Most tshirt suppliers in Mumbai will tell you they "do customisation". What they actually mean is they take
your bulk tshirt order, send the printing portion to a sub-contractor in Bhiwandi, and put their margin on top.
The result: you have no visibility on the print quality until the goods land at your door, no way to fix a
misalignment if it happens, and no recourse if a colour comes out off.
Ace Manufacturers is different — every printing and embroidery operation happens in-house at our Goregaon East
factory, on our own machines, by our own team. That means when you order customised tshirts from us, the same
operations team that's stitching your tshirts is sitting fifteen feet from the printer that's pressing your
logo. If there's a problem, we catch it before it leaves the floor.
The six customisation methods we run in-house
1. Screen printing
The workhorse method for bulk customised tshirts in Mumbai. Best for spot-colour designs (1-4 colours), long
runs (100+ pieces), and crisp edges. Holds up to 50+ washes when cured properly. Setup involves making a screen
per colour — that's why per-piece price drops sharply above 100 pieces.
- Best for: Corporate logos, event tshirts, college fests, election campaigns, sports teams.
- MOQ: 50 pieces (cost-effective from 100+).
- Inks: Plastisol (vibrant, durable), water-based (soft hand-feel), discharge (for darks),
high-density (raised), foil and glitter (specialty).
2. DTF (direct-to-film) digital printing
Currently our fastest-growing print method. DTF prints your design onto a special film, dusts it with adhesive
powder, and heat-transfers it to the tshirt. It handles photographic logos, gradients, and small text
effortlessly — no screen setup, no colour limit, no MOQ penalty.
- Best for: Full-colour logos, photographic prints, short runs (50-150 pieces), college fests
with elaborate artwork.
- MOQ: 50 pieces, no per-design surcharge.
- Trade-off: Slightly heavier hand-feel than screen print, but holds up well over washes.
3. Sublimation
True all-over print method, edge-to-edge with no fade because the dye becomes part of the fibre. Works only on
polyester — perfect for sports jerseys, marathon tshirts, race-day bibs, and team uniforms.
- Best for: Sports jerseys, dri-fit team kits, marathon tshirts, all-over print fashion tees.
- MOQ: 50 pieces.
- Limitation: Cotton tshirts cannot be sublimated.
4. Embroidery
The most premium and durable customisation method, especially for corporate uniforms and gifting. We run
multi-head computerised embroidery machines with 12-15 needles. Flat embroidery for chest logos, 3D puff for
premium effects, satin patch for retail-grade finish.
- Best for: Polo tshirts, corporate uniforms, milestone gifting, hotel staff, retail brand
identity.
- MOQ: 50 pieces.
- Stitch count: Up to 8,000 stitches included; thereafter ₹0.50 per 1,000 stitches.
5. Heat-transfer vinyl (HTV)
For sharp single-colour names and numbers — the standard for sports jerseys with player names and back numbers,
and for short personalised runs. Cuts the design out of coloured vinyl and heat-presses it onto the tshirt.
- Best for: Player numbers, individual name printing, single-colour logos in very short
quantities.
- MOQ: 50 (with 50 unique names possible — typical for cricket/football team kits).
6. Woven labels & neck prints
Replacing the standard care label with your own branded woven label gives a tshirt retail-grade polish.
Combined with a custom neck print on the inside, your customised tshirts look like a finished retail product,
not a giveaway. Common for D2C brands and premium corporate gifting.
How to choose the right customisation method
Pick based on three variables: design complexity, quantity, and durability requirement.
| Your situation |
Recommended method |
| 1-3 colour logo, 200+ pieces, max durability |
Screen printing |
| Full-colour logo or photo, 50-150 pieces |
DTF |
| All-over design, polyester fabric, sports use |
Sublimation |
| Premium corporate uniform / gifting |
Embroidery |
| Sports team with names + numbers |
HTV (front) + screen print or sublimation (body) |
| D2C apparel brand wanting retail finish |
Embroidery / DTF + woven label + neck print |
| Hackathon / engineering tshirt with elaborate art |
DTF (front) + screen print (back) |
The customisation workflow at our Mumbai factory
- Design intake. You send us your logo / artwork in any format — vector preferred. If it's a
low-res JPEG we can recreate it.
- Method recommendation. We propose the best customisation method for your quantity, design,
and use case, with cost trade-offs.
- Digital mock-up. You receive a digital mock-up showing the print on the tshirt body —
placement, size, colour reference. You approve or revise.
- Physical sample (optional). For corporate orders we recommend an actual
stitched-and-printed sample posted to your office (chargeable, adjusted against final invoice).
- Sample approval. Sign-off on the physical sample triggers full production.
- Production. Cutting, stitching, customisation, finishing — typically 7-12 days for runs up
to 1,000 pieces.
- QC. 100% visual check on customisation; AQL 2.5 audit overall.
- Dispatch. Polybagged, cartoned, GST invoice + e-way bill where applicable.
Customisation pricing — additive to base tshirt price
Our customisation pricing is additive to the base tshirt price. Indicative add-ons per piece:
Single-colour print
+ ₹15-25
screen print, 100+ pcs
Multi-colour print (3-4)
+ ₹35-55
screen print, 100+ pcs
DTF full-colour
+ ₹40-70
A4-size print area
Embroidery (8K stitches)
+ ₹35-50
left chest, single position
Sublimation all-over
+ ₹120-180
polyester, full body
Woven label + neck print
+ ₹15-30
retail-grade finish
All prices indicative, exclusive of GST, and adjustable based on quantity, garment colour (light vs dark),
and complexity. Send your artwork to WhatsApp +91 XXXXX XXXXX for an
exact quote.
Use cases — what Mumbai buyers customise tshirts for
- College fests — Mood Indigo, Malhar, Umang, Synapse and dozens of inter-college events run
on customised crew tshirts.
- Corporate events — Town halls, sales kickoffs, hackathons, R&R nights.
- Marathons & runs — Mumbai Marathon, Tata Mumbai Marathon, charity walks, corporate run
events.
- Election campaigns — Party-symbol tshirts, candidate portraits, rally tshirts.
- Brand activations — Mall promotions, exhibition booths, sampling campaigns.
- School functions — Annual day, sports day, house-team identification.
- Family events — Wedding sangeet tshirts, family-trip uniforms, milestone birthdays.
- NGO drives — Awareness campaigns, volunteer kits, fundraiser merch.
- D2C apparel brands — Limited drops, collab collections, private-label retail.
- Sports clubs — Cricket / football / kabaddi team kits, gym member tshirts.
Common pitfalls to avoid in tshirt customisation
- Putting full-colour logos on dark fabric without an under-base. The colours go muddy.
Always use a white under-base on darks.
- Embroidering a 30,000-stitch logo on 160 GSM fabric. Distorts the body. Use 180+ GSM for
heavy embroidery.
- Heat-pressing on cotton above 160°C. Yellows the fabric. We control press temperature.
- Approving a digital mock-up at 100% size when actual print will be 60%. Always confirm
dimensions before approving.
- Choosing screen print for 50 pieces with 4 colours. Setup cost makes it uneconomical — DTF
is better below 100 pcs for multi-colour.
Most of these come up in conversation when we walk through your spec — which is why a 10-minute call before
production saves a lot of regret afterwards.
