The Best Companies for Custom Employee Shirts

Ordering employee shirts sounds like a simple feat. But all too often, what started as a great mock-up turns into a disappointing print. Even if the first batch arrives fine, the second order might come in a slightly different shade, have thicker print, or be inconsistently sized. Now you’re explaining to your team why half the staff looks put-together, and the other half looks like their brand new shirts have already been through a few rough weeks.

These are the brands that do printing right, from a high-quality design & ordering experience to a consistent, sharp product.

At a Glance

Company	Typical Order Size	Service Offerings	Turnaround	Customer Support	Best For
BlueCotton	50–300+	Screen printing, embroidery, DTG, and discharge	~7–10 days	Hands-on, human support	Businesses needing consistent, repeat orders
Custom Ink	One-offs to bulk prints	Screen printing, embroidery, and DTG	~10–14 days	Structured, process-driven	Easy group orders across teams
4imprint	50–500+	Screen printing and embroidery	~7–12 days	Strong account management	Branded kits and promotional campaigns
Carhartt Company Gear	25–200+	Embroidery and limited printing	~10–15 days	Solid, brand-backed	Durable uniforms for physical work
Underground Printing	20–200+	Screen printing, DTG, and embroidery	As fast as same-day or 2 days	Responsive but speed-focused	Fast turnaround

BlueCotton

BlueCotton is big enough to handle bulk orders, but still runs like a company where someone actually looks at your order before it goes to print.

They run their production in-house, which anyone who’s dealt with an outsourced vendor knows the value of. If anything needs fixing, you’ll be talking to a human CS rep who’s in the same building as the printers themselves. And for a printer that isn’t cutting corners on quality control, getting orders out in 7–10 days is solid, and they’re generally upfront when timelines shift.

Overall, I’d trust BlueCotton for employee uniforms, onboarding kits, or anything you’ll reorder regularly. It feels like a partner, not just a printer.

Where it stands out:

• Strong consistency across repeat orders
• In-house production (less outsourcing, fewer surprises)
• Better handling of softer fabrics and premium blanks
• Customer support that actually responds like humans

Where it’s not for everyone:

• Not the cheapest option for one-off orders
• Overkill if you just need a few shirts for a casual event

Custom Ink

Custom Ink is usually the first name people come across when looking for custom apparel, and for good reason. They’ve made the ordering process incredibly easy — their design tool is one of the better ones available, and the group ordering feature is genuinely useful if you’ve got employees in different locations ordering their own sizes.

The shirts themselves are solid. I’ve ordered heavier tees through them (think Gildan Ultra Cotton or Hanes Beefy-T), and they felt durable. They’re solid for events or uniforms that take a beating.

Where it stands out:

• Easy group ordering system with no minimum order
• Large catalog with familiar brands
• Reliable for straightforward bulk orders

Where it falls short:

• Print can feel abnormally thicker, depending on the method
• Less guidance on fabric and print pairing
• Feels more transactional than consultative

4imprint

4imprint is less about “just shirts” and more about full branded kits. If you’re putting together onboarding boxes or event giveaways with everything from shirts and hats to drinkware and pens, they’re convenient.

The tradeoff is that apparel isn’t their main focus, and you can often tell. They have a more limited color palette available, and the focus seems to be on bulk printing and not on wearable merch. I tried one of their midweight tees, and it was fine, but it didn’t feel curated. More like it was selected to fit into a larger promotional catalog than to be the best shirt on its own.

Where it stands out:

• Huge range of branded products
• Good for bundled orders
• Solid logistics for large campaigns

Where it falls short:

• Apparel quality can feel secondary
• Less control over fabric and print nuance

Carhartt Company Gear

Carhartt Company Gear specializes in durable products (think heavier tees, work shirts, and outerwear). It’s a suitable option if your company wants uniforms that can take a beating and look good doing it.

These aren’t soft, lightweight retail tees. They’re thick, structured, and built for people who actually put their clothes through something. I’ve seen some of the hardware stores and landscaping services in my area sport their gear, and it’s definitely structured enough to throw in the washing machine at full blast.

A contractor recently gave me a promotional shirt from them, and I wore this heavier tee for a full day of errands and yard work. It held up great, but it also ran warm. Definitely not something I’d pick for a hot office environment.

Where it stands out:

• Extremely durable fabrics
• Strong brand recognition
• Great for trades, logistics, and field teams

Where it falls short:

• Limited style variety
• Not ideal for lighter, more modern fits

Underground Printing

Underground Printing is who you’d turn to when you’re in a last-minute rush. They’re built for speed first and foremost, and they deliver on that.

The quality is decent, but you can tell that the priority is getting orders out quickly rather than dialing in every detail. I’ve seen prints from them that looked great initially but felt a bit heavier after a few washes. It’s not terrible by any stretch of the imagination; just not something I’d rely on for long-term uniforms.

Where it stands out:

• Fast turnaround options
• Solid for event-based orders
• Straightforward ordering process

Where it falls short:

• Less consistency across large or repeat orders
• Print feel can vary

How to Actually Get Employee Shirt Orders Right

Fabric Choices Matter More Than They Look

Most brands will show you a wall of options that all sound similar: soft cotton, premium cotton, ringspun, blended, lightweight, and midweight.

In reality, you’re usually choosing between a few core categories:

• Heavier, more structured cotton (durable but less soft)
• Midweight ringspun cotton (balanced and safe)
• Softer retail-style blends (more comfortable, but slightly less rugged)

What matters is how that fabric behaves after printing. A cheaper cotton tee can feel stiff under the weight of the ink. A softer ringspun shirt can feel great, but only if the print method makes sense for the fabric. That’s the part most platforms don’t explain clearly, and where the right vendor will step in and guide you before it turns into a problem. 

Print Method Can Change Everything

Two shirts can be the same blank and still feel completely different, depending on how they’re printed. 

For example, screen printing is durable and consistent for bulk orders, but it can feel heavier on softer fabrics if not handled well. DTG (direct-to-garment) works better for detailed designs and lighter prints, but it depends heavily on fabric quality.

And then there are variations like discharge printing, where the ink actually removes dye from the fabric instead of layering more on top. When it’s done right, the print almost disappears into the shirt. When it’s not, it looks uneven.

Where Custom Employee T-Shirts Go Wrong

Custom T-shirts are easier than something like jackets, but that doesn’t mean they’re foolproof. The biggest mistake I see is people treating them like a low-stakes purchase. They assume any vendor can handle it, pick a shirt based on price, upload a logo, and move on.

This might work at first. After all, printers want your business and will do everything they can to get the first batch right. Everything is fresh, carefully handled, and closely checked. 

The problems don’t tend to show up until the second or third order. That’s when the small inconsistencies start creeping in:

• The black looks slightly faded this time
• The print feels thicker or stiffer
• The fit runs differently even though it’s “the same shirt”

None of these is a deal-breaker on its own, but together, they make your team look like they ordered from three different vendors.

And unfortunately, once shirts are distributed, fixing them isn’t simple. This is why consistency across reorders ends up being the thing that matters most, even more than how the first batch looked.

How to Choose the Right T-Shirt Vendor for Your Team

Start With How the Shirts Will Be Used

A restaurant team, a startup office, and a field crew all need something different.

• Daily uniforms: Durability and consistency matter most
• Office or client-facing wear: Comfort and fit matter more
• Events or short-term use: Speed and price matter more

If you don’t define that upfront, you’ll end up optimizing for the wrong thing.

Think Beyond the First Order

It’s easy to compare pricing on a single batch. It’s harder to evaluate what happens three months later when you need 40 more shirts.

Ask:

• Will this shirt still be available?
• Will the color match exactly?
• Will the print feel the same?

Some companies handle this well; others treat every order like a standalone job. If you’re onboarding regularly or scaling a team, that difference becomes very obvious very quickly.

Don’t Over-Rely on Mockups

Mockups are helpful, but they’re not reality.

A design that looks clean on screen can feel heavy or oversized once it’s printed. Placement can shift slightly, and colors can appear brighter or flatter depending on the fabric.

If the order size justifies it, sampling isn’t overkill. It’s usually cheaper than reprinting 100 shirts you’re not happy with.

Prioritize Human Customer Support

Even if everything goes right the first time, something will eventually need adjusting. Sizing issues, reorders, rush timelines, last-minute changes… anything can (and will) happen.

When it does, the difference between a ticket system and a real person who can fix the issue quickly becomes bigger than any feature comparison.

Custom Employee Shirts Aren’t a One-Time Decision

If you’re ordering regularly for employees, you need consistent sizing and color, prints that don’t crack or feel heavy after a few washes, and a team that can fix issues without making you chase them. That’s where the right provider makes all the difference in the world.

Custom Ink earns its reputation with a genuinely easy ordering experience, a group ordering tool that’s hard to beat for distributed teams, and a reliable product for events or one-time runs. 

But for shirts you’ll inevitably reorder, ones that need to represent your brand consistently, BlueCotton is the clear standout. Their in-house production means fewer handoffs and fewer surprises, and their support team actually engages with your order rather than routing you through a ticket queue. And, most importantly, the third batch looks like the first one.