The method follows the shirt, the quantity, and how close someone stands to the logo. Polos and hats are almost always stitched. Tees and hoodies in a real run are almost always screen printed. If the order is both, it is still one quote.
Quote first. A free proof, then you pay. Nothing is a cart checkout.
Screen printing
Ink through a screen. Built for flat goods and solid colors.
Embroidery
Thread. Built for garments people look at up close.
1 · Garment
Polo, hat, jacket, or bag → embroidery. Tee or hoodie → screen print, once the quantity clears 24.
2 · Quantity
Under 12 decorated pieces is below both floors. 12–23 fits embroidery, not a screen run. 24 and up can be either method.
3 · How it has to look
A logo someone reads on a collar should be stitched. A mark that has to read from across a field should be ink. Photos and gradients are not a solid-color screen job — ask before you pick.
4 · Mixed order
Staff polos plus event tees is normal. Stitch one, print the other, one proof. Don’t embroider a tee just to stay under 24.
A tee order of 18 is not an embroidery order. Screen printing starts at 24, and stitching a big design onto a cotton tee usually looks and feels wrong. Call (630) 324-4372 and we’ll say whether to add pieces, change the garment, or wait. We won’t invent a third method on this page.
Embroidery is thread locked into the fabric. That is why a work polo still shows the logo after a season of washing. The limit is density: a huge, tight logo gets thick and stiff. Your proof names the stitch count before you pay, and anything past a normal cap front is called out there.
Screen printing is the durable print on cotton and fleece when the art is solid ink. Hoodies cost a little more than tees because fleece needs an extra flash on press — that difference is already in the price guide, not a line added later. A second print location (front and back, or a name under a logo) is priced on the proof. This page does not restate dollar amounts.
DuPage and the western suburbs
Same choice in Aurora, Naperville, Carol Stream, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Addison, and the towns around them. There is no walk-in shop. You quote online, our Addison partner prints or stitches the job, and we deliver or ship. The Carol Stream building holds our own retail hoodies — it is not a counter.
Usually no. A left-chest logo on a polo, a cap front, a jacket, or a bag is embroidery, from 12 pieces. Screen printing is for t-shirts, hoodies, and similar flat goods from 24 pieces with solid ink colors.
Send one quote. We embroider the polos and hats and screen print the tees and hoodies, against one proof and one all-in price. You approve before anything is made.
Embroidery is thread, so it survives the wash a work polo sees. A screen print is the long-wearing choice on a cotton tee or hoodie when the art is solid color and the run is at least 24. A very dense stitch-out can feel stiff; the proof states the stitch count before you pay. Cap fronts in our advertised price cover about 5,000 stitches.
On the price guide and on your proof. This page only picks the method. Advertised screen-print prices are one colour and one location; a second location or extra colours are added on the proof.