Work shirts: a buyer's guide to Red Kap and uniform blanks

You're putting a logo on shirts for a crew, shop, fleet or facilities team. Fabric, sleeves, pockets and stain finishes decide which shirt fits.

Eleven of the twelve shirts in this guide are Red Kap, and one Harriton covers cotton ripstop. They split into two fabrics. Nine are a 65/35 polyester-cotton blend at about 4.3 oz, and three are 100% cotton at 6 oz. That split decides how you'll decorate. After that, the job sets the rest: how dirty it gets, whether it needs long sleeves, and how tall your crew runs.

Which work shirts are in this guide?

• Red Kap SP24 Industrial Short Sleeve Work Shirt: 4.3 oz poly-cotton poplin, soil-release and wrinkle-resistant. Sizes S to 6XL.
• Red Kap SP14 Industrial Long Sleeve: the long-sleeve SP24, soil-release, S to 6XL. Its microcheck colors are a lighter 3.8 oz.
• Red Kap SP24T Tall Industrial Short Sleeve: the SP24 in tall sizes, MT to 6XLT.
• Red Kap SY20 Short Sleeve Automotive Crew Shirt: 4.25 oz poly-cotton ripstop, two-tone colors, concealed button front.
• Red Kap SY10 Long Sleeve Automotive Crew Shirt: the SY20 with long sleeves, in the same ripstop.
• Red Kap SY42 Performance Plus Short Sleeve Shirt with OilBlok: 4.25 oz poly-cotton ripstop with polyester stretch-knit panels.
• Red Kap SY32 Performance Plus Long Sleeve Shirt with OilBlok: the SY42 with long sleeves.
• Red Kap SX20 Mimix Short Sleeve Work Shirt: a 4.25 oz ripstop body in the same blend, with polyester mesh panels.
• Red Kap SX10 Mimix Long Sleeve: the long-sleeve SX20.
• Red Kap SC40 Cotton Short Sleeve Uniform Shirt: 6 oz cotton twill with a durable-press finish. S to 4XL.
• Red Kap SC30 Cotton Uniform Shirt: 6 oz cotton twill, wrinkle-resistant, convertible collar. S to 5XL.
• Harriton M515 Framework Ripstop Woven Workshirt: 6 oz cotton ripstop, unisex, snap front. XS to 5XL.

Poly-cotton or cotton?

Pick poly-cotton when the shirt has to deal with soil and stains. Pick cotton when you want the most ways to decorate it. Red Kap puts its soil-release and stain finishes on the 65/35 blend, so start there for greasy or dusty work.

The cotton shirts are heavier. At 6 oz, they carry about 40% more cloth per square yard than the 4.3 oz poplin. That gives a dense stitched logo more fabric to hold.

Which shirt handles grease and stains?

Read the finish each line states, because they aren't the same:

• SP24, SP14 and SP24T: soil-release with moisture management. The SP24 and SP24T add wrinkle resistance.
• SY20 and SY10: soil release, moisture wicking and color retention.
• SY42 and SY32: Red Kap's Touchtex fabric for stain resistance and lasting color, plus OilBlok. Red Kap says OilBlok repels the toughest fluids, including oil.
• SX20 and SX10: a durable-press, wrinkle-resistant finish.

For a lube bay or any crew working around oil, our pick is the Performance Plus pair. OilBlok is the only finish here that the maker says repels oil.

Check the laundry line too. Red Kap lists the SY, SX and SC40 shirts for industrial wash, light soil or home wash.

Which shirt works as a blank mechanic shirt?

The automotive crew shirts are built for the shop floor. The button front is concealed, and Red Kap calls it no-scratch. The convertible collar has sewn-in stays. There's a button-through right chest pocket, a left chest pocket with a double pencil stall, and a small utility pocket on the left sleeve. Most colors are two-tone, like Black/Red, Charcoal/Orange and Navy/Grey, and solid Black and Charcoal are available too.

The Performance Plus pair has the same three pockets (right chest, left chest with a pencil stall, left sleeve) and adds OilBlok. It also swaps buttons for a concealed six-gripper front with no neck closure, adds polyester stretch-knit panels, and lines the banded collar with mesh. Their two-tone colors include Charcoal/Fireball Red and Black/Royal Blue.

Short sleeve or long sleeve?

Four of the Red Kap lines come in matched pairs: SP24 and SP14, SY20 and SY10, SY42 and SY32, SX20 and SX10. Each pair shares its pockets and color list. So one logo file and one placement cover the whole year, and the crew looks the same in July and January.

The Mimix pair is the one to pick when the crew wants polyester performance mesh panels in a work-shirt body. The ripstop body carries the pockets and the logo, and Red Kap gives it a durable-press finish.

Do I need chest pockets?

Most have two, and that changes where the logo goes. The SP24, SP14, SC40 and both Mimix shirts have two button-through, hex-style chest pockets with bartacks and a pencil stall on the left. The SC30 has two front pockets with button closures. The Harriton M515 has a flap pocket with hidden snaps and a bungee loop for a tool or a pen.

With pockets on the chest, plan the logo above the left pocket, on the sleeve, or big across the back. A name patch over the right pocket is a common pairing on uniform programs.

How tall is your crew?

Order the SP24T for tall workers. It runs MT to 6XLT, with the same poplin, pockets and soil-release finish as the SP24. Every other Red Kap shirt here has a tall version under its style number with a T added. Tall size runs differ by style, so check the range on each one.

For big sizes, the SP24 and SP14 go up to 6XL. If the crew is mixed, the unisex Harriton M515 starts at XS and runs to 5XL.

How should I decorate a work shirt?

Embroidery and patches are the standard on work shirts, and all twelve shirts here take embroidery. If stitching is the plan, the best blanks for embroidery guide compares more fabrics for a dense logo.

On the poly-cotton shirts, embroidery and DTF are the safe choices. Vinyl works on the SP24 family and the automotive shirts. On the Performance Plus and Mimix shirts, lean on DTF for a heat-applied logo. You can screen print the blend, but on dark colors the fabric dye can bleed into light plastisol. Use a low-bleed ink, or put a blocker base under light colors. DTG and discharge need cotton, so leave them off these shirts.

On the cotton shirts, the SC40, SC30 and M515, the list opens up. They're 100% cotton, so screen print and DTF work well. The M515 is the best fit for discharge. The SC40 and SC30 carry wrinkle-resistant finishes that can resist discharge, so test-print one first. Embroidery is strong here, and DTG and vinyl work too. Before you lock sizes on a cotton order, wash and dry one sample and measure it.

Which work shirt fits which job?

• Facilities, plant or general crew → Red Kap SP24, with the SP14 for long sleeves
• Tall workers → Red Kap SP24T
• Auto shop or service bay → Red Kap SY20 and SY10
• Crews around oil and fluids → Red Kap SY42 and SY32
• Mesh panels in a work shirt → Red Kap SX20 and SX10
• Printed uniform shirt → Red Kap SC40 or SC30; discharge → Harriton M515
• Cotton ripstop with a snap front for a mixed crew → Harriton M515

Need pants to match? The bottoms buyer's guide covers Red Kap work pants like the PT20 and PX62.

Which one would we order first?

If we could only order one, it would be the Red Kap SP24. It's poly-cotton poplin with a soil-release, wrinkle-resistant finish, and it runs S to 6XL. The SP24T covers your tall workers in the same shirt, and the SP14 matches it in long sleeves with the same color list. Its color list runs from solids to stripes and microchecks. Embroidery, DTF and vinyl all work on it, so it takes the usual left-chest logo and name patch.