The Quick Answer
- Embroidery for polos, button-ups, jackets, and hats: a professional, textured look that outlasts the garment.
- Printing for t-shirts, performance tees, hi-vis shirts, and large back designs: lighter, cooler, and better for big or detailed art.
Many companies use both: embroidered polos for the office and customer-facing staff, printed tees and hi-vis shirts for the field crew.
Side by Side
| Embroidery | Print (screen print or DTF) | |
|---|---|---|
| Look | Raised, textured, premium | Flat and smooth |
| Durability | Very high; doesn't crack or fade | High; screen prints and DTF hold up through normal washing |
| Best logo size | Small to medium (left chest, sleeve, hat) | Any size, including full back |
| Fine detail and gradients | Limited; tiny text can blur | Excellent, especially DTF |
| Weight and breathability | Adds stiffness and weight | Light; good for hot-weather work |
| Best fabrics | Polos, twill, fleece, jackets, caps | Tees, performance fabric, hi-vis |
Things That Trip People Up
- Tiny text doesn't embroider well. Lettering under about a quarter inch tall can fill in. We'll tell you if your logo needs a simplified version for stitching.
- Thin performance fabric and big embroidery don't mix. Large, dense embroidery can pucker lightweight shirts. Print is the better call there.
- Arizona heat matters. For crews working outside, a light printed logo keeps the shirt cooler than a big embroidered patch.
- Hats are almost always embroidered. It holds its shape on a curved, structured front.
What It Costs
- Embroidery is priced by stitch count, with free digitizing at Shirt52.
- Printing is priced by size, colors, and locations.
For a small left-chest logo, the two are often close. For large designs, printing is usually less.
How Shirt52 Can Help
We embroider and print in-house in Tempe, AZ, so we'll recommend whichever fits each garment, not whichever machine we happen to own. Every order gets a digital mockup before anything is made. Minimum is 12 pieces per style and color.