Most “best shirts for screen printing” lists are written by people who have never pulled a squeegee. This one is not. Deerfield Custom Prints runs three ROQ automatic presses in South Florida, and over the last twelve months we printed more than 150,000 pieces across these blanks. The ranking below is ordered by what actually came off our presses, not by what a supplier catalog says is popular.
If you are a business, school, church, gym or non-profit trying to figure out what to put your logo on, this is the short version: Next Level 6210 for soft retail feel, Gildan 5000 when price matters, Comfort Colors 1717 when you want people to keep wearing it. The rest of this guide explains why, what each blank costs you in print quality, and where each one causes problems.
Not sure which blank fits your job?
Tell us what you are printing and roughly how many. We will send real pricing on two or three blanks that fit, same business day. 24-piece minimum, no setup fees.
How we ranked these shirts
We pulled our own production numbers for the last twelve months and sorted every tee by pieces printed. That gives you something a catalog cannot: a list weighted by what real customers reorder. A blank that prints beautifully but never gets reordered is not a good blank. Every shirt below is one we stock, print, and ship week after week.
For each one you get the verified spec, what it does well under ink, and the specific thing that will bite you if you do not plan for it.
Best shirts for screen printing at a glance
| # | Shirt | Weight | Fabric | Best for | Print difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Next Level 6210 CVC | 4.3 oz | 60/40 combed ring-spun | Company shirts, staff uniforms, anything people must want to wear | Moderate |
| 2 | Gildan 5000 Heavy Cotton | 5.3 oz | 100% cotton, 20 singles | High-volume giveaways, events, budget jobs | Easy |
| 3 | Gildan 64000 Softstyle | 4.5 oz | 100% ring-spun, 30 singles | Soft feel on a Gildan budget | Easy (watch heathers) |
| 4 | Next Level 3600 | 4.3 oz | 100% combed ring-spun, 32 singles | Detailed art, halftones, clothing brands | Easy |
| 5 | Port & Company PC43 | 4.3 oz | 100% cotton, 30 singles | Lowest cost per piece on big runs | Easy |
| 6 | Tultex 241 Poly-Rich | 3.6 oz | 65/35 poly/ring-spun cotton | Lightweight fashion fit, Florida heat | Hard |
| 7 | Comfort Colors 1717 | 6.1 oz | 100% ring-spun, garment-dyed | Merch people actually keep, resale | Moderate |
| 8 | District DM130 Perfect Tri | 4.5 oz | 50/25/25 triblend | Vintage soft heathers, boutique feel | Hard |
| 9 | Sport-Tek ST350 | 3.8 oz | 100% polyester interlock | Teams, leagues, outdoor crews | Hard |
| 10 | Bella+Canvas 3001 | 4.2 oz | 100% Airlume ring-spun, 32 singles | Retail fit, apparel brands | Easy |
1. Next Level 6210 CVC: our #1 shirt for screen printing
4.3 oz · 60/40 combed ring-spun cotton/poly · 32 singles · side-seamed · ~47 colors
We printed over 27,000 of these in the last twelve months, more than triple any other blank. There is a reason. The Next Level 6210 sits in the sweet spot almost every business is actually looking for: it feels like a retail shirt, it fits like a retail shirt, and it costs a fraction of what a true fashion blank costs. When a company orders staff shirts on a 6210, people wear them off the clock. That is the whole game.
Under ink: the combed ring-spun surface takes fine detail well and the 40% poly keeps it from looking thick. Note that Next Level states every color except Black and White is slightly heathered, so expect a small amount of ink sink on saturated colors, so we underbase accordingly.
Watch out for: 40% polyester means dye migration is possible on reds, royals and maroons. We run a low-bleed underbase on those. If a printer quotes you a 6210 without mentioning that, ask questions.
Order it when: the shirt represents your brand and someone has to want to put it on. See all 44 colors and get pricing on the 6210 here.
2. Gildan 5000 Heavy Cotton: the volume workhorse
5.3 oz · 100% cotton, 20 singles · tubular (seamless body) · ~95 colors
Roughly 10,000 pieces a year through our shop. The 5000 is the default for a reason: the widest color range on this list, the lowest cost of any 100% cotton tee we stock, and a thick, forgiving surface that takes bold spot-color art all day.
Under ink: heavier and coarser than the ring-spun blanks, which is a feature for thick line art and a limitation for fine halftones. Keep halftones coarser and line weights heavier here and it prints beautifully.
Watch out for: two things. First, it is tubular. There is no side seam, and tubular knits can torque slightly after washing, so a print loaded dead straight can appear a hair rotated later. Second, many heathers and all safety colors are 50/50, which behave like poly blends and need a low-bleed underbase even though the shirt is sold as a cotton tee.
Gildan 5000 vs Gildan 2000: the 2000 Ultra Cotton is heavier (6.0 oz) and coarser (18 singles) with fewer colors. It is the beefier, boxier option. The 5000 is the better value and the one we stock.
Order it when: it is a giveaway, an event, a fundraiser, or a big run where cost per piece decides the job.
3. Gildan 64000 Softstyle: soft feel without the fashion price
4.5 oz · 100% ring-spun cotton, 30 singles · tubular · ~72 colors
About 5,600 pieces a year. The 64000 is what you order when the customer wants a soft shirt but the budget will not stretch to a Bella or Next Level. Ring-spun cotton at 30 singles prints clean, and the color range is enormous.
Watch out for: this is the single most misunderstood blank on the list. Gildan’s own spec says Dark Heather and the Heather colors are 65/35 polyester/cotton, and Graphite Heather is 50/50. Those SKUs are not cotton tees at all. They migrate like polyester and need a poly-blocking underbase. Shops that treat “64000” as one substrate get bleed on exactly those colors.
Also worth knowing: if you want a side-seamed shirt inside the Gildan house at the same 4.5 oz weight, that is the Gildan 980 (the blank formerly sold as Anvil 980).
4. Next Level 3600: best blank for detailed artwork
4.3 oz · 100% combed ring-spun cotton, 32 singles · side-seamed · 51 colors
About 4,600 pieces a year, and the one we recommend most often when the artwork is complicated. At 32 singles the surface is smooth and dense enough to hold a 55 LPI halftone, fine text, and thin line work without dots breaking up. It is side-seamed, so it loads flat and repeatable on the platen, so placement is consistent piece to piece.
Order it when: you are printing photorealistic art, gradients, small type, or launching a clothing line where every piece has to match.
We stock every blank on this list.
Which means we can tell you what your art will actually look like on each one before you commit. Send us the design and the quantity. Pricing comes back the same business day.
5. Port & Company PC43 Easy Cotton Tee: lowest cost per piece
4.3 oz · 100% cotton, 30 singles · ~73 colors · S–6XL
About 4,100 pieces a year. The PC43 is SanMar’s entry-level cotton tee and it is the sharpest pencil we can hand a customer on a large run. It sits below the PC54 Core Cotton (5.4 oz) and PC61 Essential (6.1 oz) in the same family. And to correct a common misconception, the PC43 did not replace the PC54. Both are current. The PC43 is simply the lighter, cheaper tier.
Order it when: you need hundreds or thousands of shirts, the art is simple, and the number that matters is the one at the bottom of the invoice.
6. Tultex 241 Poly-Rich: lightest shirt we print
3.6 oz · 65/35 polyester/combed ring-spun cotton · side-seamed · ~25 colors
About 3,900 pieces a year, and popular in Florida for an obvious reason: at 3.6 oz it is the thinnest, coolest blank on this list. It drapes like a fashion tee and costs less than one.
Watch out for: 65% polyester in a very light fabric is the hardest combination on this list after the ST350. Dye migration and show-through are both real risks. This shirt requires a low-bleed underbase and a controlled cure, full stop. It is a great blank in the hands of a shop that knows it and a disaster in the hands of one that does not.
7. Comfort Colors 1717: the shirt people keep
6.1 oz · 100% ring-spun cotton, garment-dyed · relaxed fit · tubular · 60–78 colors
About 3,400 pieces a year and climbing every season. Garment-dyed, soft-washed, heavyweight, with that faded pigment look that reads as premium the second someone picks it up. If you are selling merch rather than giving it away, this is the blank with the highest perceived value on the list.
Watch out for: Comfort Colors states it plainly: the garment-dye process means slight color variation between pieces and between dye lots. That is part of the character, but it means we do not promise exact PMS matching on garment-dyed goods, and a reorder six months later may sit a shade off the original. We print a lot-specific strike-off on larger runs. It is also tubular, so the same seam considerations as the Gildan 5000 apply.
Order it when: the shirt is being sold, not handed out. Churches, breweries, bands, event merch, boutique retail.
8. District DM130 Perfect Tri: vintage soft heathers
4.5 oz · 50/25/25 polyester/combed ring-spun cotton/rayon · 32 singles
About 3,100 pieces a year. Triblends have a look nothing else replicates: mottled, lived-in heather that makes a brand-new shirt read as a favorite old one.
Watch out for , and this is the most important production note in this entire guide: SanMar states that some colors in this style are produced as both tubular and side seamed. Within one style number. Potentially within one order. That means different body width, different drape, and different print placement across colors of the same shirt. We check construction per color at receiving. If you need tightly-specified placement across many colors, we will usually steer you to the Next Level 6010 triblend instead.
Also: 50% poly plus rayon means both migration and ink sink. Triblends need a poly-blocking underbase and a higher mesh, and the print will always look slightly softer and more faded than the same art on cotton. That is usually the point.
9. Sport-Tek ST350 PosiCharge Competitor: performance and team wear
3.8 oz · 100% polyester interlock · 36 colors
About 2,900 pieces a year, mostly leagues, teams, camps and outdoor work crews. Moisture-wicking, light, and the interlock knit is denser and smoother than jersey so detail actually holds well.
Watch out for: this is the highest dye-migration risk on the list. 100% polyester disperse dyes sublimate at cure temperature and ghost into the print, worst on reds, royals and maroons. It is also the lightest fabric here, so it needs the lowest practical cure temperature, which fights a standard plastisol cure window. PosiCharge is a dye-fixation treatment for color retention in the wash; it is not a migration blocker. We run low-bleed poly white and cure as cool as the ink allows.
10. Bella+Canvas 3001: the retail-fit standard
4.2 oz · 100% Airlume combed ring-spun cotton, 32 singles · side-seamed · 86+ colors
About 1,000 pieces a year through us, lower on our volume list than its reputation suggests, mostly because the Next Level 6210 and 3600 cover the same ground at a better price for our customers. But when a clothing brand or boutique asks for a specific fit and hand feel, the 3001 is still the reference point. Airlume cotton is combed twice, side seams give a tailored silhouette, and it prints as cleanly as anything on this list.
2026 note: SanMar completed its acquisition of BELLA+CANVAS on June 29, 2026. The garment has not changed, but distribution has: SanMar is now the exclusive national wholesaler, with S&S carrying it only until existing inventory sells through.
Naming: 3001, 3001C and BC3001 are all the same solid-color garment. The 3001CVC is a separate style, a 52/48 cotton/poly heather.
What happened to the old favorites
The blanks below appeared on the original version of this guide in 2023. The industry has moved considerably since then, so here is where each one stands in 2026.
- Hanes 5280 – still made, but renamed. The ComfortSoft name is retired from wholesale; it is now the Hanes Essential-T. 5.2 oz, 100% US cotton, 48 colors. Hanes is now owned by Gildan following the acquisition completed December 1, 2025.
- Champion T525C – still made. The same garment is sold as T425 at S&S. 6 oz, 100% cotton, relaxed fit. Champion did not pass to Gildan. It was sold to Authentic Brands Group in October 2024.
- Fruit of the Loom 3930R – avoid. Fruit of the Loom is exiting the North American wholesale channel, with the phase-out running through early 2026 and popular styles repositioned under the JERZEES label. Availability is already spotty. If you liked the 3930R, the JERZEES 29MR (5.4 oz 50/50) is the practical substitute.
- American Apparel 2001W – renamed and re-sourced. It is now simply the 2001 Fine Jersey Tee; the “W” suffix and the Made-in-USA claim are gone. 4.5 oz, combed ring-spun, side-seamed, 38 colors. Gildan owns the brand.
- Anvil 980 – rebranded into Gildan. It is now the Gildan Softstyle Lightweight 980. Genuinely useful detail: at 4.5 oz ring-spun it is the side-seamed counterpart to the tubular 64000.
- Alternative Apparel 1973 Eco-Jersey – discontinued. Distributor listings now carry it under a “DISCONTINUED” title and product pages have gone dead. For a similar soft, textured eco feel, the District DM130 or Next Level 6010 triblend get you closest.
- Port & Company PC54 – still current, contrary to a lot of outdated advice online. It sits above the PC43 at 5.4 oz with 99 colors.
Cotton vs blends: what actually changes at the press
Two specs on a blank tell you most of what you need to know about how it will print.
Ring-spun vs carded (open-end) cotton
Ring-spun yarn is twisted and thinned as it spins, producing a smooth, compact yarn. Carded open-end yarn is bundled and bound: cheaper, but bulkier and with more loose fiber ends standing off the surface. In practice:
- Detail. Ring-spun holds fine halftones and thin lines. On coarse carded goods those protruding fibers break up small dots, so we keep halftones coarser (35–45 LPI) and line weights heavier.
- Fibrillation. Loose fibers on carded cotton push up through the ink after washing, giving prints a hazy, whitewashed look over time. Ring-spun barely does this.
- Ink and hand feel. Rougher, more absorbent carded fabric drinks ink, so it needs a heavier deposit for the same opacity, which means a heavier, plasticky hand. Ring-spun lets us print thinner and softer.
Rule of thumb: carded blanks (Gildan 5000, Hanes 5280) for bold one-to-three-color spot work and price-driven jobs. Ring-spun (Next Level 3600 and 6210, Bella 3001, Gildan 64000, Comfort Colors 1717) whenever there are halftones, gradients, small text, or a soft-hand requirement.
Polyester content and dye migration
Polyester is dyed with disperse dyes that turn to gas at cure temperature and migrate into the ink film, discoloring the print, typically days or weeks after the customer receives it. It is worst on reds, royals and maroons. The fix is a low-bleed or poly-blocking underbase and the lowest practical cure temperature.
From this list, the blanks that always need a blocker: Sport-Tek ST350, Tultex 241, District DM130, Next Level 6010. Sometimes: Next Level 6210 and Jerzees 29MR on saturated colors. And the trap most people miss: the heather and safety SKUs of the Gildan 64000 and Gildan 5000, which are 50/50 or 65/35 despite being sold as cotton tees.
How to pick, in one paragraph
If people have to want to wear it, order the Next Level 6210. If you are selling it, order the Comfort Colors 1717. If the budget decides the job, order the Gildan 5000 or Port & Company PC43. If the artwork is detailed, order the Next Level 3600. If it is a team, league or anything sweaty, order the Sport-Tek ST350 and make sure your printer is using low-bleed ink. If you want the vintage heather look, order the District DM130 and accept some variation.
Get pricing on any shirt in this guide
We are a South Florida screen printing and embroidery shop running three ROQ automatic presses, printing for churches, schools, trades, restaurants, gyms, non-profits and businesses from Deerfield Beach to Miami. Every blank in this guide is one we run weekly, so we can tell you how your specific artwork will behave on it before you spend a dollar.
24-piece minimum. No setup fees. Same-day pricing. Fill out the form and we will come back with real numbers on the blanks that fit your job.
Prefer to talk it through, or need something beyond tees? See our screen printing services, puff screen printing, or contract screen printing for other print shops and brands. You can also contact us directly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best shirt for screen printing overall?
For most businesses, the Next Level 6210 CVC. It is the blank we print more of than any other, over 27,000 pieces in the last year, because it delivers a retail feel and fit at a price that works for company shirts, staff uniforms and events. If cost is the deciding factor, the Gildan 5000 is the better answer; if the shirt is being sold rather than given away, the Comfort Colors 1717 is.
Is 100% cotton better than a blend for screen printing?
For print quality, generally yes. 100% cotton has no dye migration risk and takes ink predictably. But blends feel better, drape better and hold up better in heat, which is why our highest-volume blank is a 60/40. A shop that handles poly properly (low-bleed underbase, controlled cure) can print blends with no compromise in the finished result.
What is dye migration and should I worry about it?
Dye migration is when polyester dye turns to gas during ink curing and bleeds into the print, discoloring it days or weeks later. It affects polyester and poly-blend garments, worst on reds, royals and maroons. You should not have to worry about it, your printer should. Ask whether they are using a low-bleed underbase on any poly-content garment.
What is the cheapest shirt for screen printing?
The Port & Company PC43 at 4.3 oz, with the Gildan 5000 close behind and offering far more colors. On runs of several hundred pieces the difference between blanks is often larger than the difference in print cost, so it is worth quoting both.
What is the minimum order for screen printing?
Ours is 24 pieces, with no setup fees. Below that, direct-to-film (DTF) transfers are usually the more economical route and we can quote those too.
Do tubular and side-seamed shirts print differently?
Yes. Side-seamed shirts (Next Level 3600 and 6210, Bella 3001, Tultex 241) load flatter and more repeatably on the platen, so placement is consistent. Tubular shirts (Gildan 5000, Gildan 64000, Comfort Colors 1717) have no seam to square against and the knit can torque slightly after washing, so a print loaded straight may appear a little rotated later. It is a known trade-off, not a defect.
Can you print on shirts I supply?
Yes, we print on customer-supplied garments. Reach out with what you have and the quantity and we will quote it.