How to order printed kit for a club or team

Running the kit order for a club is a thankless job. Twenty people, twenty sizes, three of them change their mind, and the match is in a fortnight. Here is how to make it painless, based on the club and team orders that come through our factory in Dublin 12 every week.

Key takeaways

• Count sizes first, then order. Changes after the proof is approved cost time.
• One to a hundred pieces are printed digitally (DTF). Bigger runs of bold artwork go on the screen presses. Polos, caps and jackets usually want embroidery.
• Send the crest as a PNG with a transparent background, as large as you have it.
• Printed kit ships within 7 to 10 working days of a confirmed order, embroidered kit within 7 to 15.
• A club shop page lets every member buy and pay for their own kit, so nobody is chasing money.

Start with the numbers

Before anything else, get a list of names, garments and sizes. A shared spreadsheet or a message in the club group works fine.

Two things worth doing at this stage:

• Ask for a size chart check. Sizes vary between brands. Every garment page on our site has the sizes available, and we are happy to send a sample before a big order.
• Add a few spares. New members join mid season. An extra small, medium and large saves a second order.

There is no minimum with us, so a top up order of one or two pieces later is no problem. It just costs more per piece than ordering together.

Pick the method for your quantity

The quantity decides the method more than anything else.

• 1 to 100 garments: DTF printing. Full colour, fine detail, no screen setup, so small numbers are cost effective. How DTF works.
• 100 or more of the same bold design: screen printing. One screen per colour, so the setup pays for itself as the numbers climb and each piece gets cheaper. How screen printing works.
• Polos, caps, beanies, jackets and anything that should look smart for years: embroidery. Thread does not peel, crack or fade. How embroidery works.

Any design with more than 7 colours goes to DTF regardless of quantity. If you have a preference, tell us and we will work with it.

Get the crest right

Most club orders are held up by artwork, not by the garments. What we need:

• A PNG, JPG, GIF or TIF file. PNG is best if the background is transparent.
• As large as you have it. A tiny crest lifted from a website will look soft when it is scaled up. Ask whoever designed it for the original file.
• For embroidery, the crest is digitised into stitches by us. Fine lines and tiny text get simplified, so keep the version for embroidery clean.

Not sure what you have? Send it anyway and we will tell you if it will work.

Names and numbers on the back

Individual names and squad numbers are common on team kit and we do them all the time. Send them in a list alongside the sizes, with the spelling checked twice.

We confirm a visual of the design with you before anything runs. Once you approve it, spelling is on you, so this is the moment to read every name.

Allow enough time

From a confirmed order:

• Screen print and DTF orders ship within 7 to 10 working days.
• Embroidered orders ship within 7 to 15 working days.
• Plain garments with no decoration ship within 3 to 7 working days.

An order is confirmed once we have your payment and your artwork. If a fixture is fixed, work back from it and add a week for approving the proof and collecting sizes.

Let a club shop do the collecting

The part most kit officers hate is collecting money. We can set up a club shop page on our site, with your crest already on each garment. Members pick their size, send their order, and choose collection or delivery. You get the kit without touching a cent.

Ask us about one when you send your brief. You can see how it works on the club kit page.

Frequently asked questions

• Can we order a sample first? Yes. One piece is fine, and it is a sensible way to settle on a size and colour before the club order.
• Can we mix garments in one order? Yes. Polos, hoodies and caps with the same crest can go in together, each done with the method that suits it.
• Do more thread colours cost more on embroidery? No. The price depends on stitch count and logo size, not the number of colours.
• Can we add to the order later? Yes, with no minimum. It just costs more per piece than ordering in one go.
• Where do we collect? Unit 24, J.F.K Rd, Dublin 12, Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm. Or we post it.

Ready to go? Ask for a price with the garment, the quantity and the crest, and we will come back with a figure and a date.