The minimum order for custom shirts depends on how they are decorated. At French Press Custom, screen printing starts at 36 pieces per design, embroidery and hats start at 24, DTF transfers at 12, heat transfer vinyl at 6, and DTG printing has no minimum at all. If your count falls under a method's minimum, we do not turn the job away; we move it to the method that fits, most often DTG.
This guide explains where each number comes from, how the minimum is counted when an order has more than one design, and how to plan a mixed order so every piece lands on the right method. Everything here matches the rules our quote builder uses, so what you read is what you will be quoted.
What are the minimums for each print method?
Here is the quick reference. The second column is the one most people miss: it tells you what the minimum is counted against.
| Method | Minimum | Counted per | Under the minimum? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen printing | 36 | Each design | Moves to DTG |
| Embroidery | 24 | Each design | DTG for a printed logo, or add pieces |
| Hats (any decoration) | 24 | The hat order | Add pieces to reach 24 |
| DTF transfers | 12 | Each design | DTG for smaller runs |
| Heat transfer vinyl (HTV) | 6 | Each design | DTG for smaller runs |
| DTG printing | None | Not applicable | Even one shirt works |
One more note, because people ask: we do not offer sublimation, so there is no sublimation minimum to plan around. For polyester and performance wear, see our guide to printing on polyester and performance wear.
Why does screen printing have a 36 piece minimum per design?
Screen printing front-loads its work. Before the first shirt prints, every color in your design needs its own screen: coated with emulsion, exposed with your artwork, taped, registered on the press, and test printed until the colors line up. On dark garments the design also gets an underbase, which is one more screen. After the run, every screen is cleaned and reclaimed for the next job.
That prep happens whether you print 36 shirts or 3,600. We build it into the per-piece price instead of billing it as its own line, which is why the per-piece number drops so sharply as quantity climbs: the same prep is spread across more shirts. Below 36 pieces, the prep would swamp the price of each shirt and you would pay more than the same design costs on DTG. The 36 floor is where screen printing starts to make sense for you, not just for us. Our screen printing minimum post walks through that math in more detail.
Is the minimum per design or per order?
Both numbers matter, and they do different jobs:
- The minimum is checked per design. Each screen printed design needs its own 36 pieces, because each design needs its own screens. Two designs at 30 pieces each do not qualify, even though the order totals 60.
- The volume tier counts the whole order. Once each design clears 36, the price break is set by the total pieces on the order across all designs. Three designs at 40 pieces each are priced at the 120-piece tier, not the 40-piece tier.
That combination rewards orders that share a run. A school that orders one design for the staff, one for students, and one for the booster club gets the bigger tier on all three, as long as each design reaches 36 on its own.
What happens if one design is under 36 pieces?
It moves to DTG printing, and it stays on the same order. DTG prints the design straight onto the shirt from the digital file, so there are no screens, no setup, and no minimum. Full color costs the same as one color, which makes DTG a strong pick for detailed art on small runs.
Our quote builder does this routing automatically. If you price a 20-piece screen print job, it will show you the DTG option instead of a dead end. DTG works best on cotton and high-cotton blends; for polyester, a small run usually goes to DTF instead once it reaches 12 pieces.
How do minimums work on a mixed order?
Real orders are rarely one design on one garment. Here are three typical setups and how they break down. No prices here, since those move with garment choice and quantity; run your own numbers in the quote builder.
| Order | How it runs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 60 event tees (one design) + 15 staff tees (different design) | Event tees screen printed, staff tees on DTG | The staff design is under 36, so it routes to DTG |
| 40 polos with an embroidered left chest + 40 matching hats | Polos embroidered, hats embroidered | Both clear 24; the hats count as their own hat order |
| 18 team jerseys with names and numbers + one front logo | Logo by DTF or HTV, names and numbers in HTV | 18 is under 36 but over 12 and 6 |
The jersey case is common. When every piece carries a different name or number, heat transfer vinyl handles the personalization, because each name is cut individually with no extra setup. See our heat transfer vinyl guide for how that works.
Why does embroidery have a 24 piece minimum?
Every new logo has to be digitized: converted from artwork into a stitch file that tells the machine where every stitch goes, in what order, and with what thread. That is skilled work, charged as a one-time digitizing fee for a new logo. Then each run needs hooping, thread loading, and a test stitch-out before the first piece is sellable. The per-piece price includes a set stitch count, which covers most left chest logos.
Twenty-four pieces is where that work spreads across enough garments to be fair. The good news for reorders: digitizing is done once, and the stitch file stays on file for the next order. See our embroidery service page and the embroidery cost guide for current numbers, or price it in the quote builder.
Why are hats 24 pieces whatever the decoration?
Hats are their own production line. Structured caps run on a cap frame or a swing-away press instead of the flat hoops and platens used for shirts, and every hat style changes how the decoration sits. Whether the hat gets embroidery, a DTF transfer, or vinyl, the hat order starts at 24. Browse styles on our hats page.
What are the DTF and HTV minimums for?
DTF transfers start at 12 pieces. We print the design on film with a 24 inch DTF printer, coat it with adhesive powder, cure it, and press it onto the garment. There is a small setup per print location, and the per-transfer price steps down as quantity climbs. DTF is the go-to for full-color art on polyester, nylon, and blends, where DTG struggles. Current figures are in the DTF cost guide.
Heat transfer vinyl starts at 6 pieces. Vinyl is cut on a plotter, weeded by hand, and pressed. It is the lowest-minimum method after DTG and the best fit for names, numbers, and simple one or two color logos.
How do I get the best price per shirt?
A few habits that consistently save money:
- Check the next tier. Screen print price breaks come at 50, 100, 200, 450, and 1,000 pieces. If you are just under one, adding a few shirts can lower the total, not just the per-piece price.
- Combine designs on one order. The volume tier counts every piece on the order, so ordering staff and event shirts together beats two separate orders.
- Keep colors in check on screen print. Fewer colors means fewer screens and less prep folded into each piece.
- Reorder the same artwork. A reorder of the same design skips the setup cost, and your artwork is kept on file.
- Pick the method for the run, not the other way around. Small runs on DTG or DTF often beat a stretched-out screen print order.
For a fast benchmark, our 50-shirt pricing answer walks through a typical order.
How does ordering work once you know the method?
You send artwork and quantities, we confirm the method and send an estimate. A 50% deposit starts the job, and you approve a digital proof before anything prints. The balance is due before pickup. Pickup is at our shop at 14130 Rosecrans Ave in Santa Fe Springs, Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm, and we ship UPS and FedEx (street addresses only, no PO boxes). Most of our customers are in Los Angeles and Orange County, from Whittier and Downey to Cerritos and La Mirada.
Frequently asked questions
What is the smallest custom shirt order you will take?
One shirt, on DTG. DTG has no minimum and no setup, so a single shirt is priced on its own. Every other method has a floor: 6 for vinyl, 12 for DTF, 24 for embroidery and hats, and 36 per design for screen printing.
Can I split 36 screen printed shirts across two designs?
No. The screen print minimum is checked per design, so each design needs 36 pieces of its own. If one design comes in short, it moves to DTG on the same order, and the volume tier still counts every piece on the order.
Do different sizes and colors count toward the minimum?
Yes. Sizes count together, so 36 shirts split across small through 2XL meet the minimum. Different garment colors with the same design also count together, although dark and light garments may need different screens.
Is there a minimum on reorders?
The same minimums apply, but a reorder of the same screen printed design skips the setup cost, and embroidery reorders reuse the stitch file. That makes repeat orders noticeably cheaper per piece.
Why can't you just charge more to screen print 12 shirts?
Because DTG would beat it. At that size, the prep folded into each screen printed shirt would cost you more than printing the same design digitally, so we route it to DTG instead of quoting a price you should not pay.
