We’ve printed over 100,000 custom t-shirts from our facility in Milton, Washington. Screen printing for bulk orders, DTG for full-color photos, and DTF for polyester and performance blends. Every shirt runs through our production floor – nothing gets outsourced to a third party.
Not sure which method fits your order? Most of our customers don’t either.
Tell us what you need (quantity, design, and deadline) and we’ll recommend the right approach. Quotes come back in one business day.
📞 253-922-5793 | 📍 2025 Freeman Rd E, Milton, WA 98354
The right method depends on three things: how many shirts you need, what your design looks like, and what fabric you want. Here’s how we guide every customer to the right choice.
Ink pushed through mesh screens onto cotton or cotton-blend shirts.
The most cost-effective method for bulk orders. Vibrant, opaque colors that last through industrial washing.
Best for: Team uniforms, event merchandise, construction crew shirts, anything over 24 pieces with 1-4 colors.
Water-based inkjet printing directly onto the fabric. No setup fees.
No minimum order. Full-color photographs, gradients, and intricate artwork print soft to the touch with no plastic feel.
Best for: Photos, detailed artwork, orders under 24 pieces,
rush orders that ship in 2-3 days.
Full-color designs printed on film and heat-pressed onto any fabric.
The only method that works reliably on 100% polyester, nylon, spandex, and moisture-wicking performance wear.
Best for: Athletic shirts, dri-fit gear, synthetic blends,
designs that need to stretch without cracking.
| If Your Order Is… | Choose | Why | Minimum | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50+ shirts, 1-3 colors | Screen Printing | Lowest cost per shirt | 24 | 10-14 days |
| 12 shirts, full-color photo | DTG | No setup, photo-quality | 1 | 2-5 days |
| 6 shirts, polyester blend | DTF | Works on any fabric | 6 | 5-7 days |
| 100+ shirts, complex 6-color | Screen Printing | Best value at scale | 24 | 10-14 days |
Still not sure? Call us at 253-922-5793 or request a quote.
We’ll recommend the right method based on your specific design and budget.
We don’t print on whatever’s cheapest. We print on shirts that fit your purpose. Here are the brands and styles we recommend most often.
Gildan Heavy Cotton (5000) — The workhorse. 5.3 oz, 100% cotton, budget-friendly. Perfect for construction crews, event giveaways, and one-time use. Available in 50+ colors.
Bella + Canvas 3001 – The soft favorite. 4.2 oz, ringspun cotton, retail fit. What your team actually wants to wear on weekends. Great for corporate events and merch lines.
Next Level 3600 – The premium option. 4.3 oz combed cotton,
side-seamed construction. Holds DTG prints beautifully. Ideal for bands, boutiques, and high-end merchandise.
Sport-Tek PosiCharge Competitor Tee – The performance pick.
100% polyester, moisture-wicking. Best paired with DTF printing for athletic teams and outdoor events.
Carhartt Force Cotton Delmont – The durable choice. 5.75 oz cotton blend, stain-release finish. For crews who work hard and wash harder. Pairs with screen printing or embroidery.
We’ve printed t-shirts for over 10,000 teams, events, and businesses since 1977. Here are the orders we handle most often.
Company picnics, volunteer days, trade shows. Bella + Canvas soft
tees with your logo. Bulk pricing for 50+ pieces. Free digital proof so your marketing team approves before we print.
Team practice shirts, spirit wear, senior class tees. Screen printing for 50+ piece orders. Individual name and number printing available.
We handle bulk sizing so you don’t have to guess.
Staff uniforms that survive grease, heat, and daily washing.
Dark-colored shirts with screen-printed logos. Reorder the same
design anytime – we keep your artwork on file.
Hi-Vis safety shirts with reflective stripes. Heavy cotton Gildan shirts that last on the job site. We print ANSI-compliant safety apparel in-house.
Every t-shirt order follows the same process. We don’t skip steps,
even when you’re in a hurry.
Tell us your quantity, shirt style, and decoration method. Upload your artwork or describe your design. We respond within one business day.
Steve Deland, our art director with 40 years of experience, reviews your file. He tells you immediately if your design will work for your chosen method, and suggest alternatives if it won't.
We send a mockup showing your design on the actual shirt color and style. You see exactly what you'll get before we start. No surprises.
For orders over 100 shirts, we print one physical sample. You approve it before we run the full batch. For smaller orders, the digital proof is your approval.
Your shirts print on our production floor in Milton. Screen printing on M&R automatic presses, DTG on Kornit Storm Hexa printers, and DTF on our heat transfer system. Nothing leaves our building unfinished.
Every shirt is inspected under LED lighting. Folded to prevent creasing. Sorted by size. Delivered on time - or you don't pay.
Standard turnaround is 10–14 business days for screen printing and DTF. Small DTG orders ship in 3–5 days. Rush service available.
Local pickup: Available Mon–Fri, 9 AM – 5 PM at 2025 Freeman Rd E
We believe in upfront pricing. Here are the factors that affect
your cost, and what you can expect.
NOTE: Every quote is custom. These are ranges. Upload your design and we’ll give you an exact number within one business day.
You could order from a national website. Here’s why Washington businesses choose Northwest Custom Apparel instead.
Your shirts never leave our building. We don't dropship from a warehouse in Texas. We print on our floor in Milton, inspect every piece, and hand it to you or ship it ourselves. If something's wrong, we fix it immediately.
You approve a digital proof before we print a single shirt. For large orders, you approve a physical sample. We've never had a customer say 'that's not what I expected' -because they saw it first.
Standard screen printing: 10-14 days. Rush DTG: 2-3 days. We pull blank inventory same-day from SanMar and S&S Activewear, both within 10 miles of our facility. That means faster turnaround and lower shipping costs passed on to you.
We save your artwork, your shirt specs, and your pricing. Reordering is one email or phone call. No re-uploading. No re-quoting. 95% of our customers come back.
These are verified reviews from customers who ordered custom t-shirts specifically.
Arrow Lumber needed durable, professional-looking t-shirts for their staff. Using our screen printing services, we created bold, branded apparel that has lasted through years of heavy use.
We partnered with Hops N Drops to design stylish, custom t-shirts for their merchandise line. The DTG printing ensured vibrant, detailed graphics that resonated with their customers.
Good artwork produces good prints. Here’s what our art department needs to produce your best result.
Vector files scale to any size without losing quality. This is what we recommend for screen printing and DTF.
Raster files work for DTG but may appear pixelated if the resolution is too low. Our art team can review and advise.
Don’t have print-ready artwork? Steve Deland, our art director, can recreate or clean up your design. Artwork fees start at $50 for simple redraws. Free digitizing on embroidery reorders.
It depends on the method. Screen printing has a 24-shirt minimum. DTG printing has no minimum — order one shirt if you need it. DTF printing starts at 6 pieces. If your order is below these minimums, a $75 under-minimum fee applies.
Yes. You can mix sizes (S through 3XL) and shirt colors within the same design. For screen printing, the design color stays the same across all shirts. For DTG and DTF, each shirt is printed individually, so you can even vary the design slightly.
Absolutely. Screen printing uses a white underbase on dark shirts so colors pop. DTG prints white ink directly onto dark cotton. DTF works on any shirt color. We’ll recommend the best method based on your shirt color and design.
We carry Gildan, Bella + Canvas, Next Level, Sport-Tek, Carhartt, Nike, The North Face, and more. We source primarily from SanMar and S&S Activewear, both within 10 miles of our Milton facility.
For orders over 100 pieces, we produce a physical pre-production sample on your actual shirt. For smaller orders, we send a digital proof showing your design on the exact shirt style and color. You approve before we print.
Standard turnaround is 10-14 business days for screen printing and DTF. Small DTG orders ship in 2-5 days. Rush service is available for deadline-driven orders. Our on-time delivery rate is 99.8%.
Yes. We can remove the manufacturer’s tag and print your brand label directly inside the neck. Hem tags are also available for a premium retail look. Ask about these options when you request your quote.
Screen printing pushes ink through mesh screens. It’s cost-effective for bulk orders (24+) with 1-4 colors. DTG uses inkjet technology to print directly onto the shirt. It’s better for full-color photos, gradients, and small orders with no minimum. Not sure which fits your order? Contact us and we’ll recommend the right method.
Tell us what you need such as quantity, design, and deadline. We’ll recommend the right printing method and send a quote within one business day. No obligation. No pressure.
📞 253-922-5793 | Toll-free: 1-800-851-3671
📧 sales@nwcustomapparel.com
📍 2025 Freeman Rd E, Milton, WA 98354
🕐 Mon–Fri: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
NW Custom Apparel prints and ships finished custom t-shirts to every city in Washington State. Our production facility is in Milton, WA. Local pickup is available at the showroom (hours: Monday–Friday 10:00 AM–3:00 PM; call ahead). We regularly ship to:
