Top 10 Best Custom Apparel Companies

Allyson Sprague

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Top Products and Brands

6 minute read

When it comes to custom apparel, you want to make sure you’re getting the best custom apparel for your money! I’ve put together a list of the top 10 best custom apparel companies in the business complete with pros and cons to each!

1. Underground Printing

Website: https://undergroundshirts.com/

Pros:

• Physical stores allowing for pick up or delivery.

• Rush shipping

• Great online custom t-shirt designer with templates

• Online “pop-up” shop for easy ordering with large groups

• Huge variety of brands, colors, apparel, and promotional products

• Multiple “no minimum” products

Cons:

• No international shipping

• Physical stores are primarily in the Midwest

Summary:

Underground Printing has been in business for over 20 years and offers a lot more than just basic custom t-shirt printing. Underground Printing has a huge variety of products such as promotional products, tops, bottoms, coats, and so much more. Underground Printing is your one-stop-shop for all of your custom apparel needs from the smallest to the biggest projects.

2. Bulk Custom Shirts

Website: https://bulkcustomshirts.com

Pros:

• 7 days/week customer support through call, text, or email

• Free 1-2 week delivery

• Low bulk prices

• High value for large orders

Cons:

• 48+ order minimum

• No online designer

Summary:

Bulk Custom Shirts is a strong custom t-shirt printing company if your order is over 50 shirts. For the quantity, it’s safe to say you’re getting good value for your money. They specialize in bulk orders and b2b production allowing their clients to get high quality t-shirt screen printing and embroidery for less. Bulk Custom Shirts also offers friendly and helpful graphic designers and product specialists ready to help with any question you may have 7 days a week.

3. Broken Arrow

Website: https://www.brokenarrowwear.com

Pros:

• Free delivery

• Fast turnaround time

• Easy online designer

• Huge online catalog

Cons:

• Weekend and late night orders only available through website

• Customer service only available from 8AM till 6PM Monday through Friday

Summary:

Broken Arrow offers an easy to use online design tool with over 13,000 pieces of clipart and hundreds of design ideas. All-inclusive pricing is provided on every Broken Arrow quote meaning there are no other fees to be applied. With Broken Arrow, you can order 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making it easy for most orders.

4. UberPrints

Website: http://www.uberprints.com

Pros:

• Good quality

• Good variety of apparel

• Offers custom pet apparel

• Easy online designer and quotes

Cons:

• Standard delivery is $5.99 with an additional $0.50 per item for orders under $100

• You must use the online designer

Summary:

Uberprints is another strong t-shirt printer if you are looking to design a shirt yourself. T-shirts from Uberprints are typically shipped out seven days after the day your order is placed depending on what your order is. Uberprints is also great if you want to print matching apparel for you and your pet! Uberprints website is designed for you to create your shirt alone without design help. If you are looking for design help, I would suggest going to Underground Printing.

5. Spreadshirt

Website: www.spreadshirt.com

Pros:

– Good Quality

– Nice size online catalog

– Custom phone cases

Cons:

– Turnaround time varies depending on what is ordered

– Shipping costs $5.00 for 1 or 2 items and increases as you buy more

Summary:

Spreadshirt is similar to Café Press but with more customizable options. Their online design took connects you directly to an artist community giving you unique, yet customizable designs. There’s fun graphics you can’t find anywhere else. The prices vary depending on the design and artist. Spreadshirt may also not be as ideal for large orders due to their shipping costs. Overall Spreadshirt is another strong custom apparel company and it’s great for a single custom tee or a phone case.

6. Designhill

Website: https://www.designhill.com

Pros:

• Professional designers that will design your logo for you

• Multiple designers to help with logos, designs, signs, and even car wraps

Cons:

• More of a design studio rather than a print shop

• Producing t-shirts can get costly

• Unspecified delivery dates (example: “3-5 days after fulfillment”)

• Designers will design your logo for around $149

Summary:

Designhill is great if you haven’t created your logo yet. They can make several different logos through their network of graphic designers. On the other hand, if you just need some touch-ups to your current designs or something simple, your best bet is to reach out to another custom printing company to avoid the $149 design fee.

7. Café Press

Website: https://www.cafepress.com

Pros:

• Offers good custom design ideas

• Great for gifts and single items or small orders

• Custom baby clothes, kitchenware, and home accessories

Cons:

• Expensive for large orders

• Limited selection with little to no brands

• No free shipping

Summary:

Café Press has a great variety of options from cool t-shirts to wall clocks. However, there are limited apparel options, an extra $100+ shipping fee for 100 shirts, and an overall higher price than some other companies. Café Press isn’t the right fit for large orders but it’s still a great place for small orders and gifts.

8. Big Frog

Website: https://www.bigfrog.com

Pros:

• No minimums on some products

• Local stores with fast turnaround time

Cons:

• No prices online

• No online t-shirt designer

• Limited selection of products compared to other companies

Summary:

Big frog is great for small projects and gifts. The main downside is that they do not offer an online t-shirt designer or prices. Luckily, Big Frog does have multiple store locations across the country. They offer direct to garment, screen printing, and embroidery services like many other custom apparel companies.

9. Discount Mugs

Website: www.discountmugs.com

Pros:

• Excellent quality

• Easy to follow online pricing grid

• Decent sized online catalog, especially for promotional products such as mugs and pens

Cons:

• Slower turnaround time

• Shipping is only free on orders over $75

Summary:

Discount Mugs offers so much more than just custom t-shirts. They offer mugs, pens, toys, and tons of promotional products. Their online pricing grid makes it easy to see their pricing per quantity and the cost between each printing method. While discount mugs may be the best for promotional products, mugs, etc. there are better options for custom apparel.

10. Vistaprint

Website: https://www.vistaprint.com

Pros:

• Top quality business cards, mugs, and signs

• Good online catalog, especially when it comes to paper products

Cons:

• Must use online designer

• Difficult to get a quote

• Less ideal for custom apparel printing than other companies

Summary:

Vistaprint is a well-known online retailer specializing in paper product printing. While they are one of the best for high quality business cards and stationary, they also provide decent custom apparel. When it comes to decorating t-shirts, Vistaprint provides a decent quality print with a decent selection of clipart. Overall for custom apparel they are OK but for paper products they are great.