Making your own custom T-shirt is an exciting venture. This is a great way to get your name out there if you are a company, or it can make great gifts for family and friends. Either way, when you have your design printed, you will be faced with T-shirt options, one being a premium T-shirt.
What is a premium T-shirt?
A premium T-shirt is a high-quality T-shirt made from the best premium cotton available. Premium T-shirts tend to be extremely soft and smooth, as well as incredibly durable. These T-shirts are less likely to tear, and the design you place on them will last longer without fading.
What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of premium T-shirts? How do other T-shirt types compare to premium T-shirts? Let’s find out!
Defining A Premium T-Shirt
Having some custom-made T-shirts is great for brand recognition or even gifts for family and friends. When you finally get to the part of the process where you speak to the printing shop you have found, they may ask you a few questions to ensure you receive the type and quality of the product you are looking for.
One question you may be asked is what type of T-shirt you want your design printed on. This can be unclear for some people, because a T-shirt is a T-shirt, right? Well, there are many different types of T-shirts available to you, one of them being a premium T-shirt, but what is a premium T-shirt?
A premium T-shirt is a shirt that is made from high-quality material. This material is softer, smoother, and lightweight. Premium T-shirts are made from premium 100% single source staple cotton, the highest-grade cotton available.
This also makes the T-shirt hypoallergenic, and it won’t become “scratchy” or “pocky” over time. Premium T-shirts don’t require fabric softeners to remain silky to the touch, meaning they don’t need to be exposed to a lot of chemicals which makes them last longer.
How Does A Premium T-Shirt Differ From Others?
Now that you know what a premium T-shirt is, you may be wondering how it differs from the other T-shirt types on offer. So, let’s go through the other types of T-shirts and compare them to a Premium T-shirt.
Let’s start with a regular T-shirt. Regular T-shirts are seen as everyday shirts that are comfortable and are a go-to staple for most people. This T-shirt is moderately soft and is made from cotton, so it’s lightweight.
Regular T-shirts are not as soft and comfortable as Premium T-shirts, and they will require fabric softener to keep them soft. This lowers the durability of the T-shirt’s material, and it won’t last as long. Regular T-shirts often have a baggy fit, even if you buy the right size.
Next is the heavy-weight T-shirt. This is made from a heavy material, cotton, combined with 10-65% polyester. This T-shirt does not have a soft feel to it and can end up becoming scratchy over time. The fit of this shirt is boxier and not form-fitting at all. This T-shirt type is not as durable as the premium shirt.
The last option you may have is the Tri-blend T-shirt. This T-shirt is generally made from 25% cotton, 50% polyester, and 25% rayon. This T-shirt is softer than the other two options mentioned above, but it still doesn’t compare to the softness of a premium T-shirt.
This T-shirt has more of a vintage, dappled look, and due to the polyester in it, it can become scratchy over time, especially if it’s not cared for properly.
These T-shirts are good options for printing your design on, but they will not top the premium T-shirt. To understand why the premium T-shirt is better, let’s go over its benefits and drawbacks to help you decide if the premium T-shirt is best for your needs.
The Benefits Of A Premium T-Shirt
Premium T-shirts are some of the best T-shirt options available in the world right now, and there are many different reasons for this. Premium T-shirts offer many benefits to you when you opt to have your design printed on them.
However, many people’s opinions differ on this subject, so let’s go through the benefits of a premium T-shirt to help you decide which side of the fence you stand on with them.
Premium T-Shirts Are High Quality
Premium T-shirts are the highest quality T-shirts you can buy. These T-shirts are made from the finest material that could be formed into a T-shirt. All premium T-shirts are made from the highest quality cotton, and most of the premium T-shirt manufacturers only use ethically sourced cotton.
The premium T-shirts are tough, soft, and durable, thanks to the quality of the material they are made from. The excellence of the cotton used to make these T-shirts allows for a more structured material that is lightweight and incredibly soft.
Premium T-shirts will not require a fabric softener to keep them at peak softness. They are T-shirts that will not become scratchy after a few washes.
Premium T-Shirts Offer The Best Prints
As premium T-shirts are made from the highest quality cotton, and they are exceptionally soft and smooth, they allow your design to print better on the material. When you use a premium T-shirt for your custom T-shirt, you are more likely to receive a pure print of your design on the shirt.
This is because the T-shirt is less likely to wrinkle when it’s going through the printing process, and the ink used to print your design can hold onto the fabric better. This will help the longevity of your design on the T-shirt, meaning the design won’t fade for years.
Printing your design on a premium T-shirt also allows your design to stay flush with the material, so there will be no areas that “stick off” the T-shirt. This further improves the longevity of the design on the T-shirt and makes the overall product look better and more professional.
Premium T-Shirts Offer The Best Fit For Any Size
With other T-shirt options, you may feel like the shirt doesn’t fit you quite right or that it’s too baggy. With a premium T-shirt, you don’t need to worry about this happening to you. If you buy the right size for your body, premium T-shirts will feel like they were made for you specifically.
Their form-fitting cut will always ensure that you have a T-shirt that is the right fit for you. Premium T-shirts are breathable and give you room to move with the ability to look good as they will fit you perfectly.
Premium T-Shirts Have Vast Color Options
Another thing that sets premium T-shirts far above the rest is that they come in almost any color imaginable and generally without having to pay extra. Other T-shirt types are cheaper in the standard white color, as this is the natural color of cotton and the other materials they are made from.
However, they tend to become more expensive as soon as you want to buy a blue T-shirt instead of a white T-shirt. This is because it takes a lot of effort and dye to change the color of the materials the other T-shirts are made from, which in turn increases the cost of the shirt.
Premium T-shirts, on the other hand, due to the high-quality material they are made from, it’s a lot easier to dye them different colors, and they don’t need as much dye to do this. This is because the T-shirts soak up the dye better and faster than the others.
All this lowers the cost of the different color T-shirts compared to the others. A colored premium T-shirt will set you back an extra $2 or $3 per T-shirt, whereas one of the other T-shirts may set you back an additional $5 per T-shirt.
Premium T-Shirts Are Highly Durable
Premium T-shirts are extremely durable and hold up well over time. These T-shirts can keep their form well and stay soft and smooth no matter how you wash them or how much you wash them.
Premium T-shirts are also less likely to tear or have holes in them when they are in your washing machine or as you go about your daily life.
This is because this cotton is of high quality, and the cotton is of a higher thread count than that of other T-shirts, meaning the threads of the shirt are tightly woven together, which makes it stronger than the other T-shirt types.
This makes premium T-shirts perfect for everyone and every activity. You can sleep in one of these T-shirts, or you can exercise in it, it’s a T-shirt for all occasions.
Premium T-Shirts Are Soft On The Skin
As we have mentioned earlier, premium T-shirts are extremely soft and smooth, but these T-shirts are not merely soft and smooth to the touch, but they are also soft on your skin. Premium T-shirts are lightweight and will not cause any irritation on your skin.
These T-shirts are made of breathable material, so there is no risk of heat rashes if you live in hot climates. These T-shirts don’t require the use of fabric softeners.
So, if your skin is sensitive to these types of products, you can wear a premium shirt and still have the comfortable softness you want without irritating your skin.
With a premium T-shirt, you are almost guaranteed to always have a soft T-shirt that won’t ever hurt or irritate your skin in any way unless you are allergic to cotton.
The Drawbacks Of A Premium T-Shirt
So, premium T-shirts seem to have many benefits to them, and they seem to be the way to go for most custom T-shirt designs for corporate advertising or even for gifts.
Even though premium T-shirts seem to have many advantages, they also have some drawbacks that you should be aware of before you decide that these are the T-shirts for you.
Some of these drawbacks are substantial for most people, so you need to keep them in mind. Let’s go through these drawbacks, so you can decide if premium T-shirts are the way to go for your specific needs.
Premium T-Shirts Are An Expensive Option
Premium T-shirts are made from high-quality cotton that is super soft and smooth, making these T-shirts perfect for printing designs on and being comfortable to wear. Unfortunately, all these advantages don’t come for free, or even cheap for that matter.
Premium T-shirts do have a Premium price tag, and they will cost you more per T-shirt than other T-shirt options. This is to be expected, though, as premium T-shirts are built to last as they are highly durable and top-quality T-shirts.
Most premium T-shirts are also made from ethically sourced cotton, which will raise the price of the shirts because more goes into producing the cotton. Premium T-shirts also make a design printed on them last longer and look professional.
Even though these are all great reasons for using premium T-shirts, it still doesn’t justify the price to some people. You can expect to pay around $25 per premium T-shirt.
Keep in mind, this is only the base price, meaning the price for the T-shirt only. You will still have to pay for your design printed on the T-shirt. Premium T-shirts are the most expensive T-shirt option, with the lowest-priced T-shirt option being a regular T-shirt, which is a maximum of $15 per T-shirt as the base price.
Premium T-Shirts Have A Narrow Fit
To some people, this is a selling point for them; to others, this is a drawback of a premium T-shirt. If you are a person who enjoys baggy clothes that you can hide away in, or clothing that will be perfect for watching a movie in bed under your blanket, then a premium T-shirt might not be the choice for you.
Premium T-shirts are known for having very form-hugging fits, and they will not be comfortable for a lazy day with your family and friends. So, if your intention for your custom T-shirt is to be able to relax and be lazy around your home, then a premium T-shirt may not be for you.
Conclusion
Premium T-shirts are luxury T-shirts that are soft and comfortable for daily life. Everyone should own at least one premium T-shirt as they are perfect for your everyday look, but these T-shirts can also be dressed up if needed for a nice evening look. Premium T-shirts are more expensive than most other T-shirt options, but they are worth it if you can use them.
Bryan E. Robinson is the former owner of TshirtGrowth. He has sold t-shirts since 2006 through dropshipping, screen printing, vinyl printing, DTG, Print on Demand, and more. Bryan has created his own t-shirt designs through Photoshop, Canva, and other platforms, as well as worked with freelancers to create many of his designs. Besides t-shirts, Bryan has over 18 years of experience in online marketing with eCommerce, B2B SaaS, B2C products, and more.
