Blanks Guide

A blank is just an undecorated garment. But which blank you choose decides how the print looks, how the shirt feels after ten washes, and whether anybody pays twenty-eight dollars for it. Here is what we stock and why.

Comfort Colors 1717

This is the tee that built the small-shop apparel market. 6.1 oz ringspun cotton, garment dyed, with a relaxed boxy cut and a soft broken-in hand straight out of the bag. The garment dye process is what gives every piece that slightly uneven, lived-in color instead of a flat screen-printed look.

• 100% ringspun cotton (some heather colors include a small poly blend)
• Garment dyed — expect subtle color variation piece to piece. That is the look, not a defect.
• Relaxed boxy fit — runs wider and shorter than a standard Gildan. Most people order true to size; if you want a fitted look, size down.
• Double-needle stitched neckline and a twill-taped shoulder seam so it holds shape.

Why we sell by the shirt

Distributors like S&S and SanMar want you to open a wholesale account and hit case minimums. Craft stores and Amazon will sell you one shirt at four times the price. Nobody serves the person pressing ten to fifty shirts a month.

That is the gap. Comfort Colors blanks at wholesale-level pricing, sold by the shirt with a 2-per-size minimum — no account, no case minimums, no reseller certificate required.

How palettes work

Each palette is a color family: Blackout, Deep End, Dirt Road, Sun Bleached and Cotton Candy Riot. You pick how many shirts you want in each size, and we pull assorted shades from that family. Ordering 6 or more of one size? Add a color request and we'll do our best to match it. Requests aren't guaranteed — it depends on what's on the floor.

TAG Certified irregulars

Our palette tees are marked irregular. That means a cosmetic flaw somewhere on the piece: a small dye inconsistency, a loose thread, a slightly off label. They are fully wearable and completely print-ready, and they cost meaningfully less. If you are pressing a full-front design, you will rarely find the flaw.

Picking a size spread

If you are selling to the general public and have no order data yet, this spread moves closest to evenly:

Size	Share of a typical run
Small	10%
Medium	20%
Large	25%
XL	25%
2XL	20%

Selling at craft fairs or to a mostly female audience? Shift toward S through L. Selling to teams, trades, or events? Shift toward L through 2XL.

Prepping blanks before you press

• Take them out of the bag and let them relax for a few hours. Fold creases press in permanently.
• Pre-press each shirt 5 seconds to pull moisture out of the cotton.
• Lint roll the print area. Garment-dyed cotton sheds.
• Do not pre-wash. You lose the finish and gain nothing.

Cost math

At $4.90 a shirt, add a nested DTF transfer at roughly a dollar to two dollars per print — less with the 50% transfer discount when you buy a blank — and your landed cost per finished shirt lands around six or seven dollars. At a twenty-five dollar retail price that is a healthy margin even after fees and shipping.