is needed. It is worth checking whether your logo file is production-ready before you request quotes, because the answer can change both the price and the schedule.

Timing matters too. Our 24-hour rush option is free, which takes production speed off the list of things you pay extra for, but expedited freight to get boxes across the country by a certain day still costs what the carrier charges. Individually folding and bagging shirts, adding hang tags, sorting by department or shipping to several addresses are handling services with their own cost. None of these are hidden fees; they are choices, and a good quote lists them so you can decide.

Comparing two quotes line by line

When quotes differ, lay them side by side and check whether they describe the same order. In my experience, most gaps come from a different blank, a different number of colors or locations, or freight left off one of them. A low quote that assumes a one-color print on an economy tee is not cheaper than a higher quote for a three-color print on a premium shirt; it is a different product.

Ask each supplier to break out the same items so the comparison is fair. Once the specifications match, the remaining difference tells you something real about price and service. At that point, weigh the rest of the picture too: who answers when you call, how proofs are handled and whether the supplier has delivered on time for people like you.

• Garment brand, style number, fabric and color
• Decoration method and number of ink colors or approximate stitch count
• Number and position of decoration locations
• Artwork preparation, if any, and whether a proof is included
• Quantity by size, including any extended-size upcharge
• Packaging, freight and the in-hands date the quote assumes

Where to save without the shirt looking cheap

The goal is a shirt people actually wear, because a shirt in a closet does nothing for your brand. Cutting the wrong thing produces exactly that. Here is where I usually find savings that nobody notices once the shirts are on.

• Reduce ink colors: many logos have a one- or two-color version that prints beautifully
• Drop a location: a strong left-chest mark often does more than a crowded front and back
• Simplify for embroidery: a smaller or less dense version of the logo lowers the stitch count
• Consolidate orders: combining event shirts and staff polos into one schedule can reduce setups
• Order realistic spares up front instead of paying for a small reorder later
• Spend on the garment people touch, and save on extras like individual bagging if they are not needed

What to send so the first quote is the right one

The fastest way to an accurate number is to give us the details that drive it: the garment or the kind of garment you have in mind, the logo file you have, where you want it placed, a rough size breakdown, the quantity and the date the boxes need to be in your hands. If you are not sure about some of it, say so; we will suggest options and price them side by side so you can see what each choice costs.

Our clients are across Dallas–Fort Worth and Houston, and we ship nationally. If the order is tied to an event date, my guide on ordering branded shirts on a deadline covers the timing side of the same decisions. Either way, you should end up with a quote you understand line by line, and a shirt your people are glad to wear.

Questions people ask me