Production, stage 2 of 4

Decoration in our own production

Decoration puts your logo on the garment in thread, in ink, in cut vinyl or as a sewn-on patch. It starts once you approve the design. Every decorated piece then goes on to a hand check before it's packed.

Seven methods offeredOne fee per method per pieceFrom 15 pieces

A bright print room with frosted windows, heat presses in the foreground and racks of finished tees and hoodies behind, while operators work the presses — Illustrative image.

Embroidery, from stitch file to raised mark

A gray-haired woman in linen pulls a navy cone from a wall of thread cones sorted from rust and cream to deep blue, while colleagues look along the wall — Illustrative image.

We hoop the garment first. That means clamping it flat in a frame, with a stabilizing backing behind the stitch area. The machine runs the stitch file one thread color at a time and stops to change thread between colors.

After the run, we trim the jump threads and clear the excess backing from the inside. A left-chest mark comes out as 5,000 to 12,000 stitches of raised satin stitch. Caps can also take 3D embroidery, where the satin stitch wraps over a raised base. Thread colors and placements are on the custom embroidery page.

How a DTF print goes on

A printer lays the design onto clear film, with a white layer behind the color so it holds on dark fabric. While the ink is wet, adhesive powder bonds to the printed areas. The film then cures under heat, which melts the powder into an even layer.

A heat press transfers the print to the garment, and the film peels away. The finish sits smooth and flush with the fabric. Our DTF prints carry a rating of 50-plus washes without cracking.

DTG and vinyl heat transfer

For DTG, the garment lies flat on a platen while the printer puts full-color ink straight into the fabric. We don't publish a wash rating for DTG.

For vinyl heat transfer, a plotter cuts the design from a sheet of vinyl, and someone weeds away the excess by hand. A heat press then bonds what's left to the garment. Vinyl suits names and numbers, or a mark in one or two colors.

Screen printing and sewn-on patches

Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh screen, with one screen for each color. Ask us which garments suit it, and we'll price it within one business day.

We sew patches onto caps and beanies. Sublimation is on our list too, but it only takes on polyester and none of our eight garments is polyester, so for full color on our pieces we print DTF or DTG instead.

Each method has its own fee and garment list.

A method's fee is the same however many places it covers on a piece, and each method page lists that fee along with the garments the method suits.

Questions we get about decoration

Can one piece carry two decoration methods?

Yes. A tee can take a DTF print on the front and vinyl on the back, and each method adds its own fee to the piece.

Which decoration lasts longest?

Embroidery, because the thread is permanent and outlives the garment. A DTF print carries a rating of 50-plus washes without cracking, and we publish no wash rating for DTG or vinyl.

Do more colors cost more?

No. There's no per-color charge on any method, and one fee covers a method wherever it appears on the piece.