How Much Do Custom T-Shirts Cost on Long Island? (2026 Pricing Guide)

The short answer

For a basic 1-color print on a Port & Co PC54 (a quality cotton tee that runs about $7 wholesale), expect to pay:

Those are real numbers from our pricing engine, for a basic shirt with a single-location DTF print. Premium garments, multi-location prints, embroidery, or larger color counts move things up. Below we walk through everything that affects the price.

The four things that drive custom shirt pricing

1. Garment cost — what the blank shirt itself costs
2. Print method — DTF, screen, or embroidery
3. Quantity — bulk discount tier
4. Design complexity — number of print locations and color complexity

Let's break each one down with real Long Island pricing.

1. Garment cost

The blank shirt itself is the foundation of pricing. We source through SanMar (the largest wholesale apparel distributor in the country, who has a Sayreville, NJ warehouse — close to us). Wholesale costs for popular tees in size S-XL look roughly like this in 2026:

Sizes 2XL+ add $2–4 per garment. Sizes 4XL+ can add $5–8 — that's a manufacturer thing, not a markup.

2. Print method

This is where the methods diverge sharply. Here's our actual per-location pricing:

The setup fee on screen printing is the big variable. If you're ordering 10 shirts with a single-color print, that $25 setup is $2.50 per shirt — which makes DTF the better deal. At 100 shirts, the setup spreads out to $0.25 per shirt — and screen wins.

Embroidery's $45 digitizing fee only applies the FIRST time we run your logo. Reorders skip it.

3. Quantity discounts

This is where bigger orders genuinely save money. Our actual tier breaks:

The discount applies to the print cost, not the garment. Garment cost is wholesale-driven; we don't mark it up further as quantity grows.

If you're close to a tier break, it's worth asking. Going from 23 to 24 pieces gets you the 28% tier instead of 15% — that's real money. Going from 71 to 72 jumps you from 38% to 45%.

4. Design complexity

This affects screen printing and embroidery much more than DTF.

For DTF:

Color count and detail don't change pricing. A 1-color logo and a full-color photograph cost the same to produce. Pricing scales with print location count: front + back is double a front-only print.

For screen printing:

Each color adds a separate screen, which means another $25 setup AND another $1 per shirt added to the print cost. A 4-color, 1-location print costs roughly:

• $4.00 base print fee
• + $4 (3 additional colors × ~$1.33 each)
• + $100 setup (4 screens × $25)
• = $8.00 per shirt + $100 setup

That $100 setup is why screen printing breaks even later than DTF when designs are complex.

For embroidery:

Stitch count drives pricing. A small chest logo (5,000–8,000 stitches) is the standard $7.50. A large back logo (15,000+ stitches) bumps to $11–15 per location. We can quote any logo upfront once you send us the artwork.

Real-world example orders

Here are six common orders priced out:

Example 1: 12 cotton tees, 1-color logo on front

• Garment: 12 × $6.85 = $82.20
• DTF print (1 location, 12 pieces): $66.30 (after 15% bulk)
• Total: $148.50 ($12.38/shirt)

Example 2: 24 cotton tees, 4-color logo, screen printed

• Garment: 24 × $6.85 = $164.40
• Screen (1 location, 4 colors, 24 pieces): $100 setup + ~$138 print
• Total: $402.40 ($16.77/shirt)
• (Note: same design in DTF would be $361.92 — DTF wins here at this color count)

Example 3: 50 polos with embroidered chest logo

• Garment (Sport-Tek polo): 50 × $20 = $1,000
• Embroidery (1 location, 50 pieces): $45 digitizing + ~$232 stitching (38% bulk)
• Total: $1,277 ($25.54/polo)

Example 4: 100 hoodies, 2-color back print, screen

• Garment (PC78H hoodie): 100 × $24 = $2,400
• Screen (1 location, 2 colors, 100 pieces): $50 setup + ~$275 print (45% bulk)
• Total: $2,725 ($27.25/hoodie)

Example 5: 144 cotton tees, 1-color front, screen (school spirit-wear)

• Garment: 144 × $6.85 = $986.40
• Screen (1 color, 144 pieces): $25 setup + ~$276.48 print (52% bulk)
• Total: $1,287.88 ($8.94/shirt)

Example 6: 1 single shirt, full-color photo print

• Garment: 1 × $6.85 = $6.85
• DTF (1 location): $6.50
• Total: $13.35

Yes — we'll print a single shirt. Most local shops have a 12-piece minimum, but DTF technology lets us legitimately do one-off orders profitably.

What about hidden fees?

None of the prices above include hidden fees because we don't charge any. Specifically:

• No artwork fee if you send us print-ready files. (If we need to redraw your logo, we charge $40–80 depending on complexity, with a quote first.)
• No proof fee. You see digital proofs free, before production starts.
• No "small order surcharge." 1 piece is welcome at the listed price.
• No "rush fee" unless you're rushing us. Standard turnaround is 1–3 business days. Need it in 24 hours? Possible — we'll quote a rush fee based on how much we have to scramble.

The number you see at checkout is what you pay, plus shipping if you're not local. Suffolk and Nassau pickups are free at our Bohemia location.

Should you negotiate?

Honestly: probably not. Our pricing is calibrated to be competitive on first quote. We don't pad prices expecting to be negotiated down. If your order is unusually large (500+ pieces) or you're a recurring high-volume customer (school district, league with multiple seasons of orders, growing business), we have flexibility there. For a one-time order, the published price is the price.

How we compare to other Long Island shops

We've shopped competing quotes from other Long Island and NYC area shops. Honest assessment:

• Versus larger established print shops: We're typically 5–15% cheaper, mostly because our overhead is leaner.
• Versus marketplace platforms (Custom Ink, Vistaprint, etc.): We're often slightly more expensive on small orders (their volume is enormous), but you get personal service, faster turnaround, and local pickup.
• Versus side-hustle / Etsy-type sellers: We're typically more expensive but with real quality control, no missed deadlines, and proper invoicing for businesses.

Bottom line

Custom t-shirts on Long Island in 2026 cost roughly $8 to $25 per shirt depending on quantity, garment, print method, and design complexity. The exact number for your order is usually available in 60 seconds in our online customizer, or in one phone call.

If you're price-shopping, that's totally fine — we encourage it. Just make sure you're comparing apples to apples: same garment style, same print method, same number of locations, same quantity. Different shops use different shorthand and the comparisons can be misleading.