Cotton vs blend vs polyester crew shirts for the heat
A 100% cotton tee is the default for a reason: it is cheap, comfortable and prints beautifully. It is also the slowest to dry. Here is how Battle Born Clothing's trade customers in the Southwest choose fabric for the hot half of the year.
The three fabrics
| Fabric | Style | Feel | Drying | Shrink | Best inks | Blank price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% cotton, 6.1 oz | Port & Company PC61 | Soft, heavy, holds shape | Slowest | Some; preshrunk helps | Plastisol, water-based, discharge | $6.04 |
| 100% cotton, 5.4 oz | Port & Company PC54 | Lighter, more airflow | Slow | Some | All three | Quoted per job |
| 50/50 cotton/poly, 5.5 oz | Port & Company PC55 | Smooth, less soft | Medium | Minimal | Plastisol | Quoted per job |
| 100% polyester, 3.8 oz | Sport-Tek ST350 | Athletic, slick | Fastest | None | Low-bleed plastisol, DTF | Quoted per job |
When cotton is still right
Shops, warehouses and anyone who works around sparks or heat sources: cotton does not melt. Welders and fabricators should stay in cotton. It also takes discharge ink, which is the softest, most breathable print you can put on a dark shirt.
When to go to a blend
Outdoor crews that sweat through a shirt by ten in the morning. The PC55 dries faster, shrinks less and looks newer after a season of washing. The trade-off is a slightly stiffer hand and no discharge printing; we print blends with plastisol.
When to go to polyester
Concrete, paving and roofing crews in 100-degree heat. The ST350 wicks and dries on the body. Two cautions: polyester can dye-migrate into light inks, so we use low-bleed plastisol and cure carefully on our conveyor dryer, and polyester melts near sparks, so keep it off the welding crew.
Long sleeves in summer
Counterintuitive but common on roofing and landscaping crews: a light-colored long sleeve blocks sun better than sunscreen on a tee. The PC61LS in white or ash is the usual choice; a long-sleeve ST350LS exists for the hottest sites.
Color matters as much as fabric
Black absorbs heat. Crews that insist on black in summer are hotter than crews in ash, sand or Safety Green. If the brand is black, consider a charcoal or heather for summer and keep black for the winter long sleeves. Light shirts also skip the $0.25 flash charge per print location.
A seasonal program that works
| Season | Shirt | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring and fall | PC61 in brand color | Comfortable, cheapest, prints best |
| Summer | PC55 blend or ST350 in a light color | Dries faster, no flash charge on light shirts |
| Winter | PC61LS long sleeve | Same fabric as the PC61, matches the tee |
| Welding and shop, all year | PC61 cotton | Does not melt |
Running two or three styles with one logo costs nothing extra in setup: the screens are the same if the art is the same size, and the embroidery file is the same. The only thing that changes is the blank price on each line.
Weight is not the whole story
A heavier cotton feels more substantial but holds more sweat. A 5.4-ounce PC54 is noticeably cooler than a 6.1-ounce PC61 on the same crew. If you want cotton in summer and the shirt does not have to survive two seasons, drop to the PC54 and keep the PC61 for the year-round bin.
Pricing
The PC61 is $6.04 blank and $15.22 all-in at 48 with a front and back print. The PC54, PC55 and ST350 blanks are quoted per job; the print rate per location is the same $4.34 at 48 pieces. See the pricing page.
Questions
Does a blend print as bright as cotton?
With plastisol, yes. Water-based and discharge inks need cotton to work.
Will polyester hold embroidery?
Yes with a cutaway backing. On thin performance tees we keep the stitch count down to avoid puckering.
What about tri-blends?
Soft and retail-looking, but thin and not a jobsite shirt. We can quote them for company events.