Customizing T-Shirts & Polos

You know that custom apparel is a great, cost-effective marketing tool that turns your staff and customers into walking billboards. Good for you! Maybe you need custom shirts for a big event, thank you gifts, or uniforms. Whatever your needs, you want to make sure your shirts become favorites that are worn time and time again. Now comes the hard part, figuring out the best way to customize your t-shirts and polos to make them eye-catching. What is the best imprint method to choose for adding your image? Does it matter what the shirt is made of? How will your imprint feel? Is it possible to print full color photos? Does the style of the shirt affect the imprint you should choose? Find all the answers here.

• Step 1: Choose Your Product

  Deluxe offers a huge selection of brands, colors, sizes and materials to choose from. Whether you want an inexpensive give-away t-shirt or embroidered brand name polos for the C-Suite, you can find what you need using the filtered searches on our site.

• Step 2: Customize

  You’ve chosen your blank canvas, now it’s time to decorate it. Choose from 1000’s of color combinations, imprint areas, and methods. Using Deluxe’s designer tool makes envisioning your finished product easy.

  Customization Overview

  1. Select your item color(s) – What color product do you desire?
  2. Select your imprint location – Where on the item do you want your decoration?
  3. Choose imprint color(s) – What color ink should be used to decorate your products?
  4. Select a production time – Make sure to specify an in-hands date if your order is time-sensitive.
  5. Upload your artwork – Vector art is preferred, but we can accept artwork in any format you have. Learn more about Vector Artwork vs. Raster Artwork

• Step 3: Order & Ship

  Once you’ve submitted your preferences our art team will get to work putting together a virtual proof for your order. Make any changes you want, once the proof is approved it will be printed and shipped. After you’ve added an item to your shopping cart, click the Customize button to customize and pay for your item.

Adding Your Logo, Design, or Image

• 1. Upload Logo, Design, or Image

  If you have a completed design, simply upload it to your order. You will be sent a proof of your design on your product template for approval within 24-48 hours for paid orders.

• 2. Request Design Assistance

  Don’t have a completed design to upload? Don’t worry. Use the clip art in the designer tool to supplement your message. We have graphic designers on staff to answer your questions. Feel free to live chat with our sales team, they can answer most of your questions within minutes.

Customization Options

Embroidery

Embroidery gives a professional polish to your custom polo or golf shirt Deluxe can digitize your logo for you and will send you a photograph of the initial sew-out sample once production begins.

Silkscreen

The most affordable and most versatile imprint method for t-shirts is screen printing. Silkscreen printing can be used on most fabric types and colors. If you need to match a specific PMS color for your logo, screen printing is the only way to go. Screen printing is best for designs with 1-4 colors in them.

Full Color Digital Printing

If you want to print photographs on your t-shirt, then Digital Direct to Garment is the imprint method for you. For best results, choose t-shirts with a high cotton content and light color. When printing digitally on a dark t-shirt a thick layer of white will need to be laid down first for the colors to be visible. This adds thickness to the design. Colors cannot be PMS matched.

Imprint Locations

Where you choose to position your imprint will be determined by how you’re using your custom garment and who your target audience is. Traditionally t-shirts are imprinted on the front and/or back. These large areas make a bold statement and advertise your business broadly. Some audiences, however, prefer more subtle imprint areas. For them the sleeve, shoulder, or bottom left imprint areas offer unexpected opportunities to showcase your brand. Polos are usually embroidered on the left or right chest, but the sleeves and locker patch are becoming more popular as well.

Advantages of Custom Printing

More than 50% of consumers own a custom promotional t-shirt and each shirt garners an average of 2,200 impressions according to Advertising Specialties Institute. As dress codes continue to become more casual and t-shirts become softer and more fashionable, we expect that number to increase. With new materials, new printing methods and new shapes, the possibilities for designing the perfect custom shirt to fit your needs has become virtually limitless. When you need uniforms for your team or apparel that turns customers into brand ambassadors – Deluxe has the style you’re looking for.