JUNE AND JULY are the quietest stretch and the smartest time to order anything for the fall. Nothing is competing for the press, art has room to go back and forth, and a group that settles its design in July never has a September problem. Summer camps, vacation bible school and family reunions are what actually run in these months.
AUGUST is when it turns, hard. Back to school, fall sports starting, band, and every booster club in three counties waking up at once. Anything you want in hand for the first game should have been started in July. If it is already August and you have a September date, say the deadline at the start of the conversation rather than the end.
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER are homecoming, which is the single densest ordering window of the year, plus class shirts, clubs and one act play. Two things move fastest here: a design already separated from a previous run, and a design with fewer ink colors.
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER shift to cold weather. Hoodies and sweatshirts take over from tees, church and holiday events pick up, and basketball starts. Hoodie blanks cost more than tees, so a group planning a winter order should price it as a hoodie order from the start rather than being surprised by the number.
JANUARY THROUGH MARCH is spring sports, powerlifting, track, softball and baseball, plus stock show season, which around here is its own calendar. It is also the best window of the whole year to plan graduation and end of year shirts, because nobody else is thinking about them yet.
APRIL AND MAY are graduation, banquets, end of year, and every senior class at once. This is the second crunch and it is tighter than the fall one because the dates are immovable. A May date planned in February is easy. The same date started in April is a scramble.
THE PATTERN UNDERNEATH ALL OF IT: the busy weeks are the ones where a date is fixed and public. Season openers, homecoming, playoffs, graduation. If your date is one of those, add cushion, because everybody else's date is too.
- June and July: quietest, and the smartest time to order for fall
- August: back to school and fall sports, everything at once
- September and October: homecoming, the densest window of the year
- November and December: hoodies take over from tees
- January to March: spring sports and stock show, and the best time to plan graduation
- April and May: graduation and banquets, the second crunch, immovable dates
Questions people ask about when everyone orders shirts around here
When is the best time to order team shirts for fall?
June or July. The press is quiet, artwork has room to go back and forth, and you are ahead of every other group in the county instead of in line behind them.
What is the busiest time of year for a print shop around here?
Two crunches: August through October for back to school, fall sports and homecoming, and April through May for graduation and banquets. The spring one is tighter because those dates cannot move.
When should we order graduation shirts?
January through March. Almost nobody is thinking about May in February, which is exactly why it is the easiest time to get it done well.
Do you print hoodies in the winter?
Yes, and November and December is when they take over from tees. Price a winter order as a hoodie order from the start, because the blanks cost more than tees before any ink is involved.
We take when everyone orders shirts around here work from Alice, Kingsville, premont, Freer and the rest of the Falfurrias area.
New to this? The plain-English guide to ordering walks through what to decide first.
Want numbers before you ask? See the published price chart for custom t-shirts.