T-shirt technical data sheet for corporate procurement teams
This page collects the technical specifications our corporate clients most often ask about when they are evaluating a T-shirt for staff uniform, employer brand giveaway or event activation. It covers fabric composition, GSM weight, thread count, decoration compatibility and minimum order quantities per technique. It is written for procurement teams and brand managers who need to compare options without requesting three separate samples first.
Why we publish technical sheets instead of glossy catalogues
Most merch catalogues show the same product photographed in three lighting setups and never tell you the GSM weight, the shrinkage tolerance, the printable area or the Pantone coverage you will get when you put your logo on it. We have learned the hard way that a glossy catalogue creates downstream friction: the brand team approves a mockup, the procurement team orders a sample, the sample arrives and looks different from the catalogue render, and the program gets delayed by two weeks while everyone re-approves.
Technical sheets solve this. They tell you up front what fabric you are getting, what decoration will and will not work on it, what the minimum order is per technique, what the shrinkage tolerance is after the first three washes, and what colour matching you can expect from a Pantone reference. With that information, the brand team and the procurement team can align on the spec before any sample is cut, and the sample becomes a confirmation step instead of a negotiation step.
Three fabric families we run most frequently
100% combed cotton — 180 to 220 GSM
Carded open-end for budget runs at 150 to 170 GSM; ringspun combed for premium runs at 180 to 220 GSM. Best for screen print, plastisol ink, water-based discharge ink. DTF works on all weights; embroidery limited to 200 GSM and above because thinner fabric distorts under the needle tension.
Poly-cotton 65/35 — 160 to 200 GSM
Polyester gives wrinkle resistance and faster drying; cotton keeps the hand feel. Standard for hospitality and airline staff. Screen print requires polyester-compatible ink; DTF is the safer choice. Sublimation only works on the 100% polyester variant — not on this blend.
Piqué cotton and poly-cotton — 200 to 240 GSM
Polo collar construction, ribbed cuff and side vents. Slightly heavier for a more structured fit. Embroidery is the dominant decoration, especially left-chest logos. Screen print works but ink sits on top of the texture, which affects Pantone coverage on small text.
Technical polyester — 140 to 170 GSM
Moisture-wicking, anti-microbial finish on request, UV protection UPF 30+ for outdoor staff. Designed for sublimation printing — colours bond at the molecular level and do not fade or peel. Common for sportswear and outdoor brand activations.
Decoration compatibility by fabric
The right decoration depends on the fabric, the logo design and the intended use. Screen print is the most cost-effective for runs above 100 units and works on cotton and poly-cotton but not on technical polyester. Plastisol ink sits on top of the fabric and is the most durable for industrial laundry; water-based discharge ink dyes the fabric itself and gives a softer hand feel but works only on 100% cotton. DTF (direct-to-film) is the most versatile: it adheres to virtually any fabric, captures fine detail and gradients, and works for runs as small as 25 units because there is no screen setup fee.
Embroidery is the premium choice for corporate logos. We run it on all fabrics above 180 GSM and on caps, polo shirts, jackets and bags. The logo is digitized into a stitch file, sampled on the actual fabric and approved before production. For logos with fine detail or gradients, embroidery is not the right technique — DTF or screen print will preserve the visual better. For small-batch corporate gifts, embroidery is rarely cost-effective below 50 units per design.
Sublimation is reserved for 100% white polyester fabric and white-coated hard goods. It produces vibrant, full-colour images that do not fade or peel, but it cannot reproduce the Pantone accuracy you get from screen print on cotton. For trade-show booth staff uniforms with photographic-quality graphics, sublimation on technical polyester is the right choice. For corporate logos on polos, screen print or embroidery remains standard.
Minimum order quantities per technique
MOQs vary by fabric, decoration and colour. Screen print on cotton starts at 50 units per design and 100 units per size break. DTF starts at 25 units per design, which is the right technique for small-batch employer-brand runs and for testing a new logo before committing to a larger run. Embroidery starts at 25 units per design but the digitizing fee applies per logo — if you have three different logos on one garment, each one is a separate digitizing fee. Sublimation on polyester starts at 50 units per design; the colour setup is included in the unit price.
For Pantone matching on screen print, we mix the ink in our workshop against a Pantone Solid Coated reference you provide. Pantone coverage on DTF is within Delta E 2 to 3, which is close enough for most brand books but not exact. For exact Pantone matching on technical polyester, we use dye-sublimation transfer paper printed on calibrated Epson SureColor F6300 printers, which gives a Delta E under 2 against the same Pantone reference.
Shrinkage, sizing and care
Pre-shrunk cotton shrinks 3 to 5 percent after the first three washes, which is why we always size up when a client orders a tight fit. Ringspun combed cotton is more stable than carded open-end. Poly-cotton blends shrink less than 100% cotton, usually under 2 percent. Technical polyester is dimensionally stable and does not shrink under normal wash conditions. Piqué is the most stable of the four families. We recommend cold wash, line dry for screen-printed garments; warm wash and tumble dry is acceptable for embroidered pieces and sublimated polyester.
Sizing follows USMCA market conventions for North American clients and EU conventions for European clients. If you are shipping to multiple regions, we recommend keeping two size curves in stock and labelling each garment with its target market. We do not run women's, men's and unisex cuts on the same production line — they are separate patterns with separate grading, and the MOQ per cut is the same as the per-design MOQ.
FAQ — T-shirt technical sheet
What is the difference between carded open-end and ringspun cotton?
Carded open-end cotton is spun faster with shorter fibres, giving a slightly rougher hand feel and a lower price. Ringspun cotton is spun slower with longer fibres, giving a smoother feel and better print surface. For corporate staff uniforms intended to last two years of weekly washing, we recommend ringspun combed cotton at 180 to 200 GSM.
Can we supply our own blank T-shirts for decoration only?
Yes, with a customer-supplied garment agreement that shifts responsibility for blank quality, sizing consistency and fabric defects to your procurement team. We charge decoration-only pricing plus a 10 percent handling fee for inspection and re-bagging.
What is the maximum printable area on a standard T-shirt?
For screen print on adult sizes, the standard printable area is 35 cm wide by 45 cm tall on the front and 35 cm by 50 cm on the back. For DTF, the printable area extends to 40 cm by 55 cm. Sleeve prints and neck-label prints are available but require a custom screen and add to the setup fee.
Do you supply care labels and hangtags in our brand language?
Yes. We print and sew care labels in English, Spanish or any other language you specify. Hangtags are produced on coated cardstock with your brand mark; the cost is included in the unit price for runs above 500 units.
How do you handle CFDI 4.0 documentation for T-shirt orders?
Each delivery wave is invoiced with a separate CFDI 4.0 stamped by SAT, including the unit price, the IVA 16% desglosado, the customs code for cross-border shipments when applicable, and the SAT product key for the fabric composition. We deliver the stamped XML and PDF copies to your accounts-payable team within 24 hours of the physical delivery.
Request a sample set or a quote
If you need to evaluate the T-shirt options for a new program, send us your brief — quantity, fabric preference, decoration technique, deadline and the city or industrial park for delivery. We ship a sample set of up to three blank garments in your preferred fabric within 5 business days at cost via UPS, FedEx or Estafeta. For decorated samples, we need your logo in vector format (AI, EPS or SVG) and we ship the decorated sample within 10 business days of receiving the artwork.
Corp-Merch.MX is a corporate merch production shop operated by Swaggy Agency with more than ten years of experience in Latin America. The technical specifications on this page reflect the production capabilities of our workshops in Estado de México, Jalisco and Nuevo León as of October 2026; specific fabric weights, Pantone coverage and MOQs may vary by supplier and by lot. Pantone is a registered trademark of Pantone LLC; we reference the Pantone Matching System only for the purpose of communicating colour-matching capability to corporate clients.