Custom screen printing at Rendered takes 3 to 4 weeks, and you will see an estimated ship date when you use our online design and ordering tool. We don't offer rush orders, so if you're ordering for an event, a product launch, or a client deadline, plan to have your artwork and quantities approved at least a month before you need the finished pieces.
Many shops quote one to two weeks for standard orders, and some offer rush service for an added fee. How long screen printing takes varies from shop to shop, depending on each one's production schedule, the ink it uses, and whether it handles small orders with a faster digital method. Rendered's range is longer, partly because we print only with water-based ink, which generally takes more time to prepare but results in softer garments and finer details.
What decides order time at Rendered
Most of the time, our turnaround time really comes down to the production schedule and how much capacity the shop has at any given time.
Your screen printing turnaround time depends on how many orders are already scheduled when you place yours. An order placed during a light week can finish in about 10 business days, while the same order during a busy stretch can take closer to 20.
Why some shops quote faster turnarounds
Some shops build their business around speed, including rush screen printing. To finish orders faster, they may limit the products they offer or print with plastisol, a plastic-based ink that is faster to work with than water-based ink.
Shops that advertise no minimums and next-day turnaround usually use digital printing instead of screen printing. Direct-to-garment (DTG) uses a large inkjet printer to spray ink onto the shirt. Direct-to-film (DTF) transfers the design from a printed film onto the garment with a heat press. Both methods are useful for small or last-minute orders, but are sometimes considered lower in print quality than screen printing.
If you need rush custom t-shirts or only a few pieces, a digital method may be the practical choice. If you want screen printing, plan for the longer timeline.
How water-based ink affects turnaround
Rendered prints only with water-based inks. Water-based ink needs more attention than plastisol because it can start to dry in the screen during a print run, so operators watch each print closely.
Shops that specialize in water-based ink also tend to spend more time on screen setup, ink mixing, and artwork preparation before printing starts. At Rendered, we mix every ink to match a Pantone color, the standard numbering system designers use to specify exact shades, so your prints match your brand colors on the first order and any reorders.
In exchange for the extra time, water-based prints feel softer and lighter than other prints. The ink also often lets us use finer mesh screens, which are woven with more threads per inch and print sharper detail and thinner lines.
Sending the right file type shortens artwork prep. Our guide to preparing your art for screen printing explains which files to send.
Do design choices change the timeline?
They can, though most shops already account for typical design choices in the turnaround they quote.
More colors and more print locations both add setup time. Each color in a design needs its own screen, which is a fine mesh stencil that lets ink through in the shape of that one color. Before printing, we line up all the screens on the press so the colors print in the right places. A design printed on both the front and back of a shirt needs a separate set of screens and a separate setup for each side.
Embroidery is done separately, so a garment can't be printed and embroidered at the same time. A piece with a printed front and an embroidered sleeve has to be processed one after the other, so it takes longer than a print-only order.
What most often delays an order
Waiting on approvals delays more orders than anything else. We need your final approval on the artwork before we can start production, and your final quantities and sizes before we can order blank garments from our suppliers. If either one is still open, we have to delay the order.
You can shorten the approval stage by collecting your size breakdown early, getting client or stakeholder sign-off on the design before you send it to us, and choosing one person to give final approval. We’ve noticed that when several people give feedback on different days, their notes can conflict and add rounds of revisions.
How far in advance to order custom shirts
Contact us as early as you can. For an event on June 15, aim to have final artwork and quantities approved by mid-May, around a month ahead. Artwork and size counts often take a few rounds to finalize, so reaching out earlier than a month before your date leaves time for revisions. If the order needs to ship to another city, add shipping time to your plan.
Tell us your deadline when you first get in touch so we can flag scheduling problems while there's still time to adjust the design, quantities, or delivery plan.
