Real pricing.
Real talk.
We're not the cheapest custom apparel shop — and that's the point. Here's how apparel pricing actually works, what Excel includes at no extra charge, and why our shirts cost more than $3.
How custom apparel pricing actually works
Every custom apparel quote — anywhere you shop — is built from the same building blocks. Understanding them helps you compare apples to apples.
- The blank garment
A basic tee, a heavyweight hoodie, and a performance polo aren't the same product. Fabric weight, brand, and cut all move the base price.
- Decoration method
Screen-print, embroidery, dye-sublimation, and DTG each price differently. Screen-print is the workhorse for real quantity.
- Colors & locations
Every ink color and every print location (front, back, sleeve) adds a screen and a pass on the press.
- Quantity tier
Bigger runs drop the per-piece cost. Setup gets spread across more shirts, and the press runs faster once it's dialed in.
- Art complexity
For embroidery, stitch count is the price. For screen-print, tight registration and specialty inks add cost.
- Sizes, specialty, reorders
2XL and up have a small upcharge. Pocket tees, tall sizes, and zipper hoodies cost more. Reorders with existing art save you money.
What we include at no extra charge
A lot of shops charge for artwork, revisions, and consultation. We don't. Design is our craft — we want to do it right.
Every production job is drawn or rebuilt by a real Excel artist. No hidden art fees. No "logo cleanup" surcharge. That's not an upsell — that's how we ship every order.
- Hand-drawn or rebuilt final artwork by in-house artists
- Art revisions until you're happy
- Brand Expert consultation on garments, colors, and print method
- Concept Studio AI access to explore ideas up-front
- Print-ready file prep, color separations, and press setup
- Real production QC before it ships
The Excel difference
Excel Sportswear has been drawing shirts since 1982. Our artists don't slap logos on garments — they build artwork that tells your story.
Better inks, tighter registration, tighter standards. A shirt from Excel is a shirt people actually wear years later, not one that cracks after ten washes.
Cheap tees exist. We're not that. We build apparel that makes people stop, look, and ask where they can get one.
Where Concept Studio fits in
Concept Studio is Excel's answer to "what if we could play with ideas before we commit?" Sketch concepts fast, share them with your team, see how your logo, your truck, or your mascot could look on a shirt — all before an artist ever picks up a stylus.
Then we do what we do best: our in-house artists rebuild the concept as clean, production-ready artwork. Our press team prints it. You wear it.
We built this tool because our customers deserve it — a print shop that actually prints, giving you a way to explore ideas without the friction of long email threads and blank pages.
Estimate a real order
What you'd pay
More options
100-piece minimum. Mix and match short sleeve, long sleeve, and hoodies at no extra cost — pricing is per garment style at the same total quantity.
Show breakdown
- Full Color · 100% Cotton Tee (G200/PC61) @ 100+ qty$16.99
- Ink colors (3 vs. 6-color baseline)−$1.50
- • 2XL +$2 · 3XL +$3 · 4XL +$4 · 5XL +$5 per shirt.
- • Existing-art reorders save $1 per shirt.
What affects your price?
- Ink (or thread) color count and how many print locations
- Garment selection — tee, long sleeve, hoodie, cap, etc.
- Quantity tier — bigger runs drop the per-piece cost
- Art complexity (for embroidery, the actual stitch count)
- Sizes 2XL and up have a small upcharge
- Specialty garments — pocket, tall, zipper hoodies
- Reorders with existing art save $1 per shirt
Based on standard blanks and standard art. Final pricing is confirmed by Excel's team after the artists review your design.
Why our shirts cost more than $3
You can find a $3 shirt. We know. Here's what you get for the difference.
- Heavier, better-feeling garment blanks
- Denser ink laydown that survives the wash cycle
- Real artist involvement — not a template
- Unlimited revisions until you're proud of it
- No hidden fees for artwork or setup surprises
- US-based team you can actually talk to
- Decades of print QC catching problems before they ship
- A design that tells your story, not just prints your logo
Our team wants to tell your story. We're not trying to sell you a cheap shirt with a logo on it. We want to help you tell your story in a way it's never been told — a walking, talking billboard that makes people stop and look.