Custom Apparel No Minimum, From One Piece Up

Can a Small Business Get Branded Logo Apparel in a Short Run?

Yes, and it's one of the most common orders we see. Six polos for the front office, two caps for a food truck, one jacket for the owner, a handful of branded tees for a pop-up booth. You can mix styles in one order and add pieces later as the team grows.

Short runs also make onboarding easy. When a new hire starts, order one shirt in their size instead of waiting to batch a dozen. Reorders of the same design skip both the $35 digitizing fee and any screen-print setup, so the second, third and tenth order carry no new setup cost. For polos, quarter-zips and jackets organized by role, see our company logo apparel.

How Pricing Works on Small Orders

Every piece of decorated apparel is priced from the same ingredients:

• The garment. Blank prices are listed on each product page, from everyday tees to premium heavyweight hoodies.
• The decoration method. Embroidery, DTF, a patch or, for 100+ pieces, screen printing.
• Colors or stitches. More screen colors or a denser stitch count adds cost.
• Placements. A left chest only costs less than left chest, full back and sleeve.
• One-time setup, divided across the number of pieces.

That last line is the main reason quantity matters even with no minimum: a small order has fewer pieces to share the setup. If you're comparing shops, ask what fees apply below their usual run size and whether setup is charged again on reorders. Our checklist for comparing apparel companies covers the other questions worth asking.

Setup and Digitizing Fees, Explained

There are only three setup fees, and they're the same at any quantity:

• Embroidery: a one-time $35 digitizing fee per design. The stitch file is downloadable from your account, and reorders of the same design skip the fee.
• Screen printing: for 100+ piece orders through our team, with setup quoted with your order.
• DTF: no setup fee at all.

Patches are quoted with your order. Here's how the one-time fees spread across different order sizes:

For one to a dozen full-color pieces, DTF almost always comes out ahead. For a logo you'll stitch again and again, the $35 embroidery fee is paid once and never again for that design.

On-Demand Production: How Small Runs Get Made

Small orders work because the right methods don't need a big setup:

• DTF is digital. The design prints straight from your file, so there are no screens to burn and no penalty for full color, photos or gradients.
• Embroidery runs from one stitch file. Once your logo is digitized, the machine stitches one cap or fifty with the same file.
• Screen printing needs a screen for each color, which is why it's the method that rewards bigger runs.

Every order follows the same path: choose the garment, upload your art, preview it live in our 3D Custom Designer, then we decorate it. Bulk orders of 100+ pieces get a free mockup. Orlando-metro customers can pick up finished orders at our Orlando-area warehouse, and every order can ship anywhere in the US. Need it for a specific date? Rush orders are available, with the rush fee quoted with your order.

Affordable Picks for Tight Budgets

Inexpensive custom apparel is mostly about smart choices, not cheap blanks:

1. Pick DTF for small, colorful runs. No setup fee means the price is just the garment and the print.
2. Use one placement. A left-chest logo or a single front print keeps decoration cost down.
3. Simplify the art. One or two colors print cleaner and cost less if you move to screen printing later.
4. Choose a classic midweight tee or a structured cap before premium blanks. Caps are one-size, so nothing goes to waste.
5. Reuse what you've paid for. Setup fees are one-time per design, for embroidery digitizing and screen printing alike. Reorders, and the same design on a different product, carry no new setup.

Products Suited to Low Quantities: Hats, Tees, Hoodies and Patches

Some products are especially well suited to single pieces and short runs:

• Hats: one size fits most, so a small order never leaves you with the wrong sizes. Browse no-minimum hats, from trucker caps to Richardson styles.
• T-shirts: the easiest one-off of all with DTF. See our no-minimum t-shirts.
• Hoodies: a single branded or personalized hoodie makes a strong gift or sample. Shop hoodies with no minimum.
• Patches: embroidered, PVC or leather patches, ordered in small batches. Start with no-minimum patches.
• Embroidery on anything above: see how no-minimum embroidery works, including digitizing and file ownership.

When Bulk Pricing Beats Small Orders

No minimum doesn't mean small is always cheapest. Once the same design runs to 100+ pieces, screen printing's setup becomes a small fraction of each shirt, and larger orders lower the per-piece cost of decoration. If you know you'll need 50 shirts over the next few months, ordering them together usually costs less than five separate runs. For large company, league or event orders, see our volume pricing for big orders.

Gift Orders and Personalized Pieces

Plenty of our single-piece orders aren't for businesses at all. A hoodie with a grandparent's name list, a birthday tee, a shirt with the dog's portrait, a sweatshirt for a new graduate. Personalized pieces can share one design with a different name or date on each, and you'll see every version on the mockup before production.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there really no minimum order?

Yes. Custom apparel no minimum means you can order a single piece with embroidery or DTF; screen printing is for orders of 100+ pieces through our team. One-time setup fees still apply where a method needs them ($35 digitizing for embroidery), but there's no small-order requirement. DTF has no setup fee at all.

How much does one custom shirt cost?

It depends on the shirt you choose, the decoration method and the number of placements. Garment prices are listed on each product page. A one-off full-color print with DTF adds no setup fee. An embroidered logo adds a one-time $35 digitizing fee, which reorders of the same design skip. You'll preview your design in our 3D Custom Designer before you pay for production, or request a bulk quote for 100+ pieces.

Why do small orders cost more per piece?

Because one-time setup is shared by fewer pieces. A $35 embroidery digitizing fee is $35 on one cap but about $0.73 each on 48. Larger runs can also lower the per-piece decoration cost. That's why DTF, with no setup fee, is usually the best value for small orders.

What's the cheapest way to get custom apparel?

Keep it simple: one placement, a classic midweight blank, and DTF for small full-color runs, since it has no setup fee. For a logo you'll reuse, embroidery's $35 digitizing fee is paid once per design. For 100+ pieces of the same one- or two-color design, screen printing becomes the cheapest per piece.

Can I mix sizes and colors with no minimum?

Yes. One design can run across different sizes, colors and even garment styles in the same order, such as two black tees in medium, one white tee in XL and a matching cap. Each piece is shown on your mockup so you can confirm sizes, colors and placement before production.