Shirt Werks

What Shirt Werks does

Shirt Werks & Promotionals, Inc. is a privately-held, family-owned custom garment decoration and promotional products company headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota. Founded in 1992 as a part-time venture and operating full-time since 1996, the company provides screen printing (up to 8 colors), embroidery, and pad printing services on apparel and promotional items such as tote bags, coffee mugs, water bottles, hats, and koozies. All production is performed in-house using automatic presses and embroidery equipment, which the company cites as a quality control differentiator.

The business serves a fragmented customer base primarily in Minnesota, including youth and adult sports teams, churches and youth ministries, non-profits and charities, college sororities/fraternities, small businesses, and individual consumers. Distribution is conducted through a direct-to-consumer motion: a website order form, a self-service online design tool (designyourownshirtmn.com), in-person shop visits during weekday business hours, and access to third-party vendor catalogs. The company uses content marketing via its blog, organic social media across six platforms, and a Constant Contact email newsletter for demand generation.

Revenue is generated on a transactional, quote-based pricing model: screen printing costs depend on quantity, color count, and print location; embroidery is priced by stitch count; promotional products are priced per unit with bulk discounts. The company has grown organically without external capital and has no disclosed funding, parent company, or institutional investors. Its competitive positioning rests on tenure (25+ years), in-house production, breadth of services (one-stop shop), and personal customer relationships rather than any proprietary technology or scale advantage.

Name

Shirt Werks

Legal name

Shirt Werks & Promotionals, Inc.

Website

https://shirtwerks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shirt Werks is a family-owned custom screen printing, embroidery, and promotional products company in Eagan, Minnesota. Founded in 1992, it serves local sports teams, churches, non-profits, small businesses, and individuals with in-house production and transactional quote-based pricing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel Decoration and Promotional Products

NAICS

Apparel Manufacturing (315)

SIC

Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro primary industry

Labels, Tags & Branding Trims (Woven/Printed Labels/Hangtags/Patches/Heat Transfers) (IMAOALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Apparel Alterations, Repair & Circular Manufacturing (Remake/Upcycle) (CRAAAAAO)

Keywords

• Custom screen printing
• Custom embroidery services
• Promotional products
• Custom apparel printing
• Garment decoration

Headquarters

HQ city

Eagan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Screen Printing Services: Custom screen printing on T-shirts, sweatshirts, garments and products. Cost depends on quantity ordered, number of colors, and whether printing is on front, back, or both sides. Bulk orders reduce per-shirt cost.
2. Embroidery Services: Custom embroidery on shirts, jackets, hoodies, bags, hats and other fabric items. Cost is determined by stitch count - more stitches means higher cost.
3. Promotional Products: Branded promotional products including water bottles, golf balls, tote bags, pencil cases, bag clips, frisbees, koozies, pens, pencils, and coffee mugs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Shirt Werks is a custom apparel decoration company providing screen printing (up to 8 colors), embroidery, and pad printing for promotional products. All production is performed in-house on automatic screen printing presses and embroidery equipment for quality control. Customers include sports teams, businesses, churches, non-profits, sororities, and individuals in the Minnesota region who need custom-branded garments and merchandise.

Product overview

Shirt Werks is a custom T-shirt printing and promotional products company offering screen printing and embroidery services as its core products. The company operates as a service-based business rather than a software platform, providing screen printing (up to 8 colors), embroidery (for shirts, jackets, hoodies, bags, hats), and pad printing for promotional products. Customers can design their own shirts through an online design tool or browse third-party vendor catalogs. The company emphasizes in-house production for quality control and quick turnaround times.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Screen Printing Custom screen printing service capable of printing up to 8 colors on most types of garments, bags, and other products. Production uses automatic presses and is performed in-house for maximum quality control. Suited for groups, teams, businesses, and organizations needing custom branded apparel.
• Custom Embroidery Custom embroidery service for shirts, jackets, hoodies, bags, hats, and other fabric items, including names, logos, and tackle twill embroidery. Pricing is determined by stitch count.
• Pad Printing and Promotional Products Customization of branded promotional products including water bottles, golf balls, tote bags, pencil cases, bag clips, frisbees, koozies, pens, pencils, and coffee mugs. Designed for organizations, events, and businesses that need logo-branded merchandise.

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• 4imprint: 4imprint is one of North America's largest promotional products distributors, offering branded merchandise including apparel, drinkware, bags, and accessories. It broadens the comparison set as a much larger, established player in the same promotional products and decorated apparel space Shirt Werks occupies.
• Vistaprint (Cimpress): Vistaprint is a large-scale online printing and promotional products provider under Cimpress, offering custom apparel, marketing materials, and branded merchandise. It is a broader incumbent providing overlapping custom apparel and promotional products services to SMBs nationally with significant scale advantages.

Direct peers

• Real Thread: Real Thread is a custom apparel printing company specializing in screen printing, embroidery, and DTG for brands and organizations. It serves a similar customer base to Shirt Werks (businesses, teams, non-profits) with comparable decorated apparel services and online ordering.
• RushOrderTees: RushOrderTees is a national custom apparel screen printing and embroidery provider operating online with rush turnaround capability. It directly competes with Shirt Werks on custom decorated apparel for teams, businesses, and events, leveraging online design tools and nationwide shipping as a regional-and-national counterpart.
• Custom Ink: Custom Ink is a national direct-to-consumer custom apparel platform offering screen printing, embroidery, and promotional products to groups, teams, and businesses. It is the largest direct online competitor to Shirt Werks, serving the same SMB and organizational buyer with a similar product mix (T-shirts, hoodies, polos, hats) and self-service design tools.
• Embroidery.com (Stadri Embroidered): Embroidery.com is a custom embroidery services provider specializing in logo and name stitching on apparel, hats, and bags. It is comparable to Shirt Werks as a small-scale custom embroidery services shop focused on the same product category and SMB/organizational buyer.
• BlueCotton: BlueCotton is a custom screen printing and embroidery company offering personalized apparel for groups, businesses, and events. It is comparable to Shirt Werks as an online-direct custom apparel decorator with a similar SMB/group buyer focus and screen printing + embroidery product mix.
• Underground Printing: Underground Printing is a multi-location custom screen printing and embroidery company serving college, Greek, and corporate markets nationwide. It directly competes with Shirt Werks on custom apparel decoration services for groups and organizations, with physical production facilities versus a single-shop operation.

Emerging players

• Spreadshirt: Spreadshirt is an on-demand custom apparel and merchandise platform enabling individuals and businesses to design, sell, and order customized products. It is comparable as a digitally-native custom apparel decoration service, though its marketplace model and on-demand production differentiates it from Shirt Werks' batch screen printing focus.
• CafePress: CafePress is a print-on-demand platform for custom apparel, mugs, and other promotional products with an online design marketplace. It overlaps with Shirt Werks in custom decoration of apparel and accessories, though its marketplace/pod model targets a different buyer (consumers and Etsy-like creators).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shirtwerks
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/shirtwerks
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• Instagraminstagram.com/shirtwerks
• Pinterestpinterest.com/shirtwerksandpr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shirt Werks