Uniform Branding Guide: Embroidery, Printing and Sizing

Short answer: embroider the logo when the garment is worn by staff every day and the mark is simple, and print it when the artwork has fine detail, several colors or needs to cover a large area. That single decision changes what your uniform costs, how it ages, and which version of your logo you should send. This uniform branding guide explains the reasoning behind it, and then covers the part most teams get wrong: collecting sizes before the order is placed rather than after the garments arrive.

It applies to the garments teams normally order together, polo shirts, hoodies, pullovers, t-shirts and caps. To see the range itself, browse the uniform category in our shop.

Embroidery or printing: what actually separates them?

Embroidery builds the logo out of thread stitched through the fabric. Printing lays the logo onto the surface of the fabric. Everything else follows from that one difference.

Factor	Embroidery	Printing
Best suited to	Daily staff wear: polo shirts, long-sleeve polos, caps	Events, giveaways, campaign artwork, back prints
How it ages	Thread wears very slowly; fails by snagging or a pulled stitch	Surface layer; fails by cracking, fading or peeling at the edges
Detail it can hold	Solid shapes and clear lettering; fine detail is simplified	Fine lines, small type, gradients and photographic elements
Color	Each color is a separate thread; flat, solid colors only	Full color, blends and shading are possible
Large coverage	Expensive, a large filled area is a lot of stitching	Economical, area matters much less than color count
Perceived finish	Formal, raised, textured	Casual, flat, part of the garment surface

Both methods are available right across our apparel, and that is the useful part: all seven garments in the uniform range - polo shirts, long-sleeve polos, hoodies, zip-up hoodies, pullovers, over-size t-shirts and caps - can be ordered with your logo embroidered or printed. The garment does not make the decision for you, so the guidance below is what decides it.

Which lasts longer in daily use?

Embroidery normally outlives the garment. The logo is built from thread rather than from a coating, so washing does not thin it the way it thins a printed layer, and the color does not fade at the rate a surface pigment does. Its realistic failure modes are mechanical: a thread caught on a zip or a hook, or a stitched patch that stiffens thin fabric at the edge.

Printing is a layer bonded to the surface, and it ages the way a surface does. Repeated hot washing and tumble drying are what shorten its life, not time. A print on a t-shirt worn a dozen times at an exhibition stays in good condition far longer than the same print on a garment washed after every shift.

Practical rule for uniform buyers: if the garment goes through a wash cycle several times a week, embroider it. If it is worn occasionally, print it and spend the difference on the garment instead. Tell staff to wash printed garments inside out on a cool cycle and to keep them out of a hot dryer, which is one of the biggest factors in how long a print survives.

How does the cost of each method behave?

The two methods scale differently, which is why the cheaper option flips depending on the order.

• Embroidery cost follows stitch count. A logo is converted once into a stitch file, and after that the price per garment tracks how long the machine runs on it. A compact one-color wordmark is quick. A large filled crest is not, and doubling its size roughly doubles the thread and the machine time.
• Print cost follows color count and run length. Methods with a per-color setup, such as screen printing, become very cheap per piece as the quantity climbs, so they suit large single-design runs. Digital transfer methods have almost no setup but a higher per-piece cost, so they suit short runs and full-color artwork. Print area barely moves the price by comparison.
• Reorders reuse the preparation work. The stitch file or the print setup prepared for the first order still exists, so a later intake of staff can be produced from the same files. Keep a note of exactly what was produced so the second batch matches the first.

Current prices are shown on each product page, with bulk quantity tiers where they apply, so check the polo shirt or hoodie page for the live figure rather than working from a quoted range.

Will your logo survive being stitched?

This is where most uniform orders need a decision before anything is produced. Thread has a minimum size below which shapes stop being readable, and the file that looks correct on screen is often not the file that should be stitched.

• Small text. As a rule of thumb, letters under about 5 mm tall start to fill in, and thin serifs and counters close up first. A tagline that sits comfortably under a logo on a business card usually has to be dropped or enlarged for a chest embroidery.
• Thin lines and outlines. A hairline rule cannot be stitched thinner than the thread. Very fine linework is either thickened or removed.
• Gradients and shading. Thread is a flat color. A gradient becomes a set of solid bands or a single flat tone, so decide which one you want rather than leaving it to be interpreted.
• Many colors. Every color is a separate thread and a separate machine operation, so color count affects an embroidered logo more than it affects most prints.
• Photographic elements. Not reproducible in thread. If your mark contains one, print it.

The usual answer is to keep a simplified, one or two color version of your logo specifically for embroidery, alongside the full version used in print. Approve that simplified version once, and every future uniform order becomes straightforward.

Printman does not offer in-house graphic design services, so the simplified version needs to come from you or your designer. We review every file for print suitability before production and will tell you if a mark will not hold at the size requested. We accept PDF, AI, EPS, PSD, JPEG and PNG, in CMYK color mode, with images at 300 DPI or higher and all fonts embedded or outlined; our artwork specifications guide covers file setup in full. A logo pulled from a website is normally 72 DPI and will not hold at chest size, so ask for the original vector file.

How does the fabric change the answer?

The garment is not a neutral surface, and the fabric it is cut from changes what each method can do. These are the fabric types normally used for staff uniforms:

• Piqué polo knit. Stable, slightly textured, and the conventional home of a left-chest embroidery. Very fine print detail can break up on the texture, which is one reason polo shirts are usually embroidered.
• Fleece and brushed sweatshirt fabric. The pile is high enough that a fine print can sink into it and lose crispness, while embroidery sits on top and stays legible. A large chest or back print still works well; a small, detailed one is the risky choice.
• Lightweight and stretch knits. Dense embroidery on thin fabric can pucker or stiffen the panel, so it wants a lighter stitch design. Prints need to flex with the fabric rather than sit as a solid slab.
• Polyester and performance fabrics. Polyester is heat sensitive, and on some dyed polyester the garment dye can migrate into a light-colored print over the days after production, tinting it. This is a known behavior of the fiber, not a defect in the artwork, and it is worth flagging before you commit to white artwork on a dark polyester garment.
• Cap panels. The front panel is small, curved and usually seamed down the middle, which limits both the artwork size and the placement. Embroidery is the conventional method here for that reason.

Where can the logo actually go?

Placement is constrained by construction more than by preference. A zip-up hoodie has a zipper down the middle, so a full front design is not available on it and the logo goes on the left chest or the back. Hoodie pockets, seams and side panels rule out areas that look free on a flat photo. Sleeve placements are small by definition. On over-size t-shirts, the extra body width is what makes a large front or back print worth doing.

How do you get uniform sizes right the first time?

Sizing causes more reorders than branding does, and it is entirely preventable. Sizes vary between garment styles and between manufacturers, so a staff member who wears large in one brand is not reliably large in another.

• Circulate the measurement chart, not the size letters. Ask each person to pick from measurements rather than from habit.
• Have people measure a garment they already own and like the fit of, laid flat: chest width from armpit to armpit, and body length from the shoulder seam to the hem. Comparing garment to garment is far more accurate than measuring a body.
• Confirm the intended fit. A regular-fit polo and an over-size t-shirt in the same nominal size are different garments. Decide whether the team wants a fitted or a relaxed look before sizes are collected.
• Treat unisex cuts carefully. A unisex or men's cut is usually broader in the shoulder, so some staff will want a size down and some will want a different style.
• Allow for shrinkage in cotton garments. Cotton jersey can tighten slightly after the first hot wash, so anyone between two sizes should take the larger one.
• Order spares in the middle sizes. New hires arrive after the run is finished, and a small buffer avoids a second minimum-quantity order for two garments.
• Send the split as a list, for example 6 medium, 10 large, 4 extra large, so the whole team is produced in one pass and the garments match.

The uniform branding guide checklist, before you order

• Decided embroidery or printing for each garment in the order, and the two can differ.
• Approved the version of the logo that suits the chosen method, simplified for thread if needed.
• Sent print-ready artwork in an accepted format, in CMYK at 300 DPI or higher, fonts embedded or outlined.
• Confirmed placement per garment.
• Collected sizes from measurements, with a spare or two in the common sizes.
• Chosen garment colors that suit the logo colors, not the other way around.
• Checked the deadline against production and delivery time as two separate stages.

Most orders are ready within 1 to 3 business days for collection, and delivery time is added on top of that rather than included in it. Standard delivery is JOD 3 within 48 hours anywhere in Jordan, same-day delivery is JOD 4 in Amman and JOD 6 to other governorates. Delivery fees may vary for large-size items and bulk orders.

Frequently asked questions

Is embroidery better than printing for staff uniforms?

For garments worn and washed several times a week, yes, because thread does not thin or crack the way a printed layer does under repeated washing. Printing is the better choice when the artwork has fine detail, gradients or several colors, when it needs to cover a large area, or when the garment is worn occasionally rather than daily.

Why does my logo have to change for embroidery?

Thread has a minimum practical size. Text under roughly 5 mm tall fills in, hairlines cannot be stitched thinner than the thread, and gradients become flat colors. Approving a simplified one or two color version once means every future uniform order can be produced without a new discussion.

Can one order mix embroidered and printed garments?

Printman offers both logo embroidery and printing on apparel, so a café wanting embroidered polo shirts for the counter and printed t-shirts for a weekend event is asking for two methods on one garment list. Tell us which method applies to which garment when you send it, and we will confirm what can be produced together and how it is priced before you commit.

How do we collect sizes for a team without guessing?

Give each person the measurement chart and ask them to measure a garment they already own and like, laid flat, across the chest and down the body. Comparing an existing garment to the chart is more reliable than guessing a letter size, since sizing differs between styles and manufacturers.

Do you design the logo or the uniform artwork?

No. Printman does not offer in-house graphic design services. You send print-ready artwork and we review it for print suitability before production, and tell you if a mark will not hold at the size you have asked for.

Ordering your team's uniforms

Once the branding method and the size split are settled, the order itself is quick. Read the full detail on our uniform printing and embroidery service page, or go straight to the garments in the uniform category, where each product page carries the current price. Caps are worth adding to a polo shirt order for outdoor and delivery teams.

If you would rather have the whole run priced in one go, send your logo, garment list and size breakdown through our quote request form or on WhatsApp at +962 78 8655568. Quote requests are answered within one business day. Our shop is at Al Salehin Complex, Office 207, Al-Shahid Street, Amman, open Saturday to Wednesday 10:00 to 17:00 and Thursday 10:00 to 15:00, closed Friday. Use this uniform branding guide as the brief for the conversation and the order will move in a single pass. Make it inkredible.