Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) is the floor below which a print shop will not accept an order. It exists because screen printing requires setup time (burning screens, mixing ink, loading the press) that only becomes economical when spread across enough units.
Typical MOQs by method and provider
| Provider / Method | MOQ | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Printful (DTG/POD) | 1 | No minimum — prints single units |
| Printify (DTG/POD) | 1 | No minimum |
| Custom Ink (screen) | 6 | Marketing says 6 but price gets ugly under 12 |
| RushOrderTees (screen) | 12 | Transparent minimum |
| Local screen shops | 24–50 | Varies; some will negotiate for regulars |
| Promotional product companies | 50–250 | Depend on product type |
Why MOQ creates the wrong-choice problem
The most common MOQ mistake: a small business with 8 staff members calls a screen printer for uniform tees, discovers the MOQ is 24, and either:
- Orders 24 anyway — paying for 16 shirts they don’t need. At $12/tee, that’s $192 wasted.
- Switches to DTG POD — pays $18/tee instead of $9/tee at the quantity they actually needed (8 units).
The correct solution depends on whether they plan to grow: if they’ll hire 16 more people in the next year, the 24-unit order is fine. If they’re at steady-state with 8 staff, DTG POD at $18/tee is better than paying for 16 unused shirts at screen prices.
MOQ workarounds
- Mix sizes within the same design: most screen printers let you split the MOQ across sizes. 24 shirts = 4 Ã- S, 8 Ã- M, 8 Ã- L, 4 Ã- XL.
- Blank colours count separately: want 12 in navy and 12 in white? That’s typically 2 MOQ runs, not 1.
- Use DTG for under-MOQ orders: Printful and Printify’s per-unit cost at 8–12 units ($15–$18/tee) is high but beats paying for extras you don’t need.
- Local printers sometimes negotiate: if you have an existing relationship or can guarantee repeat orders, some local shops will go below their posted MOQ.
MOQ and the print-on-demand model
Print-on-demand platforms explicitly eliminate MOQ as a feature. Printful, Printify, Gelato, Bonfire — all print on a per-order basis. This is their core value proposition for Etsy and Shopify sellers who can’t predict order volume.
The tradeoff: POD per-unit cost at 1–12 units ($13–$18) is materially higher than screen printing at 50+ units ($7–$10). The MOQ question is really a question about your volume: if you can confidently sell 50+ units, screen printing’s lower per-unit cost is worth the upfront commitment.
Related pages
- Staff uniform small business use-case — the segment most affected by MOQ friction
- Cost per shirt by quantity — the full 6-band quantity table
- Setup fee (screen) — the other cost that compounds with MOQ
- Print-on-demand — the MOQ-free alternative