Premium blank t-shirts: buyer's guide

You're choosing a tee to print, stitch, or press, and the premium tees in this guide cover more ground than the name suggests. They run from a 3.5 oz all-polyester team tee to a 7.5 oz cotton tee cut oversized. The fiber decides which decoration methods will work, so start there. Weight and fit come next. They decide how the shirt feels and who will wear it.

The styles on this list

Twelve styles, chosen to cover different fits, fibers, and jobs.

• Comfort Colors 1717 Garment-Dyed Heavyweight T-Shirt: 6.1 oz, 100% ringspun cotton, relaxed fit, garment-dyed. Best for screen print, discharge, DTF, and embroidery on a retail tee.
• Comfort Colors 6030 Garment-Dyed Heavyweight Pocket T-Shirt: 6.1 oz, 100% ringspun cotton, relaxed fit, garment-dyed. Best for a pocket tee with a small logo up front and a bigger print on the back.
• Next Level 3600 Cotton T-Shirt: 4.3 oz, 100% combed ringspun cotton. Best for DTG, screen print, discharge, and DTF.
• Next Level 6210 CVC T-Shirt: 4.3 oz, 60% cotton / 40% polyester, combed ringspun. Best for a blend that takes screen print, DTG, DTF, and HTV.
• Tultex 213 Women's Fine Jersey Slim Fit T-Shirt: 4.5 oz, 100% ringspun cotton, slim women's fit, pre-shrunk. Best for screen print, DTG, discharge, and DTF on a women's cut.
• Colortone 1000 Multi-Color Tie-Dyed T-Shirt: 5.3 oz, 100% cotton, classic fit, pre-shrunk. Best for screen print and DTF on tie-dye.
• Shaka Wear Max Heavyweight Tee: 7.5 oz, 100% cotton, oversized fit. Best for screen print, discharge, and embroidery on an oversized look.
• Tultex 241 Poly-Rich T-Shirt: 3.6 oz, 65% polyester / 35% cotton. Best for sublimation, HTV, and DTF.
• Gildan 42000 Performance T-Shirt: 5 oz, 100% polyester, modern classic fit. Best for sublimation and HTV.
• Team 365 TT11 Zone Performance T-Shirt: 3.5 oz, 100% polyester interlock, men's, UPF 40+. Best for sublimation and HTV on team tees.
• Team 365 TT11Y Youth Zone Performance T-Shirt: the youth version of the TT11, same 3.5 oz polyester and UPF 40+. Best for matching youth rosters.
• AllPro 48000 Pro-Lock Performance T-Shirt: 4 oz, 100% polyester, men's, UPF 50+. Best for sublimation and HTV, with room for a stitched logo.

If the job is a budget giveaway run instead, the core value t-shirts guide covers the value tees.

Cotton, blend, or polyester?

Match the fiber to your decoration method: cotton for screen print, discharge, and DTG, polyester for sublimation and HTV. Screen print and discharge go down cleanly on the all-cotton tees, and discharge only works on pure cotton, so these are the shirts for it. DTG inks need cotton to bond, so DTG belongs on these shirts too. Sublimation needs polyester, so none of the cotton tees take it.

Can I screen print the polyester tees?

Yes, with some planning. The Gildan 42000, TT11, and AllPro 48000 are 100% polyester, so sublimation and HTV are what they're built for, and screen print is possible on top of that. On dark polyester, the fabric's dye can migrate into a light ink. A low-cure poly ink or a blocker base helps. Reviewers note the TT11 screen prints well with polyester inks and lower cure temperatures.

Where do the blends fit?

The Next Level 6210 sits in the middle at 60% cotton. It takes screen print, DTG, DTF, and HTV. Discharge needs pure cotton, so it isn't a discharge shirt. One print shop cautions DTG colors print slightly muted on it, since the polyester keeps ink from soaking in fully.

The Tultex 241 leans the other way at 65% poly. Customers report buying it specifically for bleach-and-sublimation work. Print shops report that some poly/cotton colorways won't bleach to white, so test your color first.

How hot can I cure the Comfort Colors tees?

Keep it under 320°F. On the 1717's pigment-dyed colors, a print shop that reports printing 15,000+ of these shirts keeps screen-print cure below that line to avoid color shifting. Print shops report the same ceiling on the 6030, where dryer temperatures over 320°F can make the pigment dye migrate for good.

How heavy should the shirt be?

Go heavier when the job is embroidery. The Shaka Wear at 7.5 oz and both 6.1 oz Comfort Colors styles are heavy enough to hold dense stitching, so they're our picks for embroidery. The lightest tees, the TT11, TT11Y, and Tultex 241, are thin enough that embroidery can pucker. Keep stitched logos small on those.

On the 1717, the print shop with 15,000+ on record uses a medium-weight cutaway stabilizer and slows the machine 10–15% to prevent thread breaks.

Weight also sets how the shirt hangs and how much shows through. Customers describe the 4.3 oz 3600 as lightweight yet heavy enough to drape without clinging. Print shops caution that its white and lighter shades can be somewhat see-through. At 6.1 oz, customers report the Comfort Colors 6030 is not see-through.

Which fit do I need?

It depends on who's wearing it, because fit is where these shirts differ most.

• Oversized: Shaka Wear Max Heavyweight
• Relaxed: Comfort Colors 1717 and 6030
• Modern and close to the body: Next Level 3600 and 6210
• Athletic: Team 365 TT11
• Slim women's cut: Tultex 213

The relaxed cut changes how you place a print. Because of the 1717's dropped shoulder, the print shop with 15,000+ of them on record moves chest logos about half an inch lower than on fitted tees. Decorators report women usually size down one or two sizes in the 1717 for a less baggy fit.

The Next Level pair wears closer. Print shops describe the 3600 as a modern, slim fit, and one print shop calls the 6210 a modern fitted cut. If your customers know the Bella+Canvas 3001, the 3001 alternatives guide lines up the closest matches.

Reviewers note the TT11 wears between a relaxed fit and a compression fit. For a true women's cut, the Tultex 213 is slim fit, and there's more in best women's-cut blanks.

Will it shrink?

The two Comfort Colors styles are garment-dyed, and the dye bath shrinks the fabric on top of its own shrinkage. In practice, a print shop that reports printing 15,000+ 1717s sees about 2–3% shrinkage even with a hot wash and a high-heat dry. Before you lock sizes on either one, wash and dry one sample and measure it. When sizes have to hold, the Tultex 213 and the Colortone 1000 are both pre-shrunk.

Which tee fits which job?

• Retail line or merch drop → Comfort Colors 1717
• Pocket tee with a back print → Comfort Colors 6030
• DTG or discharge on a fitted cut → Next Level 3600
• Cotton-poly blend in a fitted cut → Next Level 6210
• Women's retail → Tultex 213
• Festival, camp, or event tie-dye → Colortone 1000
• Oversized fit and heavy embroidery → Shaka Wear Max Heavyweight
• Sublimated team kit with youth sizes → Team 365 TT11 and TT11Y
• Outdoor crew in the sun → AllPro 48000, UPF 50+
• Bleach-and-sublimate crafting → Tultex 241

Which one would we stock first?

If we had to stock one, it would be the Comfort Colors 1717. It's 100% cotton, so screen print, DTG, discharge, and DTF all work on it, and the 6.1 oz fabric is heavy enough for embroidery. That weight also resists stretch and sag. The print shop with 15,000+ of them on record reports it holds its shape with minimal pilling after 75+ washes. So it covers almost any cotton job you'd take on.

Need sleeves for colder months? The long-sleeve tees guide picks up from here.