Minimum Order Quantities, Explained

Minimums are the first thing that stops people from ordering custom apparel, and they're widely misunderstood. They aren't a sales tactic to push you into a bigger order. They're a consequence of how each decoration process works - and because the processes differ, so do the minimums.

Here's what ours are, why they exist, and what to do when you need fewer pieces than the number. For the broader cost picture, our guide to what custom shirts actually cost covers how minimums interact with pricing.

Our minimums by method

Why minimums exist

Take screen printing. Before the first shirt is printed, someone separates the artwork by color, coats and exposes a screen for each one, washes it out, dries it, mounts it on press, registers it against the other screens, mixes ink to match, and prints a test until it's right.

That's the same work for 6 shirts or 600. On 600 shirts it's a rounding error per piece. On 6 shirts it costs more than the shirts.

A minimum is simply the point below which the setup work stops making economic sense for either of us. We could technically print 6 shirts by screen - you wouldn't want the invoice.

Embroidery works the same way, with digitizing and machine setup instead of screens. Dye sublimation requires an actual cut-and-sew production run, which is why its minimum is highest.

DTF is the exception, and it's why small orders became viable. No screens, no digitizing, no setup at all. Print the film, press the garment. That's why our DTF minimum is 1 piece while screen printing sits at 24 pieces.

If you need fewer pieces than the minimum

Five options, roughly in order of how often they work:

1. Switch to DTF. The most common answer. If you need 15 shirts and screen printing starts at 24 pieces, DTF handles it with no setup cost and no color limit. On small runs it's usually cheaper anyway - we break down the economics here.

2. Combine with another order. If three departments each need 15 shirts with the same logo, that's one 45-piece order, not three under-minimum ones. Different sizes and even different garment colors are usually fine within a single run as long as the design is identical.

3. Round up and hold inventory. If the minimum is 24 and you need 18, ordering 24 often costs barely more in total than a small-run alternative - and you have six spares for new hires, replacements, or the person who spills coffee on theirs. For anything with a logo that isn't changing, this is rarely wasted money.

4. Mix garment types on one design. The minimum applies to the print run, not to a single garment style. 12 tees and 12 hoodies with the same design is a 24-piece screen print job, not two jobs of 12.

5. Just ask. Minimums aren't arbitrary but they aren't sacred either. If you're an existing customer, if this is a sample run ahead of a larger order, or if it's a reorder from stored screens, there's often flexibility. The worst outcome is we say no.

Minimums per size and per color

Two related questions that come up constantly:

Sizes. No minimum per size. A 48-piece order can be 6 S, 18 M, 15 L, 7 XL, 2 2XL. Order your actual size curve, not a round number spread evenly - you'll waste fewer shirts.

Garment colors. Multiple garment colors within one print run are generally fine, but each color change on press costs a bit of time, so very small quantities per color can affect pricing. Two colors across 48 pieces is routine. Eight colors across 48 pieces gets inefficient.

Design changes are different. Two genuinely different designs are two separate setups, even in one order. 24 shirts with the front logo and 24 with a different front logo is two 24-piece jobs. This one catches people, so flag it early if your order has multiple designs.

A note on reorders

Reorders often clear minimums more easily than first orders. Screens can be reburned from stored separations and embroidery stitch files never expire, so a portion of the setup work is already done.

If you're reordering a design we've run before, tell us - the quantity that works may be lower than the published minimum, and you shouldn't be paying digitizing or art charges a second time.

The straight answer

If you need fewer than 24 pieces, ask about DTF. If you need fewer than 12, ask anyway - tell us the quantity and what it's for and we'll tell you whether we can do it and what it'll cost, rather than pointing you at a policy page.