Which Decoration Method Suits My Logo?

Most people pick a decoration method by price and then find out later it was the wrong fit for their artwork. It's worth two minutes the other way around: look at your logo first, and the method usually picks itself.

Start with the logo, not the price

Three things decide it. How many colours your logo has, how fine the detail gets, and how many garments you need. Everything else is secondary.

Digital print (DTF) — the default for most logos

If your logo has more than about three colours, a gradient, a photo, or fine detail, digital print is the answer. There is no setup and no minimum, so it costs the same per print whether you order one garment or ninety-nine, and full colour costs no more than one colour.

It is the right call for the large majority of tradie and small-business orders. If you are not sure, this is the safe choice.

Screen printing — for simple logos in real numbers

Screen printing pushes ink through one stencil per colour, so it only makes sense when your logo is one to three flat colours with no gradients. Each colour needs its own screen, which carries a one-off setup, and we set a 20-unit minimum because below that the setup swamps the job.

Once you are past about 70 or 80 units on a simple logo it becomes the cheapest option per garment, and it stays cheap all the way up. A one-colour logo on 200 tees is exactly what screen printing is for.

Embroidery — for the corporate look

Stitched thread reads as more premium than print, wears extremely well, and is the expected finish on polos, caps, beanies and jackets. It is the right choice when you want the uniform to look considered rather than promotional.

The limit is detail. Thread cannot hold hairline strokes, tiny text under about 5mm, or gradients — those get simplified whether you want them to or not. If your logo is delicate, either print it, or let us adapt a simplified version for stitching and show you the mock-up before anything runs.

Embroidery carries a one-off digitising cost, which is the work of converting your logo into a stitch file. That is free on a standard left chest from 20 units, and it is never charged twice: once we have digitised your logo it stays on file for every future order.

A rough decision list

Full colour, gradient or photographic logo: digital print, any quantity.

One to three flat colours and 20 or more garments: screen printing is worth comparing, and it wins clearly at high volume.

Polos, caps or jackets where you want a premium uniform finish: embroidery.

Fine detail or very small text: digital print, or embroidery with a simplified version you approve first.

Under 20 garments of anything: digital print, almost always.

You do not have to get it right first go

Whatever you pick, a real person checks your artwork before anything is made, and you get a mock-up on the actual garment to approve. If we think a different method would suit your logo better, we will tell you and re-quote it before you commit. Nothing is charged until you approve the proof.