Custom Uniforms for Las Vegas Schools: A Practical Buying Guide

Every spring and fall, we get calls from schools across the Las Vegas Valley — Clark, Bishop Gorman, Coronado, Desert Pines, SLAM, Faith Lutheran, and dozens of others — placing their seasonal orders. Some coordinators have been through this process twenty times. Many haven't, especially with coaching and staff turnover.

This guide is for anyone who's been handed the apparel budget and told to figure it out.

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Start with What You Actually Need

School apparel orders usually fall into a few categories. Know which one you're dealing with before you do anything else.

Athletic uniforms — game jerseys, shorts, warm-up gear — are performance garments with specific requirements around fabric type (usually polyester for moisture-wicking), durability (they get washed constantly), and often league regulations around colors and numbering.

PE class tees — purchased in bulk, often at the lowest reasonable price point, meant to be functional and replace frequently. Quantity and cost are the priority.

Spirit wear — hoodies, tees, hats sold to students, parents, and boosters. These need to look good and feel like something people actually want to wear, because they're voluntary purchases that fund your program.

Staff uniforms — polos or embroidered tees for coaches, teachers, and administrators. Usually a smaller quantity with a higher quality expectation.

Each category has a different calculus. Don't spec them the same way.

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Decoration Method by Use Case

Screen print works for nearly everything except hats. It's the standard for PE tees and spirit tees because it's durable, cost-effective at volume, and produces clean results on cotton and cotton-blend fabrics. Minimum is typically 24 pieces per design.

Embroidery is the right call for staff polos, jackets, and hats. A school name or crest embroidered on a polo reads as professional in a way that screen print on the same shirt wouldn't. It's more expensive per unit but the durability is outstanding — thread doesn't fade.

DTF (Direct to Film) is useful when you need small quantities across multiple garment types, or when you're printing on polyester performance fabric where screen print creates dye migration issues. Athletic warm-ups and PE jerseys in polyester are the most common use case.

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Minimums and Timing

Minimums. Screen print typically requires 24 pieces per design per garment type. If you need 15 hoodies and 15 tees with the same design, those are two separate runs — 15 of each doesn't combine to meet the minimum. Plan your quantities accordingly, and order extras.

Order extras. Schools consistently underorder and then come back for a second run at higher per-unit cost. Add 10–15% to your planned quantity. Sizes run out (usually medium and large first), seasons run longer than expected, and new staff show up after the order closed.

Timing. For fall athletics, place your order in late July. For spring, place in late January. Spirit wear for homecoming or spirit week needs at least 3 weeks — 5 weeks is safer. Rush orders are possible but cost more and put pressure on everyone.

For events with a hard deadline — homecoming, senior night, a tournament — give us the date before you give us the design. We work backwards from the event to tell you your latest order date. If you're past it, we'll tell you honestly rather than promise a deadline we can't hit.

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The Proof Process

Nothing goes to production without your approval. We send a digital proof showing your design at size, on the garment, with the correct colors. You review it, you approve it, production begins.

Read the proof carefully. Check the school name spelling. Check the mascot. Check the colors — proof colors on screen are close but not identical to printed colors, and we'll note any significant differences. If the font or artwork doesn't match your expectations, say so in writing before approving.

Once you approve a proof, you own the result. We can't reprint for free because the mascot name was misspelled in the file you sent us.

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What to Send Us

• Your artwork, or a description of what you need (we can design simple logo/mascot treatments)
• School name and mascot exactly as you want it to appear
• Colors — school colors in Pantone, CMYK, or RGB if you have them. If you don't, tell us the colors and we'll match
• A list of items, quantities, and sizes
• Your deadline

If you have a previous order or a sample of what you've done before, send a photo. It's easier to start from something real.

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Common Mistakes

Waiting too long. The most common problem. Spirit week orders placed the week before spirit week get done, but they cost more and stress everyone out.

Forgetting adults. Parent volunteers, boosters, and staff usually want shirts too. They're afterthoughts on most orders and then a scramble.

Ordering one design for every garment. A single wordmark design often works better as two versions — one for light garments, one for dark — because the contrast needs flip. If you're ordering both dark and light shirts with the same artwork, plan for two print versions.

Ignoring care instructions. High-frequency washing is a reality for athletic gear. Wash cold, inside out, no bleach. A screen print that would last five years with normal care lasts one season if it goes through hot commercial laundry repeatedly.

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We work with Las Vegas Valley schools regularly and understand the timelines, the budget pressures, and the last-minute curveballs. If you have questions before you're ready to place an order, reach out — we'd rather answer questions early than untangle a problem after the order is in.