Custom camp shirts & event tees
Summer camps, races, festivals, and reunions need a lot of shirts fast — we plan around your date so everyone's matching when the gates open.
We make custom camp shirts and event tees for groups on a deadline: bright, durable prints for summer camps, races, festivals, and reunions. Tell us your date and we plan around it, so a whole crowd is matching the moment it counts — with a free mockup before anything runs.
Camp and event shirts, done properly
Event apparel has one job that ordinary apparel doesn't: it has to be finished by a date that cannot move. A camp starts on a Monday whether the shirts arrived or not. So the planning matters as much as the printing.
Standard turnaround is about two to three weeks from artwork approval, and approval usually takes longer than people expect. Work backwards from the day you need boxes in hand, then add a buffer for the people who always register late.
- Camp tees — the classic, usually one or two colors
- Staff and counselor shirts in a different color so adults are identifiable
- Event and festival shirts for attendees and crew
- Reunion and milestone shirts
- Volunteer and crew apparel
- Caps and totes as add-ons or upsells
Designing a shirt people keep
Camp shirts are keepsakes as much as apparel. Someone finds theirs in a drawer eight years later, which is a rare thing to be able to say about a printed tee.
That argues for including the year — it's one of the few cases where dating a shirt makes it better rather than shorter-lived. It also argues for spending slightly more on the blank. A soft ringspun tee costs a dollar or two more and is the difference between a shirt someone keeps and one they use as a rag.
Keep the color count low. One or two colors on a bright shirt reads better from across a field than a detailed design nobody can make out.
Sizing a group you haven't met yet
The recurring problem with camps and events is that registration is still open while you need to order. A few things that make it survivable:
Collect sizes at registration, not afterwards — it's one extra field and it saves a fortnight of chasing. Order a spread weighted to youth medium and adult large if you genuinely have to guess. And order a few extra, because there are always late additions and a staff member who wants a second.
If registration is genuinely unpredictable, an online store lets attendees order their own with no minimum, which removes the guess entirely.
Method and minimums
For a camp or event run of any size, screen printing is almost always the answer — it's the cheapest per shirt past 48 pieces and the softest print. Below 48 we'd quote you DTF instead, which has no per-color setup and starts at 12.
For staff polos or anything you want to look more permanent, embroidery starts at 24. If you want the real numbers by quantity, they're in screen printing cost.
Tell us the date first
Genuinely — lead with the date rather than the design. It's the constraint everything else has to fit around, and we'd rather tell you up front that a timeline is tight than discover it a week out.
Send us the date, the rough headcount, and whatever artwork you have. You'll get a free mockup and a straight quote. Everything is made in house in Mesa. Get in touch!
What you usually need
- Camp & session shirts
- Race & festival tees
- Staff & volunteer gear
- Commemorative merch
Popular products
Order on demand from your own store
Ordering the same gear on a regular basis? An online company store lets your team order their own sizes on demand, keeps every reorder matching, and outfits new people the day they start — no spreadsheets, no minimums on embroidery.
Events & Camps FAQs
- Where can I get custom camp shirts?
- We make custom camp shirts in house — bright, durable prints for summer camps, sessions, and youth trips. Tell us your date and we build the schedule backward from it so every camper and counselor is matching on day one. Free mockup before we print.
- How far ahead should I order camp shirts?
- The earlier the better, especially in spring and early summer when camp orders cluster. Get us your art and headcount as soon as you can and we'll put your date in writing and plan around it.
- Can you handle big event or festival runs?
- Yes. Screen printing is built for big runs and gives the lowest per-shirt cost above 48 pieces. For smaller or full-color jobs we use DTF, which has just a 12-piece minimum. We'll match the method to your quantity.
- Can you print staff and volunteer shirts in a different color?
- Absolutely — separating staff, volunteers, and attendees by shirt color is one of the most common event requests. Same design, different garment colors, sorted and labeled for you.
Outfitting events & camps? Let's talk.
Send us your idea and quantities — we'll come back with a free mockup and quote.