News

Apparel or Large-Format Signage: Which Should You Order for Your Next Event?
Short answer: if people need to recognize your brand from across a room, order large-format signage (banners, backdrops, table covers, pop-up displays). If people need to walk away wearing or carrying your brand, order decorated apparel and promo goods (shirts, hats, bags, drinkware). Most events that matter, trade shows, store openings, conferences, company parties, actually need a mix of both, just in different proportions depending on the event. That split trips up a lot of first-time event planners, because "custom branding" sounds like one category of purchase when it's really... Read more...
Screen Printing, Embroidery, or DTF for Bags and Blankets: Which Should You Choose?
Screen printing works best on flat-woven cotton bags like totes and drawstring bags. Embroidery is the standard for fleece and sherpa blankets and for structured bags like backpacks and duffels, especially anything made from nylon or technical fabric. DTF transfers are the best option when a design has full color, gradients, or fine detail and needs to go on a bag or blanket that screen printing can't grip well. The right call depends less on your logo and more on what the bag or blanket is actually made of. Why... Read more...
What's the Minimum Order Quantity for Screen Printing, Embroidery, or DTF?
Screen printing has a 50-piece minimum. Embroidery and DTF (direct-to-film) transfers both run at 12 pieces. Those numbers hold at most decorators, including here at Pacific North Press, because each method carries setup costs that only make sense once they're spread across enough garments. If you're ordering fewer than 12 pieces total, you're likely looking at a different kind of shop entirely (think retail heat-press kiosks or DIY iron-ons), not a production decorator. Why Minimum Order Quantities Exist in the First Place A minimum order quantity isn't a sales tactic.... Read more...
Screen Printing vs. Embroidery for Hats: Which One Should You Choose?
For most custom hats, embroidery is the better decoration method. Caps have curved panels, structured foam fronts, and thick seams that make screen printing hard to apply cleanly, while embroidery stitches directly into the fabric and holds up to years of wear, washing, and sun. Screen printing on hats still has its place, mainly on flat-front trucker styles with simple, low-detail logos, but it's the exception rather than the rule. DTF transfers are rarely used on hats at all, and we'll get into why below. Why Hats Are a Different... Read more...
How Do You Prepare Artwork for Embroidery Digitizing? A Pre-Submission Checklist
Digitizing-ready embroidery artwork is a vector file (not a photo or screenshot) with clean, separated shapes, text no smaller than about a quarter-inch tall, and a limited, well-defined color count. Send that, along with your garment color and placement, and a digitizer can turn it into a clean stitch file without guessing at details. Skip it, and you'll likely get a proof request, a redo, or a design that loses detail once it's actually stitched. Why Artwork Prep Matters Before a Single Stitch Happens Embroidery isn't printing. A printer can... Read more...
Why Does Screen Printing Cost More With More Colors? Spot Color Pricing Explained
Why does screen printing cost more with more colors? A breakdown of per-color setup fees, when DTF is the cheaper option, and how to keep a multi-color print job affordable. Read more...
How Much Trade Show Swag Should You Order? A Booth Giveaway Planning Guide
For a booth working a regional or trade show floor, plan on one giveaway per expected visitor plus a 10 to 15 percent buffer, split across at least two tiers: a low-cost mass item for anyone who stops by and a smaller run of a higher-value piece for real leads. Most companies underestimate foot traffic and overestimate how many people want the good stuff, so the fix is ordering more of the cheap tier and fewer of the premium tier than instinct suggests. Get the split right and you leave... Read more...
Where Should Your Logo Go on a Shirt? A Placement and Sizing Guide for Screen Printing, Embroidery, and DTF
Left chest logos generally run 3.5 to 4 inches wide, full front or full back designs run 10 to 14 inches, and sleeve or tag placements stay under 3 inches. Which one you pick depends on the garment, the look you're going for, and which decoration method is doing the work, since screen printing, embroidery, and DTF each have their own real limits on size and placement. Get the placement and sizing wrong and even a great logo ends up looking off, whether that means it's crammed onto a chest... Read more...
How Do You Choose a Client Appreciation Gift People Actually Keep?
A practical guide to choosing client appreciation gifts people use, not toss, with budget ranges, timing ideas, and branded merch from a Portland shop. Read more...
How Long Does Custom Screen Printing, Embroidery, or DTF Take? A Turnaround Time Guide
Most custom screen printing, embroidery, and DTF orders take 7 to 10 business days from art approval to ship, and that timeline is basically the same across all three methods. Rush production can shorten it on qualifying orders, but the biggest swing factor isn't the decoration method at all, it's how fast you approve artwork and how many colors, thread changes, or garment styles are involved. The rest of this guide breaks down what actually drives an order's timeline, what to expect from each method, and how to plan backward... Read more...
What Are the Most Common Screen Printing Mistakes? (And How to Avoid Them)
The most common custom screen printing mistakes are sending artwork that isn't print-ready (low-res or raster instead of vector), underestimating how ink colors and dark garments affect cost, and skipping the pre-production proof that would have caught a placement or color problem before 50 shirts came off the press. All three are easy to avoid once you know what a print shop actually needs from you before a job runs. If you've ordered custom screen-printed shirts, hoodies, or tote bags before and ended up with a bill higher than expected,... Read more...
How Do You Build a Consistent Brand Identity With Custom Apparel and Promotional Products?
A practical guide to keeping your brand identity consistent across every piece of custom apparel and promo product you order — colors, logo files, placement, and a simple checklist to hand to whoever orders next. Read more...
How to Wash Screen-Printed Shirts Without Cracking or Fading the Design
Cold water, inside out, no bleach, low heat — the wash-care checklist that keeps screen-printed shirts looking sharp for years, plus how screen printing durability compares to DTF. Read more...
What Should Go in a New Employee Welcome Kit? A Branded Onboarding Guide
A strong employee onboarding kit comes down to three things: a piece of apparel your new hire will actually wear, a couple of everyday items with your logo on them, and a presentation that says "welcome" instead of "here's some stuff." The best kits run five to seven items, lean on embroidery or DTF transfers so they look sharp even in small batches, and typically cost a Portland-area small business somewhere in the neighborhood of a nice lunch out per employee — not a huge line item, but one that... Read more...
What Are the Most Common Custom Embroidery Mistakes — and How Do You Avoid Them?
The most common custom embroidery mistakes come down to three things: sending artwork that isn't ready for stitching, picking a design or garment that fights the process instead of working with it, and skipping the sample step that catches problems before they hit 50 shirts. Every one of them is avoidable once you know what a digitizer and a production team are actually looking for before they run a machine. If you've ordered custom embroidered polos, hats, or jackets before and been surprised by a redo, a reorder, or a... Read more...
How Do You Match Your Exact Brand Colors on Custom Apparel?
A practical guide to PMS color matching across screen printing, embroidery, and DTF — how each method matches brand colors, why colors sometimes drift, and a buyer's checklist for getting it right. Read more...
What Is DTF Printing? How Direct-to-Film Transfers Work (and When to Use Them)
DTF (direct-to-film) explained: how the process works, when it beats screen printing or embroidery, and what to expect from an in-house Portland shop. Read more...
How Does Screen Printing Work? A Step-by-Step Guide From Art File to Finished Shirt
A step-by-step look at how screen printing actually works, from art separation to final cure, plus when to choose it, common buyer mistakes, and how to wash and care for the finished shirts. Read more...
When Should You Order Corporate Holiday Gifts? A Timeline to Avoid the December Rush
Order custom-branded holiday gifts by early-to-mid November if you want standard production and normal shipping — that's roughly six to eight weeks before you need them in hand. If you're screen printing apparel (50-piece minimum) or want first pick of inventory in popular colors and sizes, start sourcing and approving artwork in September or October instead. Waiting until December isn't automatically a dead end — rush production can sometimes save a late order — but it isn't something to count on, and it usually costs more. Why Corporate Gift Timing... Read more...
What Is Embroidery Digitizing? How Your Logo Becomes a Clean, Professional Stitch
What is embroidery digitizing? Here's how your logo gets converted into a stitch file, what makes a design embroider cleanly, and what to expect before ordering custom logo apparel. Read more...
How Many Shirts Should You Order? A Quantity-Planning Guide
Not sure how many shirts to order? Here's how to count your real headcount, add the right buffer, and match your quantity to screen printing, embroidery, or DTF minimums. Read more...
What File Format Should I Send for Screen Printing, Embroidery, or DTF?
Screen printing and embroidery need vector art; DTF just needs a high-resolution PNG. Here's exactly what file format to send for each method, plus the mistakes that slow an order down. Read more...
Screen Printing vs. Embroidery vs. DTF: Which One Fits Your Portland Order?
Screen printing, embroidery, and DTF transfers each have a sweet spot. Here's how to pick the right one based on quantity, fabric, and design, with real minimums and pricing from our Portland shop. Read more...
Promotional Products Buying Guide: What to Order and When
A practical guide to branded merchandise: what's available, realistic minimums and turnaround, and which products fit trade shows, onboarding, and client gifts. Read more...
Our Minimums and Pricing, Explained
What our order minimums are, why they differ by method, and real pricing and turnaround numbers — published upfront so you're not guessing before you order. Read more...
Recent Work: A Look at What's Been on Our Press
A look at a few of the names that have come through our Portland screen printing shop recently, and what every order goes through on the way to the press. Read more...