We’ve printed shirts for a lot of groups over the years — company events, restaurant staffs, nonprofits, running clubs, school fundraisers, bands. And the orders that go smoothly almost always have one thing in common: someone got organized early.
The ones that get stressful? Usually it’s the same handful of problems: sizes submitted at the last minute, artwork that isn’t print-ready, a deadline that snuck up on everyone. None of it is hard to avoid. You just have to know what to plan for.
Here’s what we actually tell people when they reach out for the first time.
Get Your Numbers Together Before Anything Else
The most common thing that derails a shirt order is waiting too long to collect sizes. People say they’ll respond and then don’t. Deadlines slip. Suddenly you’re guessing, and guessing on shirt sizes means someone ends up with something that doesn’t fit — or you’re paying for a small reorder at full price.
Give people a firm deadline to submit their size, and don’t wait on stragglers. If you’re ordering for a group that can’t nail down exact numbers, a general size curve works as a starting point: roughly 20% small, 35% medium, 30% large, and 15% XL and up. Lean slightly heavier on medium and large — that’s where most groups land.
And always add 5–10% extra to your order. Someone will forget to submit a size. Someone will shrink a shirt. It happens on almost every group order we do, and adding a few extras upfront costs a lot less than a separate reprint later.
For more on how larger runs are structured, see our bulk printing services page.
Your Artwork Situation Matters More Than People Expect
We can work with a lot of different file types, but clean vector artwork — AI, EPS, or a properly exported PDF — is what gets your order proofed fastest. If you’re sending a PNG or JPEG, it needs to be at least 300 dpi at the actual print size. A logo grabbed from a website is almost always too low-resolution to use as-is.
When artwork needs cleanup or rebuilding, it adds time. We’ll always let you know before we start, but it’s worth asking your designer for a vector file before you reach out to us — it speeds everything up.
One thing people don’t always think about: the design that looks great on a screen or business card sometimes needs to be simplified for a shirt. Fine lines can fill in with ink. Small text can be hard to read. We review every file before proofing and flag anything that’s going to cause problems — but the cleaner your artwork comes in, the faster things move.
Always Review a Proof Before You Approve
We send a digital proof before we print anything, and we mean it when we say look it over carefully. Check the placement, the colors, the sizing, and — yes — the spelling. It sounds obvious, but typos in artwork get caught at the proof stage or they get printed on 60 shirts. Once ink hits fabric, that’s the order.
If something looks off on the proof, say so. That’s exactly what the proof is for.
Build More Time Into Your Schedule Than You Think You Need
Our standard turnaround is 10–14 business days from approved proof. Working backward from there, a comfortable planning window for most orders is about six weeks total — two weeks to finalize artwork and sizes, two weeks for production, and two weeks of buffer in case anything needs to be adjusted.
That buffer gets used more often than not. Someone wants to change the design. A garment style is backordered. Revisions take an extra round. The groups that build in extra time are the ones that show up to their event without stress.
Spring events, summer activities, and back-to-school periods tend to book up fast. If your deadline falls in one of those windows, reaching out earlier than you think you need to is worth it. We do offer rush options when they’re available, but standard lead times give you the most flexibility.
Pick One Person to Make Decisions
This is a small thing that makes a big difference. When too many people are approving artwork or weighing in on colors, things slow way down. If you’re organizing a group order, designate one person to be the point of contact — someone who can sign off on the proof and communicate changes without a committee meeting.
We’ve had orders where four people had to approve the proof and it took two weeks to get a green light. We’ve had orders where one person reviewed it in an hour and we were printing the same day. The difference isn’t the artwork — it’s the process.
The Shirt Itself Affects How the Print Looks
Not all blanks are equal, and the fabric you choose changes the feel of the finished print. A heavier 100% cotton shirt like a Gildan Heavy Cotton gives you a bright, opaque print. A softer tri-blend with polyester produces a slightly more muted, vintage look — which some people love and some people don’t expect.
We stock economy, standard, and premium blanks across a range of styles. If you’re not sure which garment fits your project, we’re happy to talk it through. The Bella+Canvas 3001 is one of our most popular choices for company and event shirts — soft, well-fitting, and takes ink beautifully. For work crews or situations where durability matters more than softness, we’ll point you somewhere different.
You can explore our screen printing services to see the options we work with most.
A Simple Checklist for Getting Started
- Set a firm deadline for collecting sizes from your group
- Get your artwork in vector format if possible
- Decide on garment style and color before submitting
- Build in at least 6 weeks from start to event date
- Pick one person to review and approve the proof
- Order 5–10% more than you think you need
Once you’ve been through the process once, it becomes straightforward. The main thing is just getting started earlier than feels necessary — because it usually is necessary.
If you’re ready to get a quote or just want to talk through your project first, reach out here. We’re easy to work with.
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