Small Run Shirt Printing in Gantt, SC priced without the padding
A twelve piece order costs more per shirt than a hundred piece order, and here is why. Setup is the same either way. We just do not charge you extra for full color art.
What a Twelve Piece Order Actually Costs in Gantt
Price per shirt on a small run is higher than on a big one, and anybody who tells you different is hiding a fee somewhere else. The reason is simple. The work that happens before a single shirt gets printed, reading your file, cleaning up the art, sizing it for the chest or the back, running a test print and checking the color, takes the same amount of time whether you ordered twelve or two hundred. Spread that across twelve pieces and each one carries more of it. Spread it across two hundred and it nearly disappears. So when you look up custom t-shirt printing Gantt SC and see a per piece number, ask what quantity it assumes.
DTF printing is what makes twelve pieces work at all. Direct to film means the art gets printed and heat pressed, so there are no screens to burn and no per color setup to pay for. A four color logo costs the same as a one color logo, and a shirt with a photograph on it costs the same again. Embroidery runs on the same twelve piece floor and suits hats, polos, jackets and workwear where thread holds up better than ink. Screen printing is still the cheapest way to buy shirts once you are past about forty eight, so if your Gantt order grows, we will tell you when the math flips.
The twelve piece floor exists for the orders most shops treat as a nuisance. A four man framing crew in Gantt that needs hoodies with the company name on the back. A church group with a dozen volunteers for a Saturday project. A restaurant hiring three servers and topping up the staff shirts. Booster clubs, small nonprofits, a teacher buying shirts for one classroom, a retailer testing a design before committing to a real print run. Those orders are the bulk of what comes through here from Greenville County. None of them need five hundred shirts sitting in a closet, and none of them should have to buy that many to get a decent print.
Mixed sizes cost nothing extra. Twelve pieces can be two smalls, five mediums, three larges and two 2XL, and the only price change is the standard bump the garment maker charges on extended sizes. You do not have to order in even blocks, and you do not have to guess. Send us the size list you actually have and we will quote that exact list, not a rounded up version of it.
What Twelve Pieces Can Get You
Every item below starts at twelve pieces except the screen printed bulk runs, and every one of them takes full color art without a color charge.
Custom T-Shirts
The workhorse. Twelve pieces, any mix of sizes, printed by DTF so a full color design costs what a single color one does. Cotton, blends and performance fabrics all take it well.
Hoodies and Crewnecks
Heavier garments, same twelve piece floor. Front left chest, full back, sleeve hits, or all three on the same order. Popular with crews who want one warm layer that shows the company name.
Embroidered Hats
Stitched logos on caps, beanies and trucker styles, twelve pieces to start. Thread reads sharp on a small logo and it does not fade the way a print on a hat eventually will.
Polos and Workwear
Embroidered polos, button downs, jackets and safety wear for people who need to look put together on a job site or in front of a customer. Names on one side, logo on the other if you want.
Bulk Screen Printing
Once the count clears about forty eight, screens start paying for themselves and the per shirt price drops hard. Best for one or two color designs going out in real volume.
Event and Fundraiser Apparel
Small runs for a 5K, a church retreat, a booster sale or a memorial. Order the twelve you know you need, see how they move, then come back for more with the art already on file.
The Reasons People Do Not Order
Most of the hesitation around a small order comes down to money, art files or getting stuck with something you cannot use.
Twelve feels too small to bother you
It is not. Twelve is where we start on purpose, because most of the orders that come out of Greenville County are that size. You get the same proof, the same press and the same attention a two hundred piece order gets.
Will full color art cost me more
No. DTF does not use screens, so there is no per color setup to pass along. A gradient, a photo, six colors in one logo, all of it prices the same as a plain one color chest print.
My logo file is a mess
Send it anyway. A phone photo of an old shirt, a screenshot, a business card, we have worked from worse. If the file needs to be redrawn to print clean, we tell you before anything moves, not after.
What if the sizes are all different
That is the normal case. Twelve pieces can be twelve different sizes if that is what your people wear. The only thing that changes the price is the extended size upcharge the garment maker sets, and we show it on the quote.
A 5.0 Rating Across 21 Reviews
"Moe was awesome. Great communication and got the order done quickly. We are very happy with the results."
Joseph Keller"These guys are top notch! We love our shirts and will be ordering again when the time comes. Thanks!"
Coffee Underground"Ordered 10 shirts and a hoodie. Excellent quality and service. Will definitely be using again in the future. A++"
JohnnyHow a Small Order Moves
Send the details
Tell us the garment, the count, the size breakdown and where the art goes. Attach whatever logo file you have, rough is fine.
Get the price
You get a written quote with the per piece number, any extended size upcharge and the total. Nothing hidden underneath it.
Approve the proof
We send a digital mockup showing size and placement on the actual garment color. Change it as many times as you need before printing starts.
Print and deliver
Production runs 5 to 7 days after you approve. Finished order ships to you or gets delivered around the Greenville area.
Questions About Small Runs
Twelve pieces for DTF printing on shirts and hoodies, and twelve for embroidery on hats, polos and workwear. Screen printing usually starts around forty eight because of the screen setup involved. If you are close to that number, ask, because sometimes the screen printed price is better even after the setup.
Yes, as long as the total hits twelve. Six shirts and six hoodies counts. The art gets sized differently for each garment so it sits right, and both come back on the same delivery. Mixing garment types does change the per piece price, since a hoodie blank costs more than a tee.
Five to seven days once you approve the proof. The clock starts at approval, not at the first email, so the faster you sign off on the mockup the faster it ships. If you have a hard date, say so up front and we will tell you honestly whether it works.
There is no public storefront. Printed Essentials works out of the Greenville Upstate and gets orders to Gantt by delivery or shipping, whichever suits you. Everything else happens by phone and email, including the proof, so you are never guessing what the finished piece will look like.
It does if you treat it like any printed garment. Wash cold, inside out, and skip the high heat dryer setting. Done that way the print stays flexible and keeps its color a long time. Work shirts that get washed twice a week are the real test and they hold.
Get a Real Number on Your Twelve Pieces
Send the count, the sizes and the art, and you will get an itemized quote back with no per color charge buried in it.