Embroidery vs Screen Printing: Pick by Logo Size and Shirt

Key Takeaways

• Embroidery suits a chest logo up to 4 x 4 inches on a polo, quarter zip, jacket, or hoodie.
• Print suits anything bigger (up to 13 x 17 inches on a tee), photos, fades, and thin polyester tees.
• One shirt can take both: stitched chest, printed back.
• We stitch up to 9 threads, and the number doesn't change your price.

Table of Contents

• Embroidery vs Printing at a Glance
• How Big Can an Embroidered or Printed Logo Be?
• Which Logos Stitch Well, and Which Should Be Printed?
• What Fabrics Are Best for Embroidery, and Which Need Print?
• Which Costs More, Embroidery or Screen Printing?
• Which Lasts Longer in the Wash?
• Should a Polo, Hoodie, or Tee Be Stitched or Printed?
• Can One Shirt or One Order Have Both Embroidery and Printing?
• How to Order Embroidered or Printed Shirts
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Start With Your Logo's Size

Embroidery suits a small, simple logo up to 4 by 4 inches, and printing suits anything bigger, a photo, or a color fade. So choosing between embroidery and screen printing for shirts mostly comes down to size. On our shirts, a print can cover a tee's whole front or back, up to 13 by 17 inches.

A small chest logo on a polo, quarter zip, jacket, or hoodie is usually stitched. After size, the shirt's fabric and the detail in your art settle the rest.

We stitch and print shirts, and we do not screen print, so this guide sets thread against our full-color print.

Embroidery vs Printing at a Glance

Embroidery is thread stitched into the fabric, and it leaves a textured logo you can feel. A print is flat and can carry any artwork in full color. Screen printing pushes ink through a mesh screen, with one screen for each color.

Browse custom apparel to see every shirt we carry. Open any of them in the Design Studio, and each spot shows its size for the method you pick.

How Big Can an Embroidered or Printed Logo Be?

Embroidery on our shirts tops out at 4 by 4 inches per spot, on the chest or the upper back. A print runs far larger, up to 13 by 17 inches across a tee's front or back. A sleeve spot takes 3.5 by 3.5 inches in either method. On a long sleeve, a print can also run the full length, up to 3.5 by 16.5 inches.

One spot on a tee shows the split clearly. The center chest takes a logo up to 4 by 4 inches in thread, but up to 8 by 8 inches in print. A logo meant to be read from across a room needs that larger print box. Every size here is a ceiling, and a given shirt can offer a smaller box.

Which Logos Stitch Well, and Which Should Be Printed?

Bold, simple logos with a few solid colors stitch well. Photos, color fades, thin lines, and tiny text print better, because thread fills each shape with one solid color.

With us, color count rarely decides the method. We stitch up to 9 thread colors in one spot, and the number doesn't change your price. More than 9 is a request to our team.

Color matching differs by method. We match your art to the closest thread in our embroidery palette, while a print matches it to the closest Pantone color. Colors on screen are close, not exact, and you approve a proof before anything is made.

Small lettering is the first thing thread cannot hold. Text you type in one of the Design Studio's typefaces gets a warning when it is too small to stitch cleanly. A bold, plain font holds at a smaller size than a thin, script, or outlined one. A small tagline under a logo is often the part that has to be enlarged or dropped.

A Florida wellness brand hit this on a hat. The small text did not hold up in thread, so we remade the hat with the printed design its hoodies carried.

The tradeoff with thread is simplification. A detailed logo usually needs a stitch-friendly version: fewer colors, thicker lines, and no fades. If that version no longer looks like your brand, print the shirt instead.

What Fabrics Are Best for Embroidery, and Which Need Print?

Heavier, stable fabrics take thread best: polo knits, hoodies, quarter zips, and jackets. Thin, stretchy performance tees are better printed, especially when the logo is large or solid-filled.

The spec sheets show the difference in weight. The Port & Co KP55 polo is a 5.5 oz cotton and polyester jersey. The Gildan 18500 hoodie is an 8 oz hoodie, 50/50 cotton and polyester in most colors. Both are firm enough to carry a stitched chest logo.

The Sport-Tek ST350 is a lightweight, moisture-wicking 3.8 oz polyester tee. On a fabric that thin, a thick, solid-filled stitched logo can pucker the shirt or ripple after washing. An open design with outlines and gaps sits flatter, and a print avoids the problem altogether.

Weight is not the whole story. The Core 365 88181, a 4.1 oz polyester pique polo, still takes a stitched chest logo when it is kept to open shapes.

The Gildan 5000, a 5.3 oz tee that is 100% cotton in most colors, takes either method, with thread kept to a small chest logo.

Which Costs More, Embroidery or Screen Printing?

At other companies, screen printing usually costs less for a big run of a one- or two-color logo. Embroidery can cost less for a small order of a logo with many colors. The difference comes from what each one charges for.

A screen printer makes a screen for each color in each spot, so the setup cost shrinks per shirt as the run grows. Embroidery is usually quoted on the stitch file, the machine's version of your logo, by how many stitches it takes. Many other companies also charge a one-time fee to make that file, which is called digitizing.

Our pricing works differently: neither method has a setup fee, and each spot on a shirt is priced on its own for its method. So a chest logo plus a back print costs more per shirt than either one alone. The price per piece then falls as the quantity of one design rises. Our custom hat pricing guide walks through the same model on hats, with dated prices.

Before you order, the Design Studio's price details show one line for each side and its method. That lets you compare thread and print on the same shirt.

Which Lasts Longer in the Wash?

Made well, an embroidered logo and a printed logo both outlast the shirt they are on. Wash either one by the shirt's care label. When either fails early, the cause usually sits with the shop that made it, so who makes the shirt matters as much as the method. For what makes a print crack or peel, and the wash routine that prevents it, read how prints hold up in the wash.

Should a Polo, Hoodie, or Tee Be Stitched or Printed?

Polos, quarter zips, and jackets usually get an embroidered chest logo, tees are usually printed, and hoodies take either method on the chest.

• Polos. Embroider the chest. A polo is usually bought to carry a small logo in thread, and polos have no full front for a big print. A big print goes on the back, up to 13 by 17 inches.
• Quarter zips. Embroider the chest beside the zipper. The zipper rules out a full front, so a large logo moves to the back as a print.
• Jackets. Embroider the chest and print the back. A full back print runs up to 14 by 16 inches on our jackets.
• Hoodies and crewnecks. Either method works on the chest. Print the full back, or the full front when you want the logo big.
• T-shirts. Print most tees, including event and merch tees. A small logo in thread on the chest suits a heavier cotton tee worn at work.

Can One Shirt or One Order Have Both Embroidery and Printing?

Yes, on both counts: one shirt can carry embroidery and print on separate sides, and one order can mix stitched polos and printed tees. In the Design Studio, each side of a shirt gets one method, and every spot on that side uses it. An embroidered left chest with a printed full back therefore works on one shirt. So does a stitched chest logo with a printed sleeve, because a sleeve is its own side.

One side takes one method, so a chest logo and a line of text under it are either both stitched or both printed. Apparel sides start on Print in the Design Studio, and you switch any side to Embroidery when you pick its method.

In a mixed order, the embroidered polos and the printed tees price as separate designs. A design means the same artwork in the same spots, made the same way. So 20 stitched polos and 50 printed tees with the same logo each get cheaper with their own quantity, not the combined 70. If you add the polos and tees to one design with the same stitched chest logo, all 70 count together.

How to Order Embroidered or Printed Shirts

The surest way to choose between embroidery and print is to see both on the shirt itself. To check a finished custom piece, order one; there is no minimum. A stitched shirt and a printed one in the same style, each worn for a day, settle it.

To judge a shirt's weight before you pick thread or print, ask for one with no logo, which the trade calls a blank. A blank sample is available on request for a small fee plus shipping.

We email you a design proof within 1 to 2 business days of your order, and revisions are unlimited. Embroidered and printed apparel both ship in 1 to 2 weeks. Custom orders that match your approved proof can't be returned or refunded. A one-piece order is refundable only for a defect or a proof mismatch.

Have a question before you order? Contact us, and we'll get back to you within 24 hours on weekdays.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is embroidery more expensive than screen printing?

It depends on the order. At other companies, screen printing is usually cheaper on a big run of one- or two-color art. Embroidery can cost less on a small run of a many-color logo. With us, neither method has a setup fee, and the price per piece falls as quantity rises.

Can you embroider a photo or a logo with a gradient?

Not well. Thread fills each shape with one solid color, so a photo or a soft fade loses its detail when it is stitched. Print it instead, since print carries any artwork in full color. For a stitched version, simplify the logo to a few solid colors with lines thick enough to sew.

Can you embroider a t-shirt?

Yes. A small chest logo, up to 4 by 4 inches, stitches well on a heavier cotton tee such as the Gildan 5000. On a thin polyester tee, a dense stitched logo can pucker the fabric, so print is the better choice there. Any logo bigger than 4 by 4 inches is printed.

What is the difference between embroidery and DTG printing?

Embroidery is thread stitched into the shirt, and DTG, short for direct to garment, is a flat print. Thread suits a small, simple logo on a sturdy shirt, and print suits big or detailed art. We do not offer DTG; our full-color print goes on every shirt we carry.

Is embroidery or printing better for a company logo?

Embroidery is the usual choice for a company logo on a polo, quarter zip, or jacket. There the logo is small and the shirt is sturdy. Printing is better for tees, big back logos, full-color logos, and thin performance shirts. Many companies use both: thread on the shirts staff wear with customers, and print on the tees.

Start With Your Logo's Size

To decide between embroidery and screen printing, measure your logo at the size you want on the shirt. A logo inside 4 by 4 inches with a few solid colors looks sharp in thread on a polo, quarter zip, hoodie, or jacket. Anything bigger, or with a photo, a fade, or fine detail, should be printed.

Browse the custom apparel collection, open a shirt in the Design Studio, and try your logo in both methods on the side you want. Switch a side between Embroidery and Print, and the price details update with a line for each side and its method.