No-Minimum Custom Shirts in Boise & Meridian — Real Math

Last updated: June 22, 2026

Last week a small construction crew from Kuna called asking whether they should order 24 shirts to hit our "bulk" price or just get the 9 they actually needed. Honest answer: get the 9. Paying for 15 extra shirts you'll stuff in a closet isn't a deal — it's a math error. That said, there are real situations where committing to a larger run saves you money, and I want to show you the actual numbers so you can decide for yourself.

Why minimums exist in the first place

Traditional screen printing is setup-heavy. Burning screens, mixing inks, registering colors, cleaning the press when you're done — that's 2 to 4 hours of labor before a single shirt gets printed. A shop with a 24-piece minimum is spreading those hours across enough garments to make the job worth running. That's not them being difficult; it's just the economics of the process.

DTF (direct-to-film) printing changes that equation almost entirely. Artwork goes straight to film, film transfers to the garment, no screens to burn, no ink to mix between colors. We can print one shirt at essentially the same per-piece cost as a hundred — the only real savings at higher quantities comes from the blank garments themselves getting cheaper per unit.

When bulk pricing actually wins

There are specific conditions where a minimum-order shop will beat us on price, and I'd rather just tell you upfront.

• 100+ pieces, same design, same garment, same color. Traditional screen printing at that volume can hit $7–9 per shirt fully decorated. That's hard to match on DTF.
• Your design is 1–3 colors. Each additional color means another screen at a traditional shop, but at very high quantities those setup fees wash out fast. Above 4–5 colors the math tips back toward digital anyway.
• You've got 7–10 days and no rush. If you're paying a digital premium for speed on a job that doesn't need it, that's money left on the table.
• You can take a full case of blanks — usually 48–72 pieces of the same style. Some bulk shops only quote their best pricing at case quantities to simplify their ordering.

A 200-shirt order, single 2-color design, 10-day window: a traditional screen shop will likely beat a DTF shop by $1.50–3.00 per shirt. Go to the screen shop.

When no-minimum pricing wins

This covers the majority of what we see come through the door.

• Small team orders, 1–24 pieces. At a shop with a 24-piece minimum, ordering 12 means you pay for 24 anyway. You're not getting a deal — you're buying shirts you don't need.
• Multi-color or photographic designs. Setup fees at traditional shops run $20–40 per ink color. A 5-color logo costs $100–200 in setup before you print anything. DTF charges zero setup, and we include free digitizing on your first run.
• Sample runs before committing. Want to check the print on the actual garment before you order 50? At a minimum-order shop, "samples" run $200–300. A 2-piece sample here is $30–50.
• Replenishment orders. Your original 24-piece run sold out and you need 6 more. A minimum shop puts you back at 24 (or you sit on inventory). We print the 6.
• Rush turnaround. DTF can turn same-day if your art is print-ready by 10 AM. Most screen shops can't get below 3–5 days even on rush.
• Per-person customization. Different names on the back, different logo positions, different player numbers. (This comes up constantly with sports teams and church groups.) Bulk shops charge a name-strip premium of $4–6 per piece. DTF just runs the next variation.

What a no-minimum order actually costs

Typical pricing from our Meridian shop for a standard DTF print job:

• 1 shirt, 2-color logo: $22–28 all-in.
• 5 shirts, same design: $17–22 per shirt.
• 12 shirts, same design: $14–18 per shirt.
• 24 shirts, same design: $12–15 per shirt.
• 50 shirts, same design: $11–13 per shirt.
• 100+ shirts: we quote DTF and traditional screen side by side and tell you which one is cheaper for your specific job.

Embroidered hats start around $12–18 each for a left-front logo, dropping to $8–12 at 24 pieces or more.

Three questions that tell you which shop to use

Ask yourself these before you call anyone.

1. How many pieces do you actually need? Be honest. Under 30 and you almost certainly want no-minimum pricing.
2. How many ink colors in your design? Four or more colors favors DTF regardless of quantity.
3. How tight is the deadline? Anything under a week almost always lands at a DTF shop.

If you answered "under 30 pieces" or "tight deadline," you want a no-minimum DTF shop, not a traditional screen shop. Even if the bulk per-piece price looks lower on paper, you're paying for shirts that aren't going anywhere useful.

Send us your spec and we'll run the math for you

Tell us your quantity, decoration, and deadline. We'll quote DTF and traditional side by side and tell you straight which one is cheaper for your job. We've been doing this in Meridian for 7 years and we're sitting at 4.9 stars on Google — we're not going to push the option that's better for us. Call or text , or use the design tool to get started.