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Decision guide
What should I order?
Not sure whether to print or embroider, whether to pick Gildan or Bella, whether 12 is enough? Below are specific recommendations for 12 real situations — with the exact garment, decoration, quantity, and shipped price we'd suggest. Pick the one closest to yours and click through.
The short answer: Screen print or DTF for anything worn casually; embroider anything worn to represent a business. Gildan 5000 is the value default at $20 a piece for 1–5 down to $7 at 250+; Bella+Canvas 3001 adds +$3 a piece for retail feel. Price breaks start at 6 pieces ($14 a piece), 12 brings it to $12, and 24 unlocks $10 a piece — plus free digitizing on 24+ embroidered pieces.
🍽 Restaurant staff shirts
You need daily-wear shirts for 8–20 servers, bussers, or kitchen staff
Restaurant staff wear their branded shirt for hours a day, wash them multiple times a week, and replace them every 4–6 months. You need something soft enough to be comfortable across a double, durable enough to survive industrial washing, and cheap enough to reorder without hesitation.
GarmentBella+Canvas 3001 (soft) or Gildan 5000 (budget)
DecorationDTF or Screen print, 1-color left chest
Quantity24 pieces (covers 12 staff × 2 shirts)
Est. totalGildan: $240 · Bella: $312shipped FREE
Why 24: gets you spares for turnover and the daily rotation, and the Gildan drops to
$10 a piece from
$12 at 12. See
Restaurant shirts page for the 5 mistakes to avoid.
🔧 HVAC / plumbing crew
Uniform polos for 6–15 techs who visit customer homes
The polo needs to look sharp in a customer's kitchen, survive crawlspace work, and reorder easily when new techs join mid-year. Embroidered — not printed — because embroidery survives the wash cycle indefinitely and doesn't peel or crack.
GarmentHarriton M200 piqué polo (Navy or Black)
DecorationEmbroidered left chest with company logo
Quantity24 pieces (12 techs × 2)
Est. total$504 (digitizing waived)shipped FREE
🏡 Real-estate team
Branded polos for 6–20 agents at open houses and showings
You're showing $500k+ homes. The polo needs to signal "professional" from across a driveway. Embroidered logo, quality polo blank, name-add optional.
GarmentHarriton M200 (standard) or adidas performance polo (upgrade)
DecorationEmbroidered left chest (a name on the right chest is quoted per order)
Quantity12 pieces (per-agent) or 24 pieces (team + spares)
Est. total12: $331 incl. digitizing · 24: $504shipped FREE
Names: quoted per order — send the list with your logo. Optional but common on broker teams. See
Real-estate page.
💍 Wedding / bachelorette party
Matching shirts for 4–12 bridesmaids or a bachelorette weekend
Soft, cute, photographable — order 3 weeks before the event. DTF handles multi-color art beautifully (rose gold script on white tees, floral wreaths, etc.). Bella+Canvas is the go-to blank.
GarmentBella+Canvas 3001 (unisex) or Bella+Canvas Ladies
DecorationDTF full-color front print (or embroidered chest for classier look)
Quantity8–12 pieces
Est. total8: $136 · 12: $180shipped FREE
Colors: Vintage White, Pink, Sand, Heather Grey are the most-ordered for wedding/bachelorette. See
Wedding page.
⚾ Sports team / league
Practice tees, roster shirts, or coach polos for 15–30 players
Player numbers usually go on the back (+$3 a printed shirt; names are quoted per order). Screen printing is the winner for volume. Coach polos separate.
GarmentRussell Athletic Core Performance (moisture-wicking) or Gildan 5000 (budget)
DecorationScreen print team logo front + back (player numbers +$3 a shirt in the cart; individual names are quoted per order)
Quantity24 pieces (12 roster × 2, or 24 kids)
Est. totalGildan: $312 · Russell: $672, logo front and backshipped FREE
Mid-season adds: a kid joins in week 4, we've got the design on file — one shirt ships 4 business days after you approve the proof. No re-setup fees. See
Teams page.
⛪ Church staff or VBS
Staff polos, volunteer tees, or 60–150 kids' shirts for VBS week
Two orders in one — embroidered polos for pastors/staff, screen-printed tees for volunteers and kids. Both usually needed by the same deadline. Order 4 weeks before VBS.
Staff polosHarriton M200 embroidered × 6$217 incl. digitizing
Volunteer teesGildan 5000 screen print × 40$400 shipped FREE
Kids' teesGildan 5000B youth screen print × 90$900 shipped FREE
Two orders or one? One combined order arrives together and needs one proof approval. Each style still prices on its own quantity. See
Churches page.
🎒 School / PTA merch
Spirit wear or fundraiser shirts for 50–200 students
Screen print is the workhorse. Bright school colors, single-color logo, order 4–6 weeks before the event. Sizes span S through XL (occasionally 2XL for parents).
GarmentGildan 5000 (adult) + Gildan 5000B (youth)
DecorationScreen print, 1–2 color front (school logo)
Quantity100 pieces
Est. total$800 for 100 adult tees (youth tees price on their own count)shipped FREE
Size-collection sheet: we send you a spreadsheet template so parents/students fill in their sizes — pulls right into our order system. Saves the volunteer weeks of tracking. See
Schools page.
🍺 Brewery merch or staff
Retail tees or truckers for a taproom, or staff shirts for 8–15 bartenders
Breweries usually want two things: staff shirts (durable, dark colors, embroidered chest logo) and retail merch (soft tees, tri-blends, truckers with a woven patch). Different orders, different logic.
Staff (12)Gildan 5000 Black, DTF or screen 1-color$144
Retail tees (48)Bella+Canvas 3001 Sand/Heather, DTF full-color print$576 shipped FREE
Truckers (24)Richardson 112, embroidered front$504 shipped FREE
DTF is your friend for retail: gradients, full-color art, small-run test batches. Ship a proof to the taproom to check colors before committing to 100. See
Breweries page.
💛 Nonprofit event tees
100–500 shirts for a 5K, gala, or awareness event
Every dollar off the shirt is a dollar toward the mission. Screen print, 1-color art on a Gildan 5000, order 6 weeks before. Bulk quantities unlock the aggressive per-piece pricing.
GarmentGildan 5000 in event color
DecorationScreen print, 1-color front (add a back print for sponsors, +$3/pc)
Quantity250 pieces (best per-piece cost)
Est. total$1,750 · $2,500 with a sponsor back printshipped FREE
Sponsor logos: back print with 4–8 sponsor logos is worth the
+$3/pc — sponsors renew every year when they see the visibility. See
Nonprofits page.
🔨 Construction crew
Carhartt workwear for 6–15 crew, plus optional hi-vis
Carhartt is the customer expectation on a real jobsite. K87 pocket tee for warm weather, K121 midweight hoodie for cold. Embroidered chest — not printed — because print doesn't survive the abuse.
SummerCarhartt K87 tee embroidered × 12quoted
WinterCarhartt K121 hoodie embroidered × 12quoted
Hi-visANSI Class 2 hi-vis tee × 12quoted
💪 Gym / fitness trainer apparel
Trainer tees or coach polos for 6–15 staff
Moisture-wicking is table stakes. Trainers sweat, wash daily, and rep the brand in every class. Moisture-wicking polyester is the standard.
Trainer teesRussell Athletic Core Performance (100% polyester, moisture-wicking) × 24$600 shipped FREE
Coach polosGildan 8800 DryBlend polo, embroidered × 12$343 incl. digitizing
Athletic cuts: performance blanks run slimmer than Gildan/Bella. Order one size up if trainers are between sizes. See
Gyms page.
🎉 One-time event shirts
Reunions, fundraisers, corporate outings — 20–60 shirts you only need once
DTF wins here almost always. Full-color art (event logo, date, sponsors), no per-color surcharge, small quantities priced fairly.
GarmentGildan 5000 (budget) or Bella+Canvas 3001 (soft)
DecorationDTF full-color front print with event branding
Quantity48 pieces
Est. totalGildan: $432 · Bella: $576shipped FREE
Timing: event 3 weeks out? Standard — about 7–10 business days from order to door. Inside two weeks? $50 flat rush cuts production to 2 business days (about 5–8 business days door to door). Tighter than that, email
orders@harborsideprint.com before you order — overnight or 2-day air can be quoted.
The two universal rules
1. Embroider when the shirt is customer-facing and lives in the customer's memory. HVAC polos, real-estate polos, hospitality staff — embroidery. Screen print or DTF when the shirt is disposable, event-specific, or worn casually — team practice tees, retail merch, wedding party shirts.
2. Bump to the next price break when it's within reach. On a Gildan 5000, 18 shirts are $12 a piece and 24 are $10 — 24 cost $240 against $216 for 18, so the extra 6 shirts work out to $4 each, and you get spares.
Questions people ask
Should I embroider or print polos?
Embroider polos for anything customer-facing — real estate agents, restaurant hosts, HVAC crews, corporate events. Embroidery is more durable, looks more premium and is the standard for professional apparel. Printing on polos only makes sense for high-volume promotional or event polos where you are keeping the per-piece cost down.
Should I use screen print or DTF for a small team order (12 shirts)?
The price is the same either way: printed pieces sit on one per-piece ladder with no setup or screen fees, so 12 Gildan 5000 tees are $12 each whichever method prints them. We pick the method that suits your art — DTF for full-color art, gradients and small runs, screen printing for solid-color art at 24 or more pieces — and your free proof shows it.
What garment should I get for a wedding party?
Bella+Canvas 3001 (unisex jersey tee) is the wedding-party favorite: soft, flattering in photos and it prints beautifully. For heathered colors, go with the Bella+Canvas 3001CVC. For bachelorette weekends, a full-color DTF print on a Bella tee costs the same as a one-color design — there is no per-color charge.
What's the best garment for a construction or HVAC crew?
Carhartt K87 pocket tees for warm months, Carhartt K121 midweight hoodies for cool months, and Harriton M200 polos for client-facing service techs — all with an embroidered chest logo. Carhartt is quoted per order, with a written quote before you pay; customers notice it and it lasts on real job sites.
Still not sure?
Skip the guesswork:
- Use the quote box on our homepage — pick a garment, method and quantity and see the total in seconds.
- Or open the shop: every product page shows its price at every quantity, and the cart shows the exact total before you pay.
- Or email orders@harborsideprint.com — a real human replies within a few hours during business days.
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