NW Custom Apparel serves Olympia businesses, state agencies, healthcare teams, schools, and trades crews across Thurston County. Custom embroidery, screen printing, DTG printing, DTF printing, promotional products, and custom patches all run in-house at our Milton, WA facility – 47 miles north of Olympia via I-5. We have operated in the Pacific Northwest since 1977. Nothing on this page is outsourced. Quotes come back within one business day, and finished orders ship direct to your Olympia address.
The bigger the order, the better the savings
Need it faster? Rush orders available.
If we miss your deadline, you don’t pay
See and approve your logo before full production.
Olympia buyers do not need to choose between decoration methods based on what a shop happens to own. We run every major decoration method in-house, which means the right method for your garment and your job is always available — not just whatever one machine a local shop operates.
Embroidery stitches thread directly through the fabric using our in-house Tajima TMAR-KC 8-head machine at 1,100 RPM with 15 needles per head and 650-design memory. The thread passes through the garment and locks to a stabilizer underneath it. That structural integration is why embroidered logos survive commercial laundering, daily abrasion from tool belts and harnesses, and years of regular use without cracking, fading, or peeling.
The minimum order is 6 pieces. A one-time digitizing fee converts your logo to a stitch file and stores it permanently in machine memory. Every reorder runs with no additional setup cost.
Embroidery works best for Olympia buyers ordering polo shirts for state agency staff, work jackets for construction crews, baseball caps, and outerwear for professional or client-facing teams. For fabric compatibility, stitch count pricing, and full machine specifications, see our custom embroidery services – stitch count, machine specs, and fabric guide.
Screen printing pushes plastisol or water-based ink through a mesh stencil onto the fabric surface. One screen per color. It is the correct method for bulk cotton T-shirts, hoodies, event apparel, and Hi-Vis safety shirts that must maintain ANSI certification.
The minimum order is 24 pieces. Cost per piece decreases significantly above 100 pieces, making screen printing the most cost-effective method for large event runs, agency-wide uniform programs on T-shirts, and school spirit wear orders.
One point that matters for Olympia construction crews and WSDOT contractors: screen printing is the only decoration method certified for Hi-Vis safety apparel under ANSI/ISEA 107-2015. Embroidery hooping applies mechanical pressure to retroreflective tape during production and risks voiding ANSI Class 2 and Class 3 certification. If your crew works in traffic control or roadway construction in Washington state, screen printing on Hi-Vis is the compliant choice, not a preference.
See our full screen printing for bulk Washington orders and Hi-Vis safety stripe screen printing for ANSI-compliant Washington workwear.
Application | Ink Type | Minimum Order |
Company event T-shirts | Plastisol — durable, vibrant, industry standard | 24 pieces |
Hi-Vis safety shirts | Plastisol — ANSI-compliant application | 24 pieces |
Fashion / soft-hand prints | Water-based — softer feel on cotton blanks | 24 pieces |
Vintage / washed look | Discharge — removes dye, 100% cotton only | 24 pieces |
Direct to Garment (DTG) printing uses inkjet technology to spray water-based ink directly onto fabric. It handles unlimited colors, photographic detail, and complex gradients with no setup fee and no minimum order.
It is the right choice when an Olympia nonprofit needs 8 custom shirts for an event, when a small business wants to test a design before committing to a 100-piece screen printing run, or when an event coordinator needs 15 customized shirts within 48 hours. Standard turnaround is 48 hours from artwork approval on open production slots.
See our DTG printing services with 48-hour turnaround for full details on pretreatment, dark garment requirements, and fabric compatibility.
Direct to Film (DTF) printing transfers a full-color design from film to virtually any fabric. Cotton, polyester, nylon, blends, and performance materials that screen printing or standard embroidery handle poorly are all viable substrates for DTF.
For Olympia buyers with athletic teams wearing polyester jerseys, outdoor recreation organizations using performance shirts, or mixed-fabric uniform programs where one decoration method does not cover the full garment range, DTF closes the gap. See our DTF printing services for any fabric type.
Custom embroidered and woven patches ship ready to sew-on or iron-on. Construction companies use them to add department or crew identifiers to work jackets. Government-adjacent organizations use them for uniform patch programs. School clubs, student organizations, and recreational sports teams order them for caps and bags.
For custom patch specifications and pricing, see custom patches for work jackets, caps, and corporate apparel programs.
Branded promotional products extend an organization’s visibility beyond apparel. NW Custom Apparel supplies mugs, tumblers, pens, tote bags, drinkware, and stickers — all decorated with your logo and shipped to your Olympia address.
The buyers in Olympia who order promotional products most consistently are state agency outreach teams, hospital and healthcare staff recognition programs, Thurston County Chamber of Commerce member businesses preparing for events, and conference coordinators. See the full range of our promotional products and branded merchandise.
Olympia’s economy is not uniform. State government, healthcare, construction, education, and hospitality each have different apparel decoration needs. Here is how NW Custom Apparel works with each sector.
Olympia is Washington’s state capital. State government accounts for approximately 23% of all jobs in Thurston County, with 43,623 government employees recorded in the 2024 annual average, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department. No other industry in this region employs as many people under one organizational umbrella.
State agencies need consistent professional branding across departments. The requests NW Custom Apparel receives most from Olympia government buyers fall into four categories.
First, embroidered polo shirts for administrative, field, and public-facing staff — agencies like WSDOT, the Department of Labor and Industries, the Department of Ecology, and the Washington State Patrol all outfit staff who interact directly with the public or appear on job sites. A left-chest embroidered logo on a polo shirt communicates professionalism and survives repeated commercial laundering without degrading.
Second, screen-printed event T-shirts for legislative sessions, community outreach programs, and agency-wide gatherings. Simple 2–4 color designs on cotton shirts at 48–200 pieces are exactly where screen printing delivers the best cost per unit.
Third, branded promotional products for public engagement, community programs, and staff recognition.
Fourth, custom webstore programs that let employees across multiple divisions self-order their designated uniform items without procurement staff processing individual requests. Our custom webstore programs for Olympia business uniform programs handle the full setup: garment type and decoration method are pre-assigned by role, employees select their size, and NW Custom Apparel fulfills directly to individual or central addresses.
For logo embroidery for Washington corporate and government uniform programs, we work from your existing vector artwork or provide file guidance if your logo needs preparation before digitizing.
Healthcare and social assistance employed 16,427 people in Thurston County in 2024, making it the second-largest industry after government. Providence St. Peter Hospital and Capital Medical Center anchor the local workforce, with dozens of clinics, specialty practices, and support facilities throughout Olympia and Lacey.
Healthcare staff apparel priorities are comfort, breathability, and professionalism for patient-facing roles. Heavy embroidery across upper back or shoulder areas creates rigidity and restricts movement on scrubs and clinical tunics. The right approach depends on the role.
Clinical staff in scrubs and tunics do best with a small left-chest embroidered logo or a DTG-printed logo that keeps fabric lightweight and flexible. Reception staff and patient services teams wearing polo shirts warrant embroidery for professional appearance and commercial laundry durability. Administrative leadership in button-down shirts or polos follow the same logic i.e. left-chest embroidery, professional finish, survives the washing cycle.
Our corporate and staff uniform programs for Washington businesses cover multi-role healthcare organizations with consistent branding across clinical, administrative, and support teams.
Construction added 300 jobs in Thurston County in 2024 — one of the few sectors that grew year-over-year. Olympia-area construction companies serve state government facility projects, residential development in Lacey and Tumwater, and infrastructure work along I-5 and US-101. These crews need two things from a decorator: workwear that holds up on the job and safety shirts that stay ANSI-compliant.
For work jackets and outerwear, embroidery is the right method. A 12 oz. cotton duck canvas jacket from Dri Duck or CornerStone handles 15,000+ stitch logos without puckering. The logo survives tool belt abrasion, surface contact, and outdoor conditions that would crack or peel screen-printed ink on the same garment. See our custom embroidered work jackets for Washington trades crews.
For Hi-Vis safety shirts worn by road crews, utility workers, and WSDOT contractors, screen printing is the only ANSI-certified decoration method. The ANSI/ISEA 107-2015 standard governs Class 2 and Class 3 high-visibility garments, and embroidery hooping on retroreflective tape risks voiding that certification. See our Hi-Vis safety stripe screen printing for ANSI-compliant Washington workwear.
The Evergreen State College, South Puget Sound Community College, St. Martin’s University in Lacey, and Olympia’s K-12 schools generate consistent custom apparel demand throughout the year: team uniforms, spirit wear, event T-shirts, staff polo shirts, and outerwear for coaches and administrators.
The method depends on the garment. Bulk event T-shirts and hoodies at 48–200 pieces with 2–4 color designs belong in screen printing — lowest per-unit cost, bold output, right for cotton and cotton-blend fabrics. Coaches jackets and fleece outerwear require embroidery. Polar fleece and sherpa cannot be screen printed hence the high-pile surface prevents clean ink transfer, and embroidery is the only viable decoration method on these substrates.
Not sure which method fits your order? Our guide on embroidery vs screen printing – which is right for your work uniforms walks through the full decision by garment type, use case, and laundering environment.
Accommodation and food services employed 9,606 people in Thurston County in 2024. Front-of-house servers, baristas, and retail floor staff wearing branded apparel create a consistent customer-facing impression that affects how people perceive a business before a word is spoken.
Embroidery on polo shirts is the standard for Olympia restaurant and hospitality buyers with regular front-of-house staff. The logo survives daily home or commercial laundering, the raised texture reads as professional, and the left-chest placement keeps the design clean and readable at customer distance. Screen printing on cotton T-shirts serves seasonal or event staff well – cost-effective at 24–100 pieces and appropriate for short-term wear where extreme durability is not the priority.
The process below applies to all decoration methods like embroidery, screen printing, DTG, DTF, and patches. Same four steps regardless of order size.
Submit your garment type, quantity, decoration method, and artwork. If you do not have finalized artwork yet, describe your logo and we will advise on file requirements. Quotes come back within one business day.
Our team reviews your logo file, confirms decoration feasibility for the garment and method, and produces a digital mockup for your approval. A $50 art prep fee applies to first-time orders. It covers professional file review and custom mockup production. Reorders using the same artwork carry no art prep fee.
On first embroidery orders, we sew a physical sample on your actual garment before running the full batch. You approve the sample before production begins. This step catches digitizing issues like thread density, font legibility, backing weight, before they become problems across a 50 or 200-piece run.
All production runs in-house at our Milton, WA facility. Finished orders ship direct to your Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, DuPont, or Shelton address. Standard production runs 10 business days depending on method and quantity. Rush production is available for screen printing at a 30% surcharge — call to confirm current production availability before placing a rush order.
Reorder advantage: Once your design is digitized and stored in the TMAR-KC’s 650-design onboard memory, reorders run immediately with no re-digitizing fee, no new sample requirement, and no setup delay for the same design on the same garment type.
Hear from our satisfied clients who have made us their go-to provider for custom apparel and have seen the difference quality makes.
NW Custom Apparel ships to Thurston County and surrounding communities. The following areas receive regular orders:
Pickup is not available at the Milton facility. All Olympia-area orders are placed remotely and shipped direct.
NW Custom Apparel does not have a storefront in Olympia. Our production facility is in Milton, WA, approximately 47 miles north via I-5. All Olympia-area orders are handled remotely — quotes by email or phone, artwork review and mockup digitally, and finished orders shipped direct to your Olympia address within standard production timelines. The absence of a local storefront does not affect turnaround time. Production runs in-house regardless.
Minimum orders depend on the decoration method. Embroidery starts at 6 pieces. Screen printing starts at 24 pieces. DTG printing has no minimum, single pieces are accepted. DTF printing has no minimum. Promotional products vary by item type. Contact us for a quote on your specific quantity and method combination.
Standard production runs 10 business days from artwork approval. DTG printing runs on a 48-hour turnaround on open production slots — call to verify availability before counting on this timeline. Rush production for screen printing is available at a 30% surcharge. Shipping from Milton to Olympia adds 1–2 business days depending on carrier and delivery location.
Contact our team directly to discuss billing and procurement options for government agency orders. We work with Washington state agencies on uniform program setups and can discuss terms and invoicing requirements for agency procurement processes.
Yes. Custom embroidered and woven patches are available for Olympia businesses, construction companies, government organizations, and school groups. Patches ship with sew-on or iron-on backing and arrive ready to apply. Minimum orders and pricing depend on patch size and complexity – request a quote with your dimensions and artwork.
Embroidery. Polo shirts worn by government staff who interact with the public need a professional appearance and need to survive regular laundering over a multi-year uniform program lifespan. Embroidery thread does not crack or fade under repeated washing cycles the way screen-printed ink does on knit fabrics. A standard left-chest logo on a polo shirt runs 6,000–10,000 stitches. For agencies managing uniform orders across multiple departments, our custom webstore programs handle distributed self-ordering with garment type and decoration method pre-assigned by role – no individual procurement requests required.
NW Custom Apparel ships to all Western Washington including Seattle, Federal Way, Tacoma, Des Moines, Everett, and Puyallup. We also serve all of King County Eastside cities: Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Renton, Sammamish, Newcastle, Kenmore, and Bothell. For Eastern Washington — Spokane, Yakima, Tri-Cities — all orders are fulfilled via UPS.
Vector files like AI, EPS, or print-ready PDFs are preferred for both embroidery and screen printing. They produce the cleanest output and carry no artwork conversion fee. High-resolution PNG or JPG at 300 DPI minimum at actual print size are accepted with a small conversion fee. Low-resolution files and Word document exports require logo recreation. Send your file to sales@nwcustomapparel.com before ordering and we will confirm suitability within 1 business day.
Olympia businesses and Thurston County organizations work with NW Custom Apparel because in-house production across every decoration method means the right answer for your garment, your industry, and your team – not the answer that fits whatever equipment a local shop happens to own. We have been doing this in the Pacific Northwest since 1977. Request a quote and receive a response within one business day.
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