Although you can wear any kind of shirt while exercising or playing sports, there are advantages to going with custom athletic wear. For starters, a 100% polyester custom performance t shirt wicks moisture away from your body, keeping you cool -- and dry -- a lot longer.
How much difference does this make?
For a lot of people, the answer is TONS! There's a pretty noticeable difference when working out in a performance t shirt vs a cotton t shirt. For example, you might be relatively dry at the end of a jog when you wear a performance t shirt. Meanwhile, a jogger could be positively drenched when wearing a cotton t shirt. (In fact, a runner might stay dryer -- and cooler -- in a moisture wicking long sleeve t shirt than they'd be in a cotton short sleeve t shirt!)
On top of that, some dri fit tees offer U.V. protection, keeping athletes safe from harmful ultra-violet sun rays. (The average rating can vary -- be sure to check the individual product pages if you need something specific!)
Long story short, you'll likely notice a difference between a performance t shirt and a cotton t shirt pretty quickly. And, over the course of a jog or workout, that difference will only become more noticeable.
Oh, and want to save the planet? Some athletic wear uses recycled polyester, converting plastic that might otherwise wind up in a landfill into clothing.
As for the benefits of going with a custom print, it all depends on what the shirts are being used for -- and, in many cases, it makes a LOT of sense to bulk order performance t shirts.
Own a gym? Athletic wear is great branding AND an opportunity to bring in extra money if you're selling custom gym shirts. (And it makes sense for gym staff uniforms.)
Are you a yoga instructor or have another fitness-related business? Having students wear performance t shirts (or tank tops) is a great way to foster a sense of community and can act as an additional sign-up bonus.
And if you manage a kids (or youth) sports team, custom athletic wear can make for an affordable uniform (where just going with a team name and team logo is cheaper than personalizing the apparel with names or numbers).
Another interesting use would be for corporate team-building exercises. If you have a brand filter -- a series of keywords that represent your business's beliefs and values -- that would work well on a moisture-wicking logo shirt that could be worn by employees as go about their corporate retreat.
And there are a lot of businesses where custom dri fit t shirts make sense as work uniforms. If you run a construction company -- or other company involving rugged work -- you should always consider ordering a large number at a time both so you can keep a stockpile and to take advantage of bulk discounts.
Of course, if your employees work outdoors in a very physical capacity (such as roofing), durability can be an issue. In those cases, you might want to go with a less expensive performance shirt and with a blended fabric like the Gildan DryBlend (which has limited wicking capabilities, but is more durable).
When it comes to performance t shirt customization, the sky is limit (well, maybe the edges of the shirt are the limit -- but there's a lot of great design space there!)
Although you can do just anything with moisture wicking t shirts, should you?
Short answer? Ehhhhhh...
Longer answer? What works on a shirt depends on what's happening when the shirt is being worn. If somebody is running, dancing, or jumping, what are people likely to see? Small text is probably going to be overlooked and long messages completely missed. You're usually better off going with large text and fewer words. Likewise, artwork with a lot of small detail might not be fully appreciated -- something like a logo is usually a lot more practical.
But have you ever wondered how screen printers customize t shirts? What? No? Could you at least pretend to be interested in how custom apparel companies customize shirts? C'mon! Be a team player! Alright, fine, then I'll just quickly tell you about one key difference.
The process for screen printing on moisture wicking fabric is a little different from cotton shirts. Given the nature of polyester, Dri Fit t shirts and other athletic wear has to be heated at a lower temperature to avoid burning the shirts. (A poly cotton blend also tends to be more heat-sensitive.)
Whether it's shirts for athletes or outdoor workers, custom UV protection shirts can keep people safe from the sun.
UV protection (also abbreviated U.V. protection) is measured by a shirt's Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF). A shirt's UPF will vary, but the higher the UPF, the better the protection.
So, what's a good UPF rating?
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, a good sun-resistant fabric offers at least 30 UPF. Anything rated 50 or above offers excellent protection.
Why does it matter? Can't you just use sunscreen?
Sunscreen doesn't serve the same function as UV clothing. For starters, sunscreen's protection uses a completely different measurement system (Sun Protection Factor (SPF), which measures how long it takes your skin to redden) because it only protects against UVB rays. However, UPF protects against UVB rays and UVA rays. (The two differ in that UVB affects the surface level, causing burns, while UVA rays penetrate deeper, causing aging... although both can cause cancer.)
On top of that, there's a convenience factor with clothes -- instead of needing to apply a lotion, you can just toss on a shirt. And a shirt is reusable.
If you're looking for a custom UV tee, why settle for good when you can have excellent UPF protection? Sport-Tek's Posi-UV® Pro Tee has a UPF of 50, meaning it provides an absurdly high standard of protection.
When it comes to sports apparel manufacturers, is any company as well-known as Nike?
Nike is easily among the most iconic globally-known brands, with a reputation for creating some of the best sportswear. So is it any wonder that Nike Dri-FIT tees are a go-to choice for customization?
Because Nike is a brand used by professional athletes, it's often favored by aspiring athletes and enthusiasts for their custom logo sportswear. If you're putting a team logo on a Nike Dri-FIT shirt, that custom clothing might feel a bit more official than if you'd gone with another sportswear brand.
But you don't have to limit yourself to team logos. If you're reselling your performance tees -- such as if you own a gym or fitness business -- the Nike Swoosh can add prestige to your brand. Official Nike Dri-FIT cotton/poly tees can also be a great high-end promotional item.
What's better than custom performance shirts? How about custom performance tees with no minimum order?
That's right -- Bolt Printing now has no minimum order on custom athletic tees of all styles. So if you need just one, we'll get it done!
While normal ink colors are good enough for most people, occasionally we'll see requests for something a bit more unusual.
With a little creativity, we've been able to mix all sorts of color inks -- and achieved amazing effects. In fact, you might be surprised by some of the things our t shirt experts can do.
Are there limitations when it comes to athletic tees? Well... yes. For starters, you want to print fewer colors on a performance shirt (because the ink needs to be heated after it's applied and too many heat applications can damage an athletic tee).
However, if you're ever in doubt about whether something is possible, feel free to ask. Especially since we also recently added Direct-to-Film (DTF) to our customization options.
Learn more about:
- Whether cotton, polyester, or a blended shirt will best fit your needs
- Designing t-shirts (with our ultimate guide)
- The best practices for design placement(s) on custom shirts
