How to Place a Screen Printing or Embroidery Order Like a Pro (And Save Time & Money)

If you’re ordering custom t-shirts, hoodies, hats, or any embroidered gear from a local print shop like us at 918Tees, here’s a quick guide to help make the process smooth, fast, and frustration-free — for you and for your artist.

Whether you’re ordering for a brand, event, or team, here’s what helps us help you:

1. Know Your Blank (If You Can)

If you already know what brand or style of blank you want (like a Comfort Colors 1717 or Richardson 112), that’s amazing. Even just a photo of the tag from a shirt or hat you like can help us track it down.

Don’t know? No problem. We’re happy to help recommend blanks based on your goals and budget — but references always speed things up.

2. Artwork Matters – Format is Key

The best artwork files for printing or embroidery are:

• PNG with a transparent background

• Vector formats like AI or SVG

We can absolutely help convert and sharpen up logos if needed (for a small fee), but if you want a polished, professional file for multiple uses — like merch, website graphics, stickers, or pins — we recommend using Fiverr. You can often find a designer for around $10 who will clean up your graphic and deliver it in all the right formats.

3. Know the Print Size & Placement

Want your design front and center? Oversized on the back? Left chest only?

Grab a tape measure and use a size large t-shirt as your reference point. Let us know how wide or tall you’d like the design to be and where it should go — front, back, sleeve, chest, etc. That small detail goes a long way in getting it right the first time.

4. Bundle the Info – Make Quoting Easy

Here’s what helps us give you a fast and accurate quote:

• Estimated quantity (e.g. 50 or 150 units)

• How many size breaks (e.g. adults and youth, or just adult sizes)

• When you need it by

• Art file(s) if you have them (see #2 above)

Even if you don’t have every detail, bundling this info into one message reduces the back-and-forth and speeds up the quoting process dramatically.

Final Tip: When in doubt, ask! We’re here to guide you through the process and make sure your merch turns out just how you envisioned it.