Key takeaways
- Embroidery wins on polos, caps, jackets and outerwear that have to look sharp for years.
- Screen printing wins on tees, large runs and big art like full back prints.
- We digitize your logo in house and show you the stitched result on a proof first.
- Stitch count drives embroidery cost, so a left chest logo costs far less than a jacket back.
- Thread comes in set colors, so we match your brand colors to the closest thread on the proof.
- Apparel minimums are 12 garments for one color and 24 for two, with 7 to 10 business day turnaround.
Where embroidery wins
Embroidery sews your logo into the garment with thread. Nothing sits on top to crack or fade. That makes it the right call for:
- Polos and button downs for sales staff, office teams and anyone meeting customers.
- Hats. Caps are curved and structured, and a stitched logo holds its shape there in a way ink can't.
- Jackets, quarter zips and outerwear that get worn for years.
- Aprons and chef coats that go through hot washes every week.
Stitching also just looks more expensive. A small embroidered logo on a good polo says established business. For anything that represents you face to face, it's usually worth it. See what we stitch on the embroidery page.
Where screen printing wins
Screen printing lays ink on the surface. It's fast at volume, light on the body and cheap per piece once the count climbs. It's the right call for:
- Tees for daily wear, especially in Texas heat where a light shirt matters.
- Large runs. Setup is spread across every shirt, so 200 tees cost far less each than 24.
- Big art. A full back print with your name and phone number would take a huge stitch count. Ink handles it easily.
- Event, volunteer and spirit shirts where budget leads.
For printed shirts, our screen printing page covers garments and options, and the screen printing vs DTG vs DTF guide explains when a full color method fits better.
| Factor | Embroidery | Screen printing |
|---|---|---|
| Best garments | Polos, caps, jackets, aprons | Tees, hoodies, event shirts |
| Best quantity | Any run past the minimum | Larger runs, cheapest at volume |
| Art size | Small logos, chest and hat | Big art, full backs |
| Look and feel | Raised, premium, textured | Flat, light, soft |
| Durability | Years of washes, no cracking | Lasts the life of the shirt |
| Cost driver | Stitch count and garment | Number of colors and quantity |
| Setup | Digitized stitch file | One screen per color |
What each kind of team usually picks
- Construction and trade crews: screen printed tees in a bright color for the field, embroidered caps, and embroidered jackets or polos for owners and estimators.
- Offices and real estate teams: embroidered polos and quarter zips. A screen printed tee for the company event or the community day.
- Restaurants: embroidered aprons and hats for the kitchen and front of house, screen printed tees with a big back print for staff and merch.
- Schools and booster clubs: embroidered polos for staff and coaches, screen printed spirit tees for students and parents. Our school and booster club print guide covers spirit stores too.
Digitizing, handled in house
An embroidery machine can't read a JPG or a PDF. The logo has to be converted into a stitch file that tells the machine where every stitch goes. That step is called digitizing, and our designers do it in house.
Good digitizing is where a logo either holds or turns to mush. We thicken lines that are too thin to sew, simplify detail that won't hold at hat size, and set the stitch direction so fills look clean. As a general rule, text much smaller than a quarter inch tall gets hard to read in thread.
You see the stitched layout on a proof before anything runs. Proofs come back in 1 to 2 business days. Send your best logo file, ideally vector. Our print ready files guide lists what works.
Stitch count basics
Embroidery is priced mostly on stitch count, because more stitches means more machine time. A few general rules:
- A typical left chest logo, around 3.5 to 4 inches wide, often lands somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 stitches.
- Solid filled shapes add stitches fast. Outlines and open lettering use far fewer.
- Hat fronts are usually about 2 to 2.5 inches tall, so very detailed logos need simplifying.
- Full jacket backs can run many times the stitches of a chest logo, which is why they cost more.
Easy ways to keep the count down: drop the background box behind the logo, let the garment color show through, and keep the logo at a normal chest size. Your exact price is quoted on the ticket by quantity, garment and logo size.
Matching thread to your logo
Ink can be mixed to a color. Thread can't. It comes in set colors from thread charts, so we match each brand color to the closest thread. If your colors are Pantone numbers, send them on the ticket and the match gets tighter.
- Gradients and soft shadows don't stitch. We flatten them to solid colors.
- Very similar shades can blur together in thread. Sometimes two close colors become one.
- Metallic and bright specialty threads exist when the logo calls for them.
- Logo color on a dark garment may need a different thread than on a white one to look the same.
The proof shows the thread colors we plan to use, so nothing surprises you on the finished shirt.
The garment matters as much as the method
A great logo on a cheap shirt still looks cheap. Pick the garment with the job in mind:
- Thin performance polos take embroidery well with the right backing, but big solid fills can pucker the fabric. Keep the logo open and chest sized.
- Heavy cotton tees hold a screen print beautifully and survive a lot of jobsite washes.
- Dark or heather colors hide dirt and sweat better on field crews than white or light gray.
- Structured caps show a logo better than soft, unstructured ones.
- High visibility safety shirts are usually printed, since the fabric is light and the art is often large.
Tell us how the crew works, where they wear it and how often it gets washed. We'll suggest garments that fit the budget and the use.
Mixing both on one uniform program
Most good uniform programs use both methods. A simple setup for a crew of 20:
- Screen printed tees for daily wear, a few per person, logo on the chest and name and phone on the back.
- Embroidered caps for everyone.
- Embroidered polos for anyone who runs estimates or meets clients.
- Embroidered jackets for winter and for the owner.
Keep one logo across all of it. Approve the vector art for printing and the stitch file for embroidery once, on the same ticket, so the logo looks the same on a tee and a cap. Reorders and new hires are simple when the files are already approved.
Pair the uniforms with matching jobsite signs and truck decals and the whole crew reads as one brand. The yard signs for contractors guide covers that side.
Minimums, timing and payment
- Minimums: 12 garments for one color, 24 for two colors.
- Proof: 1 to 2 business days after you open the ticket.
- Turnaround: 7 to 10 business days from proof approval and payment, with rush down to 1 to 2 days.
- Price: quoted on the ticket by quantity, garment and logo size.
- Payment: cash, check or card. Net 15 or 30 terms for approved organizations. Tax exempt schools and churches are handled on the ticket.
No logo yet? Logo design is $250 flat. Open a job ticket with your garment list and we'll come back with a plan.