Caps Buying Guide

Contents

Why Buy Custom Caps

Custom caps are one of the most popular forms of promotional apparel, because hats are such an effective promotional tool: your brand will get seen hundreds of times with just one cap. Multiply that by the number of caps you purchase and distribute, and your brand will gain tremendous exposure with just a single order of promotional caps.

What’s more, hats are versatile giveaways. Caps are ideal for both employee appreciation events and customer giveaways. A cap with the school’s logo is great for sports teams, special events or a booster club.

Finally, caps provide persistent impressions over time. Because people wear caps often and keep them for years, imprinted or embroidered caps are a great idea as part of your long-term promotional strategy.

When and Where to Use Caps

Seasonal Promotions: Caps make excellent promotional gifts for spring or summer giveaways.
Outdoor Events: Trying to think of giveaways ideas for the company picnic or ways of promoting outdoor events? Use your (and their) heads!
Booster Clubs: Year after year, student athletic organizations use caps for booster club fundraising, player appreciation events, and more.
Sports Teams: Similarly, intramural and recreation league teams promote team spirit through caps and their other sports promotional products.
Charitable Organization and Fundraisers: Caps are consistently one of the most popular custom products for non profit organizations.
New Employee Welcome: Welcome new hires to the team with a cap customized with your company logo.
Schools: Caps are consistently popular education promotional products.
Private Events: People hosting their own private events can create customized caps with graphics and messaging, ranging from Super Bowl parties to baby showers. Caps are also very popular custom wedding favors.
Food Service Uniforming: Casual dining bars and restaurants use personalized hats as part of their employee uniforms.
Fraternities and Sororities: Caps are frequently customized as Greek products for fraternities and sororities.

Things to Consider When Buying Custom Caps

Panels: Both 5-panel and 6-panel caps are available. A 5-panel cap features a flat front panel reinforced with buckram, a stiff cotton that stiffens the panel and offers an unbroken imprint area for silkscreened graphics. A 6-panel cap has a seam that runs down the center of the forehead, giving the cap a more relaxed fit and lower profile.

Imprint method: You can customize caps by either embroidering or silkscreening graphics. Both silkscreen and embroidery are available for many of our caps, so be sure to check the item description to determine which method is used by default.

Silkscreen and heat transfer are great options for 5-panel caps since these hats provide an uninterrupted imprint area. It’s also important to keep in mind that in the silkscreen process, especially on a dark-colored cap, some colors may be susceptible to bleed-through and not show up as well.
Embroidery creates a higher perceived value on hats, meaning your promotional cap will become a fast favorite and a visible way to promote your brand. Embroidery adds the polished, high-quality look you want as part of your employee or team uniform. If your logo or message is color- or graphics-heavy, keep in mind that embroidery has detail limitations compared to silkscreen.

Types: Four types of caps are available:

Flexfit Caps: Fitted caps with an elastic band designed to stretch snugly around most heads. Flexfit caps have a higher perceived value, making them ideal for corporate gifts and customer appreciation items.
Performance Caps: Designed to wick moisture away from the wearer’s head, making them perfect for sports and other active uses.
Structured Caps: Stiff buckram in the crown of the cap provides an ample imprint area.
Unstructured Caps: A lower-profile, more casual cap.

Brands: Under Armour New Era and Nike are just a few of the retail name brands availble in custom caps. Find them using the Brand filter located on the left when browsing our personalized caps.

Made in USA: Want to buy American? Take a look at our Made in the USA selection.

Price: Pricing for most of our caps falls between $6 and $10, plus we offer budget-friendly options available for less than $5 each for giveaways. For an appreciation or employee thank-you event, high-end caps are available for sale as well. You can set the parameters for a certain price per using the Price filter on the left while browsing our custom caps.

Materials: Choose from breathable brushed cotton twill, light wool (the preferred material of MLB), moisture-wicking polyester and more, plus our caps often come with cotton inner sweatbands and grommets for ventilation. The mesh cap, also known as a “trucker’s cap,” features a polyester front panel and ventilating nylon mesh for the rest of the crown. Looking for a specific material? Use the Material filter on the left while browsing our custom caps.

Sizing: Most adjustable caps are one-size-fits-most. If you have a concern over sizing, be sure to request a sample beforehand.

Quantity: While some higher-end caps have required minimums as low as 5 pieces, and the ultra-budget models require as many as 200 pieces, most of our caps have minimum quantities between 48 and 72 pieces.

Production Time: Standard production time for most caps is 10 days; actual production time will vary based on the quantity ordered and decoration method. If you need your caps in less time, make sure to opt for rush production and include your required delivery date. We will make every effort to accommodate your request.