When choosing a tee shirt for your staff uniform there are a few factors to take into consideration.

Firstly and most importantly the fabric. Tee shirts most commonly are available in 3 types of fabrics

1. Cotton - Either 100% or high content ie 90%+
2. Cool Dry - This is the new generation polyester which is called a variety of names such as sports weave, cool dry, biz cool, etc etc.
3. Blends - A blended fabric combining polyester and cotton.

1. Cotton

Traditionally the majority of tee shirts are 100% combed cotton jersey. Tee Shirts made of 100% combed cotton are generally soft to the touch and have a smooth texture.

The t-shirt itself can come in many different weights most commonly referred to as “gsm” (Grams per Square Metre). Commonly most tee shirts have a weight of between 180-200gsm.

Anything less than 170gsm and the fabric becomes very light and often see through. Obviously a tee shirt of this weight will not last as long as one that is 180gsm+. But it will commonly be sold as a light weight or "Cool breeze" tee and is often used in promotional activities were longevity is not important.

A tee shirt that is over 220gsm is considered a heavy weight tee and is usually only used for winter and other cold area applications.

Always consider the gsm weight of a 100% cotton tee shirt as it will give you some indication of whether it will suit your purpose.

2. Cool Dry

Cool Dry (Kool Dri, True Dry, etc) are the next generation of what is essentially polyester fabrics.

Cool Dry fabrics comes under many different brand names depending on the fabric manufacturer but regardless of what it is called the concept behind the fabric is exactly the same (although some manufacturers do it better than others).

Cool Dry has been developed from high performance sporting apparel so most tees that use this fabric tend to have a “sporty” look to them.

The basic premise of the cool dry fabric is that the fabric is woven in such a way that air movement can be increased therefore allowing perspiration on the skin to be channeled up and out through the fabric. Thus keeping the body cool and dry. The fabric, enlarged under a microscope, looks a lot like honeycomb which facilitates the air movement.

As a uniform, Cool Dry tees, do have some limitations. Depending on the colour and type some are not suitable for screen printing as they have a tendency to repel the ink much like they repel perspiration.

To get the full benefit of the cool dry fabric the tee should not be worn loose. It should be worn reasonably tightly with the fabric touching the skin to allow the transfer of moisture to the outside of the garment. A cool dry worn loose and ill fitting will really provide little benefit to the wearer.

Some types of cool dry fabrics can be prone to snagging or laddering so you need to choose the fabric carefully particularly if your main occupation involves working where you may come in contact with rough surfaces such as in building construction.

Cool Dry garments work better when there is regular air movement as it helps the fabric draw up any perspiration.

3. Blends

Blended tee shirt fabrics can provide for more robust tees. Some of the common blends are poly/cotton and cotton/lycra.

Generally speaking poly/cotton blended tees depending on the amount of polyester can be prone to pilling over time so if you are going to use a poly/cotton blend try to keep the polyester to no more than 50%.

Cotton/Lycra(aka Spandex) blends generally make very comfortable tee’s of particular interest to those with physically active jobs. The lycra (aka Spandex) element allows for extra stretch over and above what cotton generally allows for.

WARNING: If screen printing tee’s with lycra in them the print will generally crack over time due to the fabric stretching under the print. Additives are generally added to the ink when printing tees which contain lycra to help minimise this issue but even with this, over time, the print will crack.

 

For Tee Shirts we recommend starting with the following ranges and styles:

Australian Spirit - The Earth Fit tee from this range is a great tee which offers an extensive range of colours.
<click here to view Australian Spirit>

James Harvest - The American tee from this range is an excellent quality tee which is fantastic for screen printing.
<click here to view James Harvest>

Biz Collection - For more fashion styles tees including those with a lycra component.
<click here to view Biz Collection>

Identitee - Nice range of tee’s in various fits and colours. One of the best long sleeve tees.
<click here to view Identitee>

JB’s - If you want a good basic tee for staff or to use as a giveaway then have a look at style 1HT.
<click here to view JB's>

To view the full range of available T-Shirts you can browse the individual catalogues <Click Here>.