Get Your Custom Tee Order Right the First Time
A clear, print-ready T-shirt order saves everyone time, money, and stress. When your sizes, colours and artwork are all locked in, your job moves smoothly through production and you avoid last‑minute changes or awkward surprises when the boxes arrive.
We see this a lot with local crews and clubs around Melbourne. One local construction company needed new safety tees for an end-of-financial-year rollout across three sites in the western suburbs. Because their brief was tight, with sizes, colour codes and placement all set from day one, the shirts were packed by site, labelled by size, and ready with no frantic calls or extra rush fees.
Below is a simple, visual checklist you can follow to get your custom tee order right the first time.
1. Start with Your Purpose, Audience and Budget
Visual prompt: Use a one-page planning sheet with three boxes: Purpose, Who Wears It, Budget Per Shirt.
Before you think about colours or logos, get clear on why you are ordering tees and who will wear them. This shapes everything that follows.
Common purposes:
• Staff uniforms or workwear
• Event tees for volunteers or participants
• Promo giveaways at markets or activations
• Club or team merch to resell
• School or community fundraisers
Who is wearing the shirts?
• Tradies or field staff who need hard-wearing, easy-wash gear
• Office teams who want something clean and comfortable
• Sports teams who sweat and move a lot
• Kids and youth groups who grow quickly
How this affects the garment:
• Work crews: may need high-visibility, heavier fabric and long-term durability
• Streetwear/merch: fashion cuts, on‑trend colours, softer feel
• Community events: simple, good-value tees that still wash well
Budget basics:
• How many shirts do you need in total?
• Realistic spend per shirt for your group?
• One‑off event or ongoing uniform (with reorders)?
Quantity breaks, decoration type and garment quality all affect the final price. When you share your purpose, audience and budget with your printer up front, they can recommend a mix that fits instead of guessing from a vague brief.
2. Choose Garments and Print Methods for Real-World Use
Visual prompt: Side‑by‑side photos of each garment type (standard tee, hi‑vis, performance, fashion fit) with short labels.
Once you know the purpose, pick garments that match real life, not just a nice mock‑up.
Common T-shirt options:
• Standard cotton tees: everyday wear, simple prints, good comfort
• Blended workwear tees: added durability, hold shape with frequent washing
• High‑vis tees: for job sites and safety requirements
• Performance fabric: moisture‑wicking, light, good for sport and training
• Fashion cuts: oversized, boxy or fitted styles for merch lines
Where relevant, you can also ask about:
• Organic or recycled fabrics for uniforms or merch that support your sustainability goals
• Better-quality blanks that last longer, so you replace less often
Decoration methods: quick visual guide
Show a simple comparison graphic: three T‑shirts side‑by‑side labelled Embroidery / DTF / Sublimation.
Embroidery
• Best for: small logos on thicker garments (polos, heavyweight tees, hoodies)
• Look: premium, textured, long‑lasting
• Avoid for: very fine detail or large full‑front designs
DTF printing
• Best for: bright, detailed prints in smaller or mixed quantities
• Fabrics: works on most cotton and poly blends
• Benefit: strong colour without screen setup minimums
Sublimation
• Best for: light‑coloured polyester
• Ideal use: all‑over or full‑colour sports and training tops
• Feel: print becomes part of the fabric, won’t crack or peel
Local examples:
• A café in Brunswick chose heavyweight cotton tees with a left chest embroidered logo and a single‑colour back print. Staff wash them daily, and the embroidery still looks sharp after a full season.
• A junior netball club in the south‑east moved to sublimated long‑sleeve training tops. Player numbers and sponsor logos are locked into the fabric, so they do not peel off mid‑season and are easy to reorder next year.
3. Gather Artwork and Colour Codes the Smart Way
Visual prompt: Show a “good file vs bad file” example: crisp vector logo next to a blurry screenshot.
Artwork is where custom tees can look sharp or messy. Sending clean files from the start keeps your prints crisp.
Artwork checklist:
• Preferred file types: vector files like AI, EPS or PDF where possible
• For raster images: high resolution at print size, usually 300 dpi or better
• Avoid tiny web images or screenshots
• Convert text to outlines if you can
Vector files can be scaled up without losing quality. Low‑res files tend to look fuzzy or blocky once printed, especially on larger front or back designs.
Colour accuracy matters:
• Share Pantone colour codes if your brand uses them
• Or CMYK breakdowns from your designer
• Hex codes for digital brand colours as a backup reference
This keeps a one‑colour yoga studio logo match consistent across tees, caps and tote bags, and stops a detailed band tee shifting into the wrong shade after printing.
When you brief your printer, think visually.
Example layout notes:
• Front: small logo on left chest in white (Pantone X C)
• Back: large artwork centred, full colour
• Right sleeve: single‑colour logo
Add one of these:
• Quick sketch on paper with arrows and labels
• Screenshot of a mock‑up with text notes
• Marked‑up photo of someone wearing a blank tee
It does not need to be pretty; it just needs to be clear.
4. Map Out Sizes, Quantities and Placements
Visual prompt: Simple size grid table plus a placement diagram showing chest, back and sleeve locations.
Sizes and quantities are where orders often go wrong. A simple grid keeps it tidy.
Example size grid:
• XS, S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL
• Separate lines for men’s/unisex cuts and women’s cuts
• Add youth sizes (6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16) if needed
Choosing the mix:
• Office or mixed staff groups: often centred around S to XL
• Tradie crews: may lean to larger sizes
• Kids groups: more youth sizes, fewer very large sizes
Always build in a buffer. A few extra shirts is usually cheaper and easier than a tiny reprint later when someone new starts or a volunteer joins just before an event.
Standard placements:
• Left chest logo: around 8 to 10 cm wide
• Centre front: around 20 to 30 cm wide (depends on shirt size)
• Full back: usually similar width to centre front
• Sleeves: often 7 to 10 cm wide for logos or text
Simple ways to show placement:
• A mock‑up file from your designer
• A marked‑up photo of a blank tee with arrows and notes
• A hand sketch scanned or snapped on your phone
Local example:
A community fun‑run in the northern suburbs ordered 500 tees. They used a single placement (large centre‑front print, small sponsor logo on the sleeve) across all sizes and colours. Their clear size grid and one consistent placement meant production could set up once and run the full batch without confusion.
5. Lock in Timelines, Approvals and Delivery Details
Visual prompt: Timeline bar from "Brief" → "Mock‑up" → "Approval" → "Production" → "Delivery".
Timelines can make or break custom jobs. Work backwards from your event date or rollout date and add buffer for approvals.
Keep peak periods in mind:
• Winter sport
• End of financial year uniforms
• School events and graduations
Printers are often busier then, so early planning helps your job land where it needs to.
A typical production flow for custom T-shirt printing in Melbourne:
• You send a clear brief with artwork and order details
• The printer confirms the quote and any artwork tweaks
• You review digital mock‑ups or sample photos
• Production begins after written approval
• Garments are finished, packed and delivered or made ready for pickup
Your printer usually needs in writing:
• Final artwork files and confirmed colour codes
• Locked‑in size and quantity list
• Due date, delivery address and contact person
• Any packing requests (size stickers, bundle by department, site or team)
Approvals:
• Decide who has final sign‑off in your team
• Keep feedback in one consolidated message where possible
• After approval, avoid changes unless something is genuinely urgent (these can affect cost and timing)
6. Use This Print-Ready Order Checklist Today
Visual prompt: Turn this checklist into a one‑page PDF or email template that your team can reuse.
Copy and paste this into your next email brief:
• Purpose and audience: what the shirts are for and who will wear them
• Garment type: style, colour, fabric notes (e.g. hi‑vis, performance, organic)
• Decoration method: embroidery, DTF printing or sublimation preference (if known)
• Artwork: files attached, fonts outlined, any notes on detail
• Colour codes: Pantone, CMYK or hex references
• Sizes and quantities: clear grid for each style and cut (men’s, women’s, youth)
• Placements: front, back, sleeves with rough print sizes and any sketches or mock‑ups
• Timelines: required in‑hand date and any hard deadlines
• Delivery: address, contact details and any packing or labelling notes
• Sustainability preferences (optional): e.g. organic fabrics, recycled blends, or longer‑lasting garments to reduce reorders
At Thread Traders in Melbourne, we see how much smoother production runs when this information is locked in from the start. Local clubs, schools and businesses that use this kind of checklist get:
• Less back and forth
• Fewer last‑minute changes and surprises
• Uniforms and merch that show up looking exactly how the team pictured them
Clear, complete briefs help us focus on what matters most: quality decoration, craftsmanship, attention to detail and professional results on every custom tee order.
Get Started With Your Project Today
If you are ready to create quality merch that actually gets worn, our team at Thread Traders is here to help with custom T-shirt printing in Melbourne tailored to your brief, budget and timeline. We will work with you on design, garments and print options so your tees look sharp and feel great to wear. Share a few details about your project and we will come back with clear pricing and practical suggestions. To kick things off or ask a quick question, simply contact us.
