We're a startup, fourteen people, and we want branded hoodies
We're a startup, fourteen people, and we want branded hoodies and tees for new hires. The problem is quantity: most places I've contacted have minimums that assume I'm ordering for a company of two hundred. I don't need a hundred of anything. Is small batch work realistic without the per piece cost becoming absurd, and what's the honest tradeoff at low volumes? We'd also like the option to add pieces later as we hire, so consistency between the first batch and future orders matters more to me than squeezing out the lowest possible price today.
Small runs are doable, the honest tradeoff is that setup costs get spread over fewer pieces so your unit price goes up. Screen printing has real setup per color, which is why it punishes small orders, while embroidery has a one-time digitizing charge and then prices more evenly. For fourteen pieces embroidery or direct printing usually makes more sense than screen. We used PromoBox for onboarding gear, their Apparel Printing & Embroidery Services packages start around $199 and they didn't push us toward a bigger run. One tip: standardize on one hoodie model now so future hires match rather than owning three slightly different versions.