The Ultimate Guide to Blank Tees For Printing & Branding

So you’re searching for a blank tee for printing or branding.  You uncover approximately 126 different websites, all boldly claiming to provide the very best blanks tees in all the styles and colours you could ever need.  The problem is - they all look pretty much the same.  So what do you do?

Well, reading this would be a good place to start.  We’re going to share some secrets from the world of wholesale t shirts, peering behind the cotton curtain to reveal exactly what makes a great blank tee for printing.  Because here’s the thing - every blank tee says something.  

What The Best Blank Tees Have

The best blank tees have to receive a print well, feel great to wear, and remain looking good after multiple washes and a prolonged period of use.  This is what you need to consider:

What fabric do you choose?

Let’s begin with the choice of fabric.  Polyester is great for sportswear but cotton is king when it comes to taking a print.  High levels of absorbancy in the natural fibres lets the print bed into the fabric, creating a longer-lasting print.  Some blank tees will feature a blend of cotton and polyester (usually 80% cotton/20% polyester) but for the very best results, stick to 100% cotton.

Ringspun or Carded Cotton?

Here’s where it starts to get complicated.  Because not all 100% cotton tees are the same.  The difference comes down to whether the cotton is ringspun or carded.  This describes the process used to get the cotton ready for use.  Ringspun cotton goes through a spinning process that smoothes and straightens each fibre, whereas with carded cotton the fibres are bound by a wrapped fibre running perpendicular to the bundle.  The difference can be both seen and felt.  Ringpsin cotton is finer and softer.  Carded cotton is slightly bulkier and has a tougher, uneven knit that feels stiffer in comparison.  We recommend choosing ringspun cotton for better print quality and comfort levels.  

Tight knit or loose knit?

Next is the knit, which is made by interlocking loops of yarn or thread in a circular or flat pattern.  Depending on the ability of the manufacturer, tees might have what’s considered a loose knit or a tight knit.  A tight knit is best for printing as there is a denser surface area to receive the print, resulting in a higher definition finish.  You can tell a tight knit t-shirt by feeling it, as it’ll typically feel smoother.

Are they Anti-Pill?

Tees made with ringspun cotton and a tight knit are more likely to be considered ‘Anti-Pill’.  This is good because you want to avoid those nasty little balls of lint that form on the surface of the tee over time, making it look worn and decreasing print definition.  The culprit are fibres that have come loose, often as the result of a poor knit quality.  It can be difficult to tell whether a t-shirt will pill or not by looking at it, but some manufacturers will label their blanks as anti-pill if they’re proven to resist the dreaded fuzzballs.  At least we do.

Do All T-shirts Shrink?

Nothing can be more frustrating than a t-shirt that comes out the wash a size smaller.  It happens because the cotton fibres have been stretched during the manufacturing process and when they’re washed, they want to return to their original state as they dry, causing the garment to shrink.  Generally speaking, cheaper tees will shrink more because the manufacturing process cuts a few corners in order to cut prices.  Quality tees will be ‘pre-shrunk’, meaning the fabric finishing process allows the fabric to return to its natural state before being sewn.  It doesn’t matter if you’re searching for blank tees for your streetwear brand or for your company uniform, if you want the tee to fit the wearer after a few washes, choose ‘pre-shrunk’ tees.  

This Season’s Fashion or Classic?

Now we move onto the shirt design.  Believe it or not, there are scores of different t-shirt styles.  For a brief period, even tees with holes in them were fashionable. Luckily, it didn’t take long for folk to see through that trend though (see what we did there ????).  The thing is this - a classic t-shirt has and always will be in fashion.  Nothing has the longevity of the classic tee and choosing one means it’ll still be worn in years to come.  Just as importantly, you won’t end up with lots of stock folk don’t want because they are ‘so last year’.

What about Sustainability?

We all want to make the world a better place and choosing blank tees from a sustainable focused manufacturer makes a real difference.  It might not improve the print quality of the garment itself, but it will make you and the wearer feel better about the tee.  So how can you tell if the blank tees are from an environmentally friendly source or not? That can be difficult so we make sure Cloke is as transparent as possible and we feature a whole section on this website, detailing our efforts.  

What about t-shirt labels?

If you’re wanting blanks tees for your streetwear brand then you don’t want another brand's kneck label on the garment.  There’s a simple way to avoid this though - you choose blank tees with a tear-away kneck label that can be ripped out easily, without damaging the tee. 

This covers most of the main consideration when choosing t-shirts to print on.  But what about printing methods and will this affect the result?  There are a number of ways to get a custom t-shirt, with options for screen printing, heat press and direct-to-garment printing.  

Screen Printing

A 7-step process, screen printing applies ink designs to t-shirts by pressing ink through a mesh partly blocked off by a stencil printing shape.  It’s only really used for large print runs these days and can produce excellent results on 100% cotton ringspun tees with a tight knit.

Heat Press

Known as iron-on printing, heat press printing requires fabrics that won’t melt when heated.  Again, 100% cotton works well whereas polyester has to be treated a little more carefully as it’s sensitive to heat. 

Direct-to-Garment

Now this is fancy.  A special printing machine applies water-based inks directly onto the tee.  DTG can create incredibly complex and vivid prints, and like the other methods mentioned, it works best with 100% cotton tees.  

If this seems like a lot to remember when choosing a blank tee, here’s handy recap of what you’re looking for:

1. 100% Cotton

2. Ringsun Cotton

3. A Tight Knit

4. Anti-Pill

5. Pre-shrunk

6. Classic Fit

7. Sustainably sourced

8. Tear-away neck labels.

If that still seems like a lot to remember when choosing a blank tee, then just click here.  We have a wide range of blank tees, no minimum order and can dispatch them to you the very same day if the order is received by 4pm.  

So maybe you didn’t really need to read all of this and we could have just said ‘choose Cloke’.  

Still, now you know what your choice of blank tee says.  And if you choose a Cloke tee it says you know which blanks tees are best for printing, feel great to wear, and will last.  

Also, think of the knowledge you now have to impress friends with.  Especially if you were to gently stroke their t-shirts and say ‘oh - that feels like ringspun cotton’.

We don’t recommend you do that though.  It’s weird.