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Got ideas for custom t-shirt designs but unsure where to begin?
Even if you’ve already chosen a specific fabric like polyester or cotton, there are still countless options to consider. How does the Stanley Stella STTU755 compare to the Gildan 2000 and other major brands known for high-quality prints?
Fear not! We’re here with helpful information and a list of the best t-shirts for printing to help you choose the right t-shirt brand for your designs.
Here’s a list of the best-quality short sleeves for various printing techniques, including direct-to-garment printing, direct-to-film, and more.
In our product Catalog, you’ll find high-quality t-shirts with smooth surfaces for optimal printing. Most come with a tear-away label, providing a clean canvas for custom designs.
Let’s explore some top picks:
One of the most popular and high-quality t-shirts, the Bella+Canvas 3001 is made from Airlume cotton fibers (the polyester percentage varies from heather to solid colors), weighing 4.2 oz/yd² (142 g/m²), giving it a super soft feel.
This short-sleeve t-shirt is available in various colors, from light blue to dark heather. Its smooth surface ensures high-quality prints with DTG and other printing techniques. It also comes with double-needle sleeve stitching for added durability.
This industry leader is made from durable cotton fibers and features a high stitch-density fabric for superior printing results. Weighing 5.3 oz/yd² (180 g/m²), the light-medium fabric is perfect for direct-to-garment printing on custom t-shirt designs.
The Gildan 5000 also has reinforced bottom hems and double-needle sleeve stitching for a highly durable finish. With no side seams, it’s a great option for everyday wear.
A sustainable favorite, this extra comfy t-shirt weighs 6.0 oz/yd² (203 g/m²). Available in a wide range of colors, including polyester blends like black heather and athletic heather, it provides comfort and durability.
This heavier fabric shirt also ensures high-quality prints when using DTG or DTF methods, thanks to its high stitch-density fabric.
This organic, ring-spun combed cotton t-shirt offers a medium fit with lightweight fabric (4.4 oz/yd² or 150 g/m²) – perfect for custom designs. It comes in various solid colors, from classic white to heather grey.
The Stanley Stella STTU758 Rocker t-shirt is an eco-conscious choice, made from responsibly sourced cotton, with a double-needle sleeve and bottom hem for enhanced durability. Its relaxed fit and smooth surface make it ideal for high-quality prints.
This 100% recycled polyester shirt is a sustainable, high-quality option – perfect for direct-to-film printing, delivering sharp, vibrant prints.
With moisture-wicking technology, it helps keep you cool and dry during intense workouts or everyday wear. Additionally, it offers UPF 50+ protection, making it an excellent choice for outdoor activities.
Looking to expand your selection of custom products? Here’s an additional batch of high-quality t-shirts for printing to consider:
This t-shirt is 100% combed, ring-spun cotton with a regular fit and true-to-size measurement. It combines a soft feel, high durability, and a sewn-in label.
100% heavyweight cotton, this shirt offers a relaxed fit with enhanced durability thanks to double-needle stitching at the sleeves and bottom hem. It includes a black sewn-in label for a classic look.
This is a 100% pre-shrunk US cotton shirt that features a soft-washed, garment-dyed fabric for a vintage, relaxed fit. It also comes with a signature sewn-in twill label.
This 100% combed, ring-spun cotton t-shirt provides a classic fit with durable double-needle stitching at the sleeves and bottom hem. It includes a tear-away label for easy rebranding.
Creating custom t-shirt designs goes beyond visuals – the shirt’s quality depends on its fabric composition and the printing method you choose.
Tip
Discover how to get a high-quality design file with our Product Creator.
Direct-to-garment printing uses water-based, pigmented inks absorbed by the shirt’s fibers. This results in vivid, long-lasting prints.
The best fabrics for DTG printing are 100%cotton or blends. A pure cotton shirt will give you the most vibrant and high-opacity prints, while a cotton/polyester blend provides a more faded, vintage look over time.
All-over print (AOP) uses sublimation printing, infusing designs into the fabric using high heat and pressure.
This method is ideal for creating bold, durable prints that cover the entire t-shirt. The best fabric for AOP is polyester, as sublimation works best with synthetic fibers.
Tip
Check out our list of the best shirts for sublimation printing to find the right blank t-shirts for your immersive designs.
Direct-to-film printing involves printing designs on a special PET film, which is then transferred to the t-shirt using adhesive powder and heat.
This method produces vibrant prints that can be applied to various parts of the garment. DTF is versatile in terms of fabric types, working well on both cotton and polyester.
Tip
Find the most popular t-shirt printing methods on our blog.
Cotton is a soft and furry ball of fiber that grows inside a cotton plant’s seed pod. It’s primarily used to create textile materials and some of the best quality custom t-shirts for printing.
Cotton is a soft, breathable, and durable fiber.
Regular cotton is used to make t-shirts, socks, towels, bedsheets, and even denim for jeans.
There are many commercially grown species of cotton, and new uses for this versatile fiber continue to emerge, enhancing its quality and making our lives even more comfortable.
Cotton is one of the most popular fabric types in custom t-shirt printing as it offers exceptional print quality.
Ring-spinning is the process of spinning fibers into yarn. This helps strengthen the material, and the number of spins determines the softness of the garment.
Ring-spun cotton is smooth, long, and super soft. It’s also more durable than average cotton.
The softness of quality t-shirts made from ring-spun cotton is thanks to the alignment and the shortness of yarn fibers, which feel like a light layer of soft fuzziness.
Open-end spinning is an affordable and eco-friendly method that transforms raw cotton fibers into yarn by spinning and twisting them.
Unlike ring-spun cotton, this approach creates a heavier and fuzzier texture due to individual wrapping rather than continuous spinning.
This cotton undergoes an extra combing process, removing short fibers and impurities to ensure a smoother, finer, and more durable yarn.
Combed cotton is a more refined choice compared to open-end cotton, making it one of the best options for printing t-shirts.
A higher-quality combed ring-spun cotton. Before regular cotton is spun into yarn, it’s put through an intense combing process to remove all impurities. This ensures that Airlume ring-spun cotton is of the highest standard and provides unmatched print quality.
Pre-shrunk cotton is exactly what it sounds like. It’s subjected to a pre-shrinking treatment that resembles the processes it would go through during the washing and drying cycle.
This process ensures sizing consistency; a pre-shrunk cotton t-shirt won’t shrink to a smaller size after additional washes.
Creating and selling t-shirts is a breeze with the right tools.
Use the benefits of Print on Demand to make t-shirt designs and streamline the production and selling process.
With Printify, start printing and selling garments quickly and easily, with no upfront costs or need to manage inventory.
Tip
Explore the best strategies to launch your t-shirt business.
Signing up takes just a few minutes, and it’s completely free for businesses with up to five stores.
As you grow, check out the benefits of Printify Premium.
Browse our product Catalog to find good quality t-shirts for printing.
We offer various shirt types made from natural or synthetic materials in styles that fit any occasion.
Try our Product Creator to create your print designs.
Use our free graphics to position, layer, and scale your artwork and add text in various fonts and colors in the available t-shirt print area.
Once you’ve created your design, save your t-shirt to generate high-quality mockups for your store listings.
Place a sample order before selling the t-shirts in your store.
This is a good way to evaluate the quality and printing process, ensuring that the final product meets your standards.
Wear your quality t-shirt sample around town, or use our product photos to display designs to your target market.
Many people visualize wearing a t-shirt before ordering one, so provide your customers with quality product mockups.
Tip
Take a look at these Shopify t-shirt stores for inspiration.
The best shirts for printing depend on the method used:
Some of the best t-shirt brands for printing include Bella+Canvas (e.g., the 3001 model), known for its soft, lightweight Airlume cotton; Gildan (5000 and 2000 models), which offers durable, heavy cotton tees with a variety of colors; Delta (11730), valued for its pre-shrunk, soft cotton fabric and vintage feel; and Stanley Stella (STTU755), which stands out for its use of 100% organic cotton and eco-friendly practices. These brands are praised for their comfort, durability, and suitability for different printing methods.
A high-quality t-shirt is usually made from soft, durable fabrics like ring-spun cotton, combed cotton, organic cotton, or polyester blends.
The stitching should be even, with reinforced seams at the sleeves and hem to prevent fraying. Check the fabric’s weight – mid-weight t-shirts (around 5 oz/yd²) strike a good balance between durability and comfort.
After washing, a high-quality t-shirt should also retain its shape and size, indicating it’s made from pre-shrunk or treated materials. Additionally, premium t-shirts often have a tear-away or sewn-in label.
Explore the diverse t-shirt options in our Catalog, pay attention to fabric composition, and decide based on the unique requirements of your designs and audience.
Ultimately, the best quality t-shirts are the ones you choose to add to your store and sell to your customers.
The post The top 5 best quality t-shirts for printing appeared first on Printify.
