A logo stitched directly into the fabric with thread. It lasts a long time and holds up well through repeated washing, and it's the standard choice for polo collars, chest logos, and caps. Best for designs with roughly 3–4 colours or fewer; very fine detail or gradients don't translate well to thread.

Works on any fabric blank, including cotton. Our NHB2400 Honeycomb Cotton Polo (220gsm) is a common embroidery base.

Ink is pushed through a stencil screen, one screen per colour. Like embroidery, it lasts a long time with normal wear. It's the cheapest method per unit once you're ordering in bulk, because the main cost (making the screens) is fixed regardless of quantity. That same fixed cost makes it a poor fit for small runs, and each extra colour in the design adds another screen and cost.

Suited to the same cotton and blended blanks used for embroidery, including the Honeycomb Cotton Polo above.

The design is printed onto a special film, then heat-pressed onto the fabric. Colour count doesn't add cost the way it does with screen printing, which makes it the easiest choice for orders under 30 pieces, or for designs with lots of colours even at higher volumes. It also works on a wider range of fabric types than sublimation, cotton included.

DTF prints last a bit less time than embroidery or screen printing, but simple care makes a big difference:

• Don't iron directly on the printed logo
• Turn the shirt inside out before washing or ironing
• Skip the dryer; air dry instead

Dye is heat-transferred directly into the fibres of the fabric rather than sitting on top of it, which means the print never cracks, peels, or fades the way a surface print can. It only works on polyester or high-polyester-blend fabric though, since the dye needs synthetic fibres to bond with, and won't take on 100% cotton.

Our CRP7200 Dry Pique Microfibre Polo (160gsm) is the blank suited to this method.