On a contract run, the blank is usually the biggest line item – often more than the printing itself. Pick right and the shirt sells the brand for you; pick wrong and you have boxes of inventory nobody reorders. These are the blanks we recommend for contract and wholesale runs, based on what actually gets reordered across the 150,000+ pieces that cross our presses in a year.
Picking a blank for a contract run?
Tell us the design, the audience and the budget – we will quote the run on two or three blanks that fit, same business day. 24-piece minimum, no setup fees.
The workhorses: when quantity rules
For staff shirts, events and giveaways in the hundreds of pieces, the Gildan 5000 is still the price-per-piece king with the biggest color range in the class, and the Port & Company PC43 runs it close. Both are 100% cotton, which means zero dye-migration risk – inks behave, underbases are simple, and big-volume jobs stay predictable.
The retail-feel tier: when people must want to wear it
Company shirts and merch that represents a brand should step up to the Next Level 6210 – the blank we print more than any other – or the Bella+Canvas 3001. Soft CVC and Airlume cotton, retail fits, and a hand after printing that does not feel like a giveaway. The per-piece difference over a budget blank is usually under two dollars; the difference in whether the shirt gets worn is enormous.
The heavyweight tier: where brands are right now
Streetwear and premium merch has moved decisively to heavyweight boxy blanks. The Comfort Colors 1717 owns the garment-dyed vintage look; the District DT7075 at 7 oz and the AS Colour 5080 at 8.2 oz carry the dense, structured feel that justifies $35-45 retail. For brands doing relabeled drops, these three blanks plus a printed neck label are the whole formula. The full lineup, including hoodies, women’s cuts and headwear, is on our best sellers page.
Three contract-specific rules catalogs will not tell you
Rule one: reorderability beats perfection. A gorgeous blank that goes out of stock in your size curve mid-program is a liability. The blanks above are stocked deep at SanMar and S&S, which is why we standardize on them.
Rule two: poly content changes the print job. Blends and performance fabrics need low-bleed underbases and controlled cures. Good shops handle it invisibly, but it is part of why the same design quotes differently across blanks.
Rule three: the blank sets the price ceiling. Nobody pays $40 for a printed 4.3 oz budget tee, and nobody blinks at it on an 8 oz garment-dyed heavyweight. Choose the blank for the price you intend to charge, not the price you want to pay.
Supplying your own blanks instead
Plenty of contract customers buy their own garments and send them to us – that is normal, and covered on the contract screen printing page. The blanks above are simply the ones we will vouch for on press behavior, stock depth and reorder consistency.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best blank for a clothing brand doing a first run?
A heavyweight with a tear-away tag – Comfort Colors 1717 for the vintage look, District DT7075 or AS Colour 5080 for the structured streetwear feel. Relabeled, any of the three reads fully retail.
What is the cheapest reliable blank for bulk printing?
Gildan 5000 and Port & Company PC43. Both are deep-stocked 100% cotton workhorses that print predictably at any volume.
Do you stock these blanks or do I order them?
Either. We order through SanMar and S&S at wholesale – as a SanMar PSST decorator, blanks arrive next-day in Florida – or you supply your own garments.
Can I mix blanks in one order?
You can mix colors and sizes freely within a style. Mixing styles in one run works too when the artwork stays the same – ask and we will structure the quote that way.
Quote your run on the right blank
Tell us the design and who is wearing it – we will price it on the two or three blanks that fit and tell you why.