Columbus Event Shirt Planning Guide: Everything You Need to Know Before You Order

If you’re planning an event in Columbus, Ohio, there’s a good chance custom shirts are somewhere on your to-do list. And if you’ve never ordered them before, it can feel like there are a million little decisions to make. How many do you need? What kind of shirt should you choose? Should you screen print, embroider, or use a transfer? And how early do you need to get your order started?

We help people figure out those details every day. Whether you’re ordering shirts for a company event, school fundraiser, nonprofit, sports team, family reunion, or something completely unique, our goal is to make the process as easy as possible.

So if you’re searching for event shirts in Columbus, Ohio, this guide will walk you through what to think about before you place your order and help you create something your group will actually be excited to wear.

What Types of Columbus Events Need Custom Shirts?

One of the things I love about custom apparel is that there really isn’t just one type of event it works for. We’ve helped create shirts for businesses, schools, nonprofits, sports teams, fundraisers, family gatherings, community events, and plenty of celebrations in between.

Custom shirts can help your group feel connected, make staff or volunteers easier to spot, promote your organization, or simply give everyone something fun to remember the day by.

For businesses, event shirts are great for company outings, conferences, trade shows, volunteer days, team-building events, and employee celebrations. Schools and sports organizations can use them for field days, tournaments, spirit events, clubs, and fundraisers. Nonprofits often use custom shirts for charity walks, awareness events, volunteer teams, and community programs.

And of course, we also create apparel for personal events like family reunions, bachelor and bachelorette weekends, birthdays, and group trips.

No matter what brings your group together, the best event shirts in Columbus, Ohio are the ones that make sense for your specific event. A shirt for volunteers working outside all day might need to be lightweight and comfortable, while a company event might call for something a little more polished.

That’s why we like to start by learning about your event first. Once we know who will be wearing the apparel, where they’ll be wearing it, and what you want it to accomplish, we can help you choose the right option.

Start With the Purpose of Your Event Shirts

Before you start choosing colors, shirt styles, or deciding where your logo should go, I always recommend thinking about what you actually need your event shirts to do. It sounds simple, but this step can make the rest of the ordering process so much easier.

Are the shirts going to be worn by staff or volunteers during the event? Are you giving them to attendees as part of registration? Are you planning to sell them as merchandise or use them as a giveaway? Or are you hoping to create something people will love enough to keep wearing long after the event is over?

The answer can change everything from the garment we recommend to the decoration method we use.

For example, if your team will be working outside at a summer event, comfort and breathability might be the biggest priority. If you’re creating shirts for a company celebration, you may want a softer, more premium style that employees will actually reach for again. And if you’re selling event merchandise, the look, feel, and overall quality of the shirt become even more important.

At The Awesome Company, we don’t expect you to know every apparel brand, fabric type, or printing option before you contact us. That’s our job! Tell us about your event, your budget, how many people you’re ordering for, and what you have in mind, and we can help guide you toward an option that makes sense.

Choose the Right Shirt for Your Columbus Event

Once you know what your shirts need to do, the next step is choosing the right garment. This is where things can get a little overwhelming because there are so many options out there. Different brands, fabrics, fits, weights, colors, and price points can make a “simple T-shirt” feel like a much bigger decision than you expected.

I usually tell customers to start with three things: comfort, budget, and how the shirt will be used.

If you’re ordering for a summer festival or outdoor fundraiser, you may want something lightweight and breathable. For a company retreat or employee gift, a softer premium tee might be worth the upgrade. If your event is happening during cooler weather, sweatshirts or long-sleeve shirts could make more sense.

You can also think beyond traditional T-shirts with options like polos, hats, totes, and other custom apparel.

Color matters too. Your shirt should complement your artwork and make your design easy to see while still fitting the overall look of your event or organization. Sometimes a small change in garment color can make a huge difference in how the finished design looks.

At The Awesome Company, we can help narrow down the options based on your event, quantity, budget, and overall vision. You don’t have to scroll through hundreds of blank shirts and hope you picked the right one.

Screen Printing, DTF, or Embroidery: Which Is Best?

Once you’ve chosen the garment, the next question is how you want your design applied. At The Awesome Company, we offer several decoration methods, and the right choice really depends on your artwork, quantity, garment type, and the overall look you want.

Screen Printing

Screen printing is one of our most popular options for event shirts, especially for larger orders. It’s durable, cost-effective, and works really well for bold designs with a few colors.

We do our screen printing in-house, which gives our team more control over the process and helps us make sure your order looks the way it should from start to finish.

DTF Heat Transfers

DTF heat transfers are another great option, especially for colorful, detailed artwork or smaller quantities. DTF gives us a lot of flexibility and can be a great solution when screen printing isn’t the best fit for a particular design or garment.

Embroidery

Then there’s embroidery, which is perfect when you want something a little more polished or professional. We often recommend embroidery for polos, hats, jackets, staff apparel, and premium event merchandise.

We also handle embroidery in-house, so our team can help make sure your logo or design translates well into stitches.

The good news is that you don’t need to know which method is best before you reach out to us. That’s part of what we’re here for. Send us your artwork, tell us about your event, and we can recommend the decoration method that will give you the best combination of quality, durability, and value.

Keep Your Event Shirt Design Simple and Wearable

When it comes to event shirt design, more isn’t always better.

It can be tempting to squeeze in the event name, date, sponsors, website, slogan, and every other detail, but too much information can make a shirt feel busy and harder to read. I always recommend starting with the most important thing you want people to notice and building the design around that.

Think about where the shirt will be worn and how quickly someone should be able to understand the design. A bold event name, a strong logo, and a few well-chosen colors can often make a much bigger impact than trying to fit everything onto one shirt.

Good contrast is important too. You want your artwork to stand out clearly against the garment color, especially if people will be wearing the shirts in photos, at a busy event, or while representing your organization.

You can also have fun with placement. A small logo on the front with a larger design on the back is a classic option, but sleeve prints, left-chest designs, and other placements can help make your event apparel feel a little more unique.

And if you don’t have print-ready artwork, don’t worry. Our team at The Awesome Company can help with graphic design, artwork cleanup, and preparing your files for production. Whether you have a finished logo, a rough idea, or something somewhere in between, we can help turn it into a design that works well on apparel.

The goal is to create event shirts in Columbus, Ohio that people don’t just wear once and forget about. If we can create something that looks great at your event and still earns a spot in someone’s regular T-shirt rotation afterward, I consider that a win.

How Many Event Shirts Should You Order?

Figuring out how many shirts to order can be one of the trickiest parts of planning an event, especially if registration is still open or you’re not sure exactly how many people will show up.

Whenever possible, I recommend collecting shirt sizes ahead of time. If people are registering for your event, adding a shirt size field to the registration form can save you a lot of guessing later.

It’s also a good idea to order a few extras. Extra shirts can come in handy for last-minute attendees, volunteers, staff members, size changes, or even someone who spills something on their shirt five minutes into the event.

If you’re planning to sell shirts as merchandise, you’ll probably want to build in even more extras so you have inventory available on event day.

You may also want separate shirts for different groups. Staff, volunteers, sponsors, or event organizers might wear a different color or design so attendees can easily identify them.

At The Awesome Company, we work with both small and large custom apparel orders, so you don’t have to have everything perfectly figured out before contacting us.

How Far in Advance Should You Order Event Shirts?

The earlier you can start planning your event shirts, the better. Giving yourself extra time makes the whole process less stressful and gives you room to finalize the design, collect sizes, choose garments, approve artwork, and handle any last-minute changes before production begins.

For larger events, I always recommend reaching out as soon as you know you’ll need apparel. Popular garment styles, specific colors, and certain sizes can sometimes be harder to source at the last minute, and having more lead time gives us more flexibility if something needs to be adjusted.

That said, I also know events don’t always come together on a perfect timeline.

Maybe registrations came in later than expected, someone forgot to order the volunteer shirts, or the event date suddenly feels a lot closer than it did a few weeks ago. If you’re working with a tight deadline, it’s still worth reaching out. We can look at your quantity, artwork, garment options, and production needs and let you know what’s possible.

When you’re planning event shirts in Columbus, Ohio, the best thing you can do is start the conversation early.

Why Choose The Awesome Company for Event Shirts in Columbus, Ohio?

There are plenty of places you can order custom shirts, but I think the experience should feel personal, especially when you’re planning something important.

At The Awesome Company, we want to be more than just the company that prints your shirts. We want to be a resource throughout the whole process.

Our team can help with everything from choosing the right garment and decoration method to preparing artwork and making sure the finished product fits the needs of your event. We offer in-house screen printing and embroidery, along with DTF heat transfers and graphic design services, so we have a lot of flexibility when it comes to bringing your idea to life.

We work with all kinds of customers, including businesses, schools, nonprofits, sports teams, community organizations, and individuals planning special events. No two projects are exactly the same, and we don’t believe they should be treated that way.

We take the time to understand what you need, what your budget looks like, and what you want the final product to accomplish.

And of course, when you order from The Awesome Company, you’re also supporting our mission to create meaningful employment opportunities for neurodivergent adults. That mission is at the heart of what we do, but quality and great service matter just as much to us.

We want you to feel good about where your apparel comes from and be genuinely excited when you open the box.

Ready to Order Event Shirts in Columbus?

Planning an event comes with a lot of moving pieces, and your shirts shouldn’t be one more thing that makes the process stressful.

Whether you already have a finished design and know exactly what you want, or you’re starting with nothing more than an idea, our team at The Awesome Company is here to help you figure out the rest.

We can walk you through garment options, decoration methods, sizing, artwork, quantities, and all those little details that can make a big difference in the finished product. Our goal is to make ordering custom apparel feel simple while creating something you’re proud to hand out, sell, or wear at your event.

So if you’re searching for event shirts in Columbus, Ohio, we’d love to work with you. Reach out to The Awesome Company to tell us about your event, request a quote, or get started on your design. From the first idea to the finished shirts, we’re here to help make your next event a little more awesome.