Finding the Perfect Plain T-Shirt for your Purpose.
Back in 1977, our reason for printing t-shirts was pretty straightforward. Namely, we printed tees for punk bands in London. A lot of ink has been applied to a lot of cotton since then and now we’re one of the leading bulk printers in the country. These days, our purpose is to provide you with outstanding custom clothing. And there are a variety of reasons why our customers want to print or embroider garments. So, we thought it might be useful to have a look at the main uses for custom t-shirts and how best to match the blank tee to your needs.
Promo T-Shirts
Promo Tees
Now, you could argue that every printed t-shirt is a promotional t-shirt. Because it’s acting as an advertisement as soon as it has your artwork or logo on it. So, what we mean in this context is the freebie. Those shirts you’ve had printed with the express purpose of giving them away to your customers or staff in order to create awareness of your business. It’s a proven and powerful method of raising your company profile and generating interest in your services.
In general, people tend towards cheaper t-shirts for this purpose. By the way, that’s not set in concrete. There’s nothing to stop you buying more expensive items and giving them away for free. It’s dependent on your marketing budget. However, the simple economics of the matter usually dictate that costs have to be controlled. We’ve shown the Fruit of the Loom value weight (code 61-036-0) above but there are plenty of other options in the lower price range.
Work T-Shirts
Work Tops
Staff uniform tees are an excellent idea. After all, they satisfy a number of requirements for a business. Firstly, your people will appreciate being given clothing to wear during work hours instead of having to buy their own. Beyond that, it helps give your company a professional appearance. And customers remember that sort of detail. In terms of choosing a blank shirt, there’s a more mixed approach to company branded working t-shirts. One reason for that is that the type of work and working environment are factors which have to be considered. For example, you may not want a heavyweight tee if you’re toiling away in hot temperatures.
That said, quality and durability are commonly important in this area. These tees are going to see a lot of action, be worn and washed day after day. So, you want something that’s hard wearing. Our example is the Stanley Stella Creator 2 (code STTU169) which is a unisex, standard fitting and reliable quality. And organic cotton which is a sound idea if you want to be seen as a responsible employer. It’s worth noting t-shirts designed to be branded for work are often a poly/cotton mix.
Retail T-Shirts
Retail T-Shirts
Changing tack completely, you may be selling branded clothes direct to the public. That could be your sole business or as a subsidiary line to your core activities. Without doubt, retailing t-shirts can be a lucrative area when you have an attractive brand concept and a good understanding of your market. And it’s that last part, your market, which probably makes this the most varied of our uses for custom t-shirts. Varied, that is, when it comes to choosing the plain shirt upon which to print or embroider your design. The decoration will be your designs and/or logo but the fitting, fabric and style of the base shirt will depend on what appeals to your target market.
Consequently, providing an example is somewhat trickier than with other usages. Although, when selling a product directly, it’s often the case that good quality is high on the priority list. If for no other reason than you can charge more when your brand has a reputation for superior grade goods. And a higher profit margin with a lower volume of sales is a popular business model. Below, we have a high quality, on trend plain Box t-shirt from AS Colour (code 5030). A solid choice for brands that lean toward fashion conscious merchandise.
Sports T-Shirts
Sports Tees
These days, exercise is big business. There seems to be no end to the growth in sports participation and the health and fitness sector. As a result, we’ve seen an increase in the demand for custom branded clothing that’s branded for these type of activities. Clubs, classes, gyms and organisations all recognise the benefit in having t-shirts adorned with their logo or message. Understandably so because these garments foster a sense of purpose, help with motivation and promote the group in question.
Now, standard blank t-shirts will be perfectly fine for some sports and activities. However, others may be better suited to specific performance engineered apparel. Whereas conventional tees are typically made of cotton, sporting shirts often contain polyester and have attributes such as sweat wicking properties. In many instances, they’re soft and lightweight and may contain an element of stretch in the fibre blend. All of which are obvious advantages in a garment intended for workouts, athletic endeavour and so on. There are several well known sports brands who produce such shirts but they may not be ideal when you want your branding to be the stand-out feature. So, instead of one of those, we’ve picked the Neutral Certified Responsibility Performance t-shirt (code R81001) which comes in male and female options.
Uses for Custom T-shirts
What you want from your t-shirt printing and embroidery may not be exactly the same as above. These are simply what we think of as the 4 main categories of how customised t-shirts are used but there are numerous variations on these themes. T-shirts made for fundraising and charity, good causes and special events. Tees that feature a destination, university or school. Those that support a team, band or political movement. The list goes on. Whatever the purpose, here at Fifth Column we can help you source the right garment and provide exceptional screen printing, DTG and DTF prints, and embroidery.
