Custom apparel is useful in both professional and personal situations, but it can be difficult to determine which print type and design appearance best match your creative vision.
In professional scenarios–whether it’s for a business, team, club, or other organization–creating uniforms with customized apparel can be easy and affordable. It also creates a cohesive appearance for your team members or employees. Custom apparel also makes a thoughtful, personalized gift for any occasion, including birthdays, holidays, and special events like graduations and anniversaries.
GotPrints offers a selection of customizable apparel, such as t-shirts, hats, beanies, polos, and sweatshirts. We’ll guide you through choosing products, what design styles are available, and how to find the best apparel customization option for your needs.
| Direct-to-Garment | Embroidery | |
| Definition | DTG prints graphics, text, and photos directly onto the fabric of textiles and garments. | Embroidery uses threads to stitch simple designs into the fabric. |
| Colors | Full color printing from files uploaded in RGB color mode. | 12 Thread Colors: White, Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Light Pink, Light Blue, and Brown |
| Products | Crewneck Sweatshirts, Hoodie Sweatshirts, Full Zip Hoodie Sweatshirts, Crewneck T-Shirts, and V-Neck T-Shirts | Beanies, Hats, Polo Shirts, Crewneck Sweatshirts, Hoodie Sweatshirts, and Full Zip Hoodie Sweatshirts |
What is DTG Printing?
Direct to garment printing, or DTG, is a process of printing graphics into textiles and garments – it’s an affordable, full-color solution to custom apparel. The outcome is highly pigmented graphics on apparel that will last you quite some time. This apparel printing technology produces light, breathable designs that you can wear and wash regularly. Plus, it’s cost-effective, allowing companies, brands, and organizations to invest in bulk custom apparel printing.
You may have heard of this method, as well as a comparative method of silk screen printing, in which silk screen layers the ink on top of the fabric. DTG, on the other hand, uses a special garment printer to add the design to the fabric. While GotPrint doesn’t offer silk screen printing, direct-to-garment generally lasts longer and is better for production-scale apparel printing.
Products on our website that are compatible with DTG printing:
Crewneck T-shirts
If you want to create personalized photo shirts or make a design with a complicated graphic design or text, we’ll print your tshirt design directly onto the front of the shirt, the back of the shirt, or both sides. GotPrint offers eight crewneck t shirt colors: white, black, red, blue, cream/natural, charcoal, navy, and athletic heather. Custom shirts are available in multiple sizes, including sizing specific for men/unisex, women, youth, and toddlers. DTG t shirt printing lets you make a fully unique shirt.
V-Neck T-Shirts
GotPrint’s custom v neck printing is similar to crewnecks; you can add your design on the front, back, or both sides of the cotton material, which is ideal for textile printing. We have DTG printing available for v necks in white and black. Both colors are available in both men’s/unisex sizing and women’s sizing.
Crewneck Sweatshirts
Design a personalized crewneck sweatshirt with your design printed on seven different colors: white, black, davy, sky blue, red, athletic heather, and neon pink. GotPrint’s personalized crewnecks used DTG printing to add your design directly onto 50/50 cotton/poly fleece fabric. You can add a design to the front, the back, or both sides.
Hoodie Sweatshirts
GotPrint offers custom sweatshirt printing on eight different sweatshirt colors: white, black, tan, athletic heather, red, navy blue, neon orange, and neon green. Each shade is made with 50/50 cotton/poly fleece. Like crewnecks, your custom sweatshirt design can be printed on the front, back, or both sides.
Full Zip Hoodie Sweatshirts
GotPrint sells zip up hoodies in white and black, both of which are made with 50/50 cotton/poly fleece. You can print your custom design on the back of the jacket, which places it in the upper center of your back. Custom zip up jackets are available in unisex sizing.
How much does custom printed apparel cost?
The price of custom DTG printing varies by product. Printed crewneck shirts start at $9.76 for a small men’s/unisex white shirt, while custom printed v-necks start at $12.04. Custom printed crewneck sweatshirts are $23.37 for a single-sided design. Custom printed hoodies are $28.04. Custom printed zip up hoodies are $37.88.
Typically, there is an additional cost to include designs on both the front and back of the product. GotPrint does not require an order minimum for DTG apparel printing.
| DTG Apparel Product | GotPrint Price |
| DTG Crewneck T-Shirts | $9.76 |
| DTG V-Neck T-Shirts | $12.04 |
| DTG Crewneck Sweatshirts | $23.37 |
| DTG Hoodie Sweatshirts | $28.04 |
| DTG Zip Up Hoodies | $37.88 |
What is Custom Embroidery?
Embroidery brings a design to life using intricate threading. It is not technically a print type, but it is another popular method to design custom apparel. For our apparel products, the template for an embroidered design should typically fit in a 4″ x 4″ square.
Embroidery is ideal for smaller, less complex designs such as simple logos, pocket art, and text sayings. Custom embroidered clothing typically adds the design to specific areas of the product, like the front of a hat or one side of the chest. Our machine embroidery produces clean, durable stitches for apparel and accessories you can wear frequently.
One problem some people face when making embroidered designs is matching their graphics’ colors to the limited thread color options. GotPrint offers 12 different thread colors: White, Black, Silver, Gold, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Light Pink, Light Blue, and Brown. You can use any combination of these shades for your stitched design.
GotPrint offers custom embroidery services on a number of products:
Hats
GotPrint’s hats come in seven colors: black, white, navy, khaki, olive green, red, and blue. Our custom hat embroidery allows you to stitch the design in the center of the hat. Order just 1 hat or up to 25 hats.
Beanies
A custom embroidered beanie is the perfect accessory in winter. GotPrint sells beanies in nine colors: black, white, athletic gray, red, olive green, millennium blue, brown, navy, and coyote brown. We’ll stitch your design on the 3-inch folded cuff on the front of the stretchy acrylic fabric.
Polo Shirts
Stitch your embroidery pattern onto the right or left chest of a custom polo shirt. GotPrint offers six polo shirt colors: white, black, light gray, navy, red, and royal blue. All the colors come in a comfortable 50/50 cotton polyester fabric. Our high-end polos are the best option for professional shirt embroidery.
Crewneck Sweatshirts
GotPrint’s personalized crewneck embroidery is available os seven different fabric colors: white, black, athletic heather, navy, sky blue, red, and neon pink. We’ll delicately embroider your design on either the right or left side of the chest. Plus, our long-lasting embroidered crewnecks are machine washable (just don’t iron the design).
Hoodie Sweatshirts
As with DTG printing, GotPrint’s custom embroidered sweaters come in nine colors: white, black, tan, athletic heather, red, navy blue, neon orange, and neon green. Custom sweatshirt embroidery is available on the left or right side of the chest.
Full Zip Hoodie Sweatshirts
GotPrint’s custom embroidered zip up hoodies are available in white and black fabric. Add your product to the left or right side of the YKK metal zipper. Personalized zip up jackets are a great product for custom logo embroidery.
How much does custom embroidery cost?
The cost for custom embroidered apparel will depend on the product. Embroidered crewnecks are $44.17. Embroidered hoodie sweatshirts are $44.90. Embroidered zip ups are $44.86. Custom polos are $25.58. Custom hat embroidery is $22.28. Beanie embroidery is $23.76.
One benefit of using GotPrint for personalized embroidery is that we do not charge per thread color. You can use up to 12 different thread colors in your design with no additional charge. We also guarantee custom embroidery no minimum purchase required. So you can order just one product or bulk order apparel.
| Embroidered Apparel Product | GotPrint Price |
| Embroidered Beanies | $23.76 |
| Embroidered Hats | $22.28 |
| Embroidered Polos | $25.58 |
| Embroidered Crewneck Sweatshirts | $44.17 |
| Embroidered Hoodie Sweatshirts | $44.90 |
| Embroidered Zip Up Hoodies | $44.86 |
Comparing DTG vs Embroidery
Choosing between DTG and embroidery will depend on the type of design you want to make and what products you want to buy. Go with direct to garment apparel printing when you want to include a complex, full color design, like graphics or photos. There are no color limitations with DTG. Plus, printed apparel includes a large space for your design. Custom DTG printing is the best option when creating affordable promotional items for giveaways and freebies at conventions, tradeshows, and other promotional events.
Select embroidery when you have a simple design and you prefer more professional-looking custom attire. Embroidered designs tend to look more sophisticated than DTG. The fine stitching has a very particular appearance that instantly elevates whatever apparel you want. That’s why customized embroidery is best for corporate apparel and custom branded apparel.
Which will you choose for your next apparel project, Embroidery or DTG? Share your custom apparel from GP on social media and tag us for a chance to be featured @GotPrint.
*Prices are subject to change at any time