How do I plan the first production run for a new clothing brand?

Choose the print method per design, by quantity

The method is a quantity decision before it is a style decision. Screen printing needs 36 pieces of the same design in the same ink colors, and once you clear that line it is the cheapest and most durable way to print a 1- to 4-color graphic. Below 36 pieces of a design, DTG prints straight from the file onto the shirt with no screens and no minimum, about $15.00 per shirt at 12 pieces on a light garment.

A common first-drop pattern is one hero design deep enough to screen print, plus a few test designs on DTG. The volume tier is set by the total pieces on the order across all designs, so the hero design and the tests price together, while each design still has to reach 36 on its own to run on screens. Two designs at 18 pieces each are both under the line.

Spend on the blank

For a brand, the shirt is the product, so the blank is where a first run should spend. Heavyweight cotton tees with a relaxed or boxy fit are the staple of streetwear and lifestyle brands, and garment-dyed tees give the washed, vintage color that customers associate with premium merch. A light, budget tee with the same print reads as a giveaway.

As a reference point, a Comfort Colors 1717 starts around $11.34 per piece at the current catalog price with our standard markup, before printing. We bill every blank at wholesale times 1.75, and the calculator prices the exact style and size run you pick.

Finishing turns a printed shirt into a product

Retail-ready means the garment carries your brand, not the blank maker's. These are the finishing services we offer, each priced per piece and shown as its own line on the quote:

• Tagless neck print: your label printed inside the neck in place of the manufacturer tag.
• Woven labels: custom woven brand labels sewn into the neck or side seam, including producing the labels themselves.
• Label removal: the manufacturer label taken out cleanly before relabeling. Some heavyweight blanks ship with tear-away labels, which makes this step simpler.
• Hangtags and UPC stickers for shops and wholesale accounts.
• Fold and polybag, so each piece arrives ready to ship or shelve.

Size run, samples and timing

With no sales history, weight the run toward medium, large and extra large, keep the smallest and largest sizes thin, and plan to reorder what sells. Extended sizes from 2XL up carry a size upcharge on the blank, and the calculator shows it before you commit.

Before committing to the full run, a single DTG print of the design on your chosen blank is a cheap way to check fit, color and placement; just keep in mind DTG looks flatter and softer than a screen print of the same art. Standard turnaround is about 2-3 weeks after the artwork is approved and the deposit is paid, so set the launch date from there and approve the proof in one pass.