When a lot of people think of company swag like custom tees, their minds jump to cheaply made and unflattering — like they just slapped a logo on a cheap bulk shirt and called it a day. Unfortunately, this is often true, and a lot of businesses default to the cheapest available blank in a handful of standard sizes. The result is something that feels more like a freebie than something you’d actually want to wear in public.
But your custom shirts don’t have to follow that pattern. There’s no reason to settle for a shirt people tolerate instead of one they reach for. For example, we gave out premium T-shirts at our booth at the Bitcoin Conference recently, and the feedback we got was incredible.
To help you get a similar response, we’ve put together tips and recommendations to help you pick a T-shirt that fits well, feels great, and looks amazing.
At a Glance
| Bella+Canvas 3001 Unisex Jersey Tee | Next Level 3600 Premium Fitted Short Sleeve Crew Tee | Next Level 6210 Unisex CVC Crew Tee | Bella+Canvas 3413 Tri-Blend Tee | American Apparel 2001 Fine Jersey Tee | Next Level 6010 Unisex Tri-Blend Crew Tee | |
| Material | 4.2 oz., 100% combed ringspun cotton jersey | 4.3 oz., 100% combed ringspun cotton jersey | 4.3 oz., 60% Cotton/40% Poly | 3.4 oz., tri-blend jersey (50% polyester, 37.5% cotton, 12.5% rayon) | 100% fine jersey cotton (heather grey has 10% poly) | 4.3 oz., preshrunk 50% polyester/25% cotton/25% rayon jersey |
| Colors | 44 | 23 | 17 | 31 | 19 | 11 |
| Sizes | Kids S – Adult 3XL | Adult XS – 3XL | Adult XS – 3XL | Kids S – Adult 3XL | Adult XS – 3XL | Adult XS – 3XL |
| Price per shirt (quantity 50, one-color front) | $11.32 | $10.25 | $10.70 | $15.23 | $11.34 | $13.02 |
Shirts That Feel Like a Gift, Not a Freebie
The shirts most people associate with cheap/free merch tend to be heavier, stiffer, and structured more like workwear than something you’d find folded on a retail shelf. That’s fine for certain use cases, but it’s not what you want if the goal is to have people actually wear and keep the shirt.
For example, retail-finished blanks like the Bella+Canvas 3001 and the Next Level 3600 are made from 100% combed ringspun cotton, which produces a finer, smoother yarn than standard cotton. The result is a fabric that feels noticeably softer right out of the bag. The Bella+Canvas 3001 uses what they call Airlume cotton, which goes through an extra combing process to remove impurities and short fibers; it comes in 44 colors and weighs in at 4.2 oz, which hits that sweet spot between lightweight and substantial.
The Next Level 6210 is a 60/40 cotton-poly blend, which gives it a little more structure and slight moisture resistance while still feeling genuinely soft. It has a retail-quality fit with a tearaway label, which is a small detail that still matters a lot.
If you want to step it up even further, the tri-blend options are in a category of their own. The Next Level 6010 and Bella+Canvas 3413 are made from cotton, polyester, and rayon. The rayon is what makes a difference here, adding drape and a slight sheen that makes these shirts feel closer to what you’d find at a boutique than at a trade show table.
Shirts That Hold Up to Repeated Washing
A shirt that feels great on day one but fades or loses its shape by the fifth wash isn’t doing your brand any favors. For staff uniforms, team shirts, or anything that’s going to get washed regularly, fabric construction matters.
- Combed ringspun cotton, used in the Bella+Canvas 3001 and Next Level 3600, produces tightly-twisted fibers that resist pilling and hold their shape better than regular cotton.
- The cotton-poly blend in the Next Level 6210 adds another layer of wash stability. The polyester content helps the shirt resist shrinkage and maintain its shape.
- The reinforced shoulder construction of the American Apparel 2001 also helps to maintain its shape through repeated washings. The fine jersey cotton is also naturally breathable and wrinkle-resistant, making it a great fit for businesses ordering uniform-style shirts that need to look put-together after dozens of washes.
- For tri-blends, the Next Level 6010 is fabric-laundered and pre-shrunk, with less than 5% shrinkage when cold-washed. That kind of consistency matters when you’re ordering across multiple sizes and need everything to fit the same way it did when it arrived.
Shirts That Print Well and Stay That Way
Screen printing can have drastically different results depending on the fabric. A coarser, heavier fabric produces a rougher surface for the ink to sit on. A finer-weave fabric gives the ink a smoother base, which means cleaner edges, more vibrant colors, and better durability over time.
For sharper prints: The tight, even cotton weave of the Bella+Canvas 3001 and Next Level 3600 is one of the reasons these two shirts dominate the custom apparel market for serious print jobs. Flat, uniform fibers mean ink goes down cleanly rather than settling into an uneven surface, which means detailed logos, fine lines, and multi-color designs all come out sharper on these fabrics.
For softer prints: Tri-blends like the Bella+Canvas 3413 and Next Level 6010 are known for producing a slightly softer print, which gives designs a vintage or lifestyle-brand feel. If your brand aesthetic leans more toward that relaxed look, these are ideal.
Shirts That Actually Fit Well
One of the most common complaints about branded merch is the fit. Not everyone wants to wear something boxy and oversized, and a shirt that fits sharp and comfortably can make your custom apparel feel intentional and not cheap.
Every shirt mentioned here nails this. They all have a few things in common:
- They are all semi-fitted, designed with a fashion-forward, tailored look in mind.
- Sizes fit slightly tighter than classic tees for a retail-style cut that sits closer to the body.
- They are all made from soft, lightweight fabric, unlike traditional standard custom merch blanks, producing a nice drape that feels and looks good.
- Sizes range from adult XS to 3XL for all (with kids’ sizes available for the Bella+Canvas 3001 and 3413) so you can outfit the entire group with the same shirt.
One practical note: If you’re ordering for a large team, it’s worth comparing size charts carefully. These retail-finished blanks tend to run slimmer than traditional promotional tees, so it can help to give people a heads-up.
Shirts Worth Putting Your Logo On
These shirts are the kinds that people would buy for themselves if given the chance. And when you put your logo on one of them, your brand inherits that premium feel they convey.
But what matters just as much as the blank itself is the print quality. A premium blank printed poorly still reflects poorly on the brand, after all. We do all our printing in-house at our facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and every order goes through nine quality checkpoints during production. When the whole process happens under one roof with QC baked in at each step, those variables are controlled in ways that outsourced or distributed printing can’t reliably promise.