Heavy equipment companies, diesel shops, construction crews, and excavation businesses order custom hoodies for two different reasons, and those reasons require two different production methods.
The first reason: crew gear. Logo on the front, company name on the back, ordered 24–100 pieces at a time for the field crew. This is a screen printing job.
The second reason: branded merchandise or collector apparel. Photo-realistic image of a Caterpillar dozer, a Komatsu excavator, or a customer’s specific machine such as full-color photographic detail on a dark hoodie, ordered in small quantities for drivers, collectors, or a company merchandise table. This is a DTG job.
Getting the method wrong costs money. This article explains the difference so you know which to request before you call.
When DTG Printing Is the Right Choice for Heavy Equipment Hoodies
What makes DTG the right method for photo-realistic machine apparel?
DTG printing uses industrial inkjet technology to spray water-based CMYK inks directly onto the fabric, layer by layer. It reads your design from a digital file and prints it without screens, without setup fees, and without minimum order requirements.
For heavy equipment and diesel industry apparel, DTG is the right method when:
Your design is a photograph or photo-realistic image of a machine. Screen printing separates artwork into individual solid ink colors, typically 1–6 colors, and burns each onto a separate screen. A photographic image of a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer with weathered paint, reflective glass, and dimensional shadows cannot be reproduced accurately through screen printing without enormous color counts and cost. DTG prints the full photographic image in one pass, reproducing every detail the original photo captured.
Your order is under 24 pieces. Screen printing setup costs run $25–$45 per screen per color. A 6-color design means $150–$270 in setup before the first hoodie is printed. Across 6 hoodies, that adds $25–$45 per piece just for setup. DTG has no setup fee, the cost per piece is the same whether you order 1 or 20.
Every hoodie needs a different image. Screen printing runs the same design on every garment in a run. If a diesel shop wants 8 hoodies, each featuring a different customer’s machine, DTG prints each one individually from its own file with no additional cost per variation.
NW Custom Apparel runs DTG production on Kornit Storm industrial printers at our Milton, WA facility. The Kornit Storm is an industrial-grade machine built for commercial production runs, not a consumer-grade printer. It applies a white underbase to dark garments first, then lays CMYK color layers over it, which is what makes photographic images vibrant on black and dark navy hoodies.
For all DTG printing services including pricing and turnaround, see DTG printing services with no minimum order in Washington state.
Case Study: Heartland Transport Photo-Realistic Hoodie
Heartland Transport came to NW Custom Apparel with a high-resolution photograph of their heavy haul truck. They wanted it on a black pullover hoodie for their drivers, the kind of piece you wear with pride, not a generic logo shirt.
The process:
File review. Our graphics team assessed the photo for resolution and print compatibility. High-resolution photos (minimum 300 DPI at print size) reproduce cleanly. Low-resolution phone photos taken from a distance require cleanup before they print well.
Design preparation. The team cropped the truck image, removed the background, and added Heartland Transport’s company name and a brief tagline below the machine image. Total design time: under one hour. (Our standard includes 1 hour of design time. Additional work is billed at $60 per hour.)
Pre-production proof. Heartland Transport reviewed a digital proof showing the design on a black hoodie mockup before we printed anything.
Production on the Kornit Storm. The hoodie was loaded onto the printer platen, the machine applied the white underbase to the print area, and the CMYK layers followed. Total print time per piece: approximately 4–7 minutes.
Result. A photographic-quality print that shows the truck in full detail like paint texture, reflective surfaces, dimensional depth, on a black hoodie. The kind of result that screen printing cannot produce at any price point for a design with that level of color complexity.
One-time printer setup fee: $40. No setup fee on reorders of the same design.
When Screen Printing Is the Right Choice for Heavy Equipment Crew Hoodies
What makes screen printing better for construction crew gear?
Most Washington construction companies, excavation businesses, and heavy equipment operators need crew hoodies with a company logo, not a photographic machine image. This is a fundamentally different design: a solid logo in 1–4 colors, often with a company name, maybe a tagline or location.
For this type of order, screen printing is the better method when:
Your order is 24 pieces or more. Once setup cost is spread across 24+ pieces, screen printing’s per-piece cost drops significantly below DTG. At 48 pieces, a 2-color screen printed logo hoodie costs substantially less per unit than the same hoodie printed via DTG. At 72 or more pieces, the gap is larger.
Your design is a logo or wordmark, not a photograph. Screen printing lays thick, opaque plastisol ink directly on fleece, which is why white logos on black hoodies look bold and solid. Plastisol also holds through job-site washing better than water-based DTG ink over repeated weekly wash cycles.
You need safety striping on the hoodie. For construction crew hoodies that need reflective safety stripes on the sleeves or back, screen printing with plastisol safety ink or reflective ink is the standard. DTG cannot produce safety stripe effects.
Your crew cycles through hoodies regularly. Washington construction companies on 12–18 month crew replacement cycles reorder the same hoodie design repeatedly. Screen printing stores the artwork after the first run, and reorders use the same screens at lower per-piece cost than the initial setup run.
For bulk screen printed hoodie orders starting at 24 pieces, see custom screen printed hoodies for Washington businesses and construction crews.
The Decision in One Table
Use this to decide before you call:
| Order Scenario | Design Type | Quantity | Right Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crew hoodies with company logo | Logo, 1–4 colors | 24+ pieces | Screen printing |
| Crew hoodies with company logo | Logo, 1–4 colors | Under 24 pieces | DTG |
| Machine photo apparel | Photographic image | Any quantity | DTG |
| Mixed crew: same logo, different sizes | Logo, 1–4 colors | 24+ pieces total | Screen printing |
| Collector/merchandise hoodies | Photographic or full-color | Small batch (1–20) | DTG |
| Event merchandise with artwork | Multi-color graphic or art | 24–100+ pieces | Screen printing |
| Personalized per-employee hoodies | Different image per piece | Any quantity | DTG |
What Heavy Equipment Companies Order at NW Custom Apparel
Washington general contractors, excavation companies, diesel shops, and heavy haul operators place two types of hoodie orders with NW Custom Apparel.
Crew gear programs. Quarterly or annual reorders of 24–100 hoodies with the company logo on the front and company name on the back. These run on the Gildan 18500 or Carhartt blanks in crew sizes Small through 5XL. Screen printed. Stored artwork means every reorder runs without additional setup cost.
Machine and brand merchandise. Small-batch orders of 6–20 hoodies featuring a photo of a specific machine such as a Komatsu PC360 excavator, a CASE 470B backhoe, a customer’s custom-painted Caterpillar D6 for drivers, collectors, or company merchandise. DTG printed on the Kornit Storm. Each design from a supplied photo.
The equipment brands our graphics team works with most often for photo-based DTG apparel include Caterpillar, Komatsu, CASE (including the 470B, CX130B, and CX160B), John Deere, International Harvester, Liebherr, Terex, Allis Chalmers, and Liebherr. If your company runs a different brand, send us the photo and we will work with what you have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Send us a high-resolution photo of your machine and our graphics team handles cropping, background removal, and text layout. One hour of design time is included. Additional design work is billed at $60 per hour. The $40 one-time printer setup fee applies to the first order; reorders of the same design have no setup fee.
NW Custom Apparel has no minimum for DTG hoodie orders. You can order a single hoodie if that is what you need.
Screen printed hoodie orders start at 24 pieces per design. For orders under 24 pieces with a logo-based design, DTG is the better option.
Yes. Because DTG prints each piece from its own digital file, every hoodie in your order can feature a different machine image with no additional setup cost per variation.
300 DPI at the intended print size is the minimum for a clean photographic result. High-resolution photos from a digital camera or recent smartphone work well. Low-resolution images downloaded from websites often require cleanup before they print at acceptable quality.
Yes. A back logo print is available as an add-on to the front machine image. Mention this in your quote request and we will confirm pricing.
Yes. The Kornit Storm applies a white underbase to dark garments before printing the color layers. This is what makes photographic images vibrant on black, charcoal, and dark navy hoodies.
We carry sizes Small through 5XL. There is a small upcharge for 2XL and above on most blank styles, which is standard across the industry. Tell us your size breakdown when requesting a quote and we will confirm availability.
Order Custom Hoodies for Your Heavy Equipment or Construction Company
NW Custom Apparel has produced custom crew gear and machine-branded apparel for Washington state construction companies, heavy equipment operators, diesel shops, and excavation businesses since 1977. All production runs in-house at our Milton, WA facility.
Visit us: 2025 Freeman Rd. East Milton, WA 98354
Tell us your design type, quantity, and timeline when you request a quote. We will confirm the right method, DTG or screen print and provide pricing before you commit to anything.
Get a Free Quote | Call 1-800-851-3671 | Email sales@nwcustomapparel.com
Erik Mickelson is the manager of NW Custom Apparel in Milton, Washington, with 29 years of experience in commercial apparel decoration including DTG, screen printing, and embroidery. NW Custom Apparel has operated from Milton, WA since 1977.
