Custom Band Merch and Tour Merch
Merch Mob makes custom band merch and tour merch: screen printed tees and hoodies, embroidered hats and beanies, and DTG for short runs, all folded and bagged by size so the merch table can count stock fast. Production is in Southern California, and the boxes ship to you anywhere in the US or abroad. Send your art for a quote within 24 hours.
What good looks like.
For a touring band, the merch table can be the difference between a tour that pays and one that does not. A good shirt is also how the show leaves the room: fans wear it to the next gig, to work and to the grocery store long after the setlist is forgotten. So it has to look like the band, feel worth the price on the table, and survive a hot van and a month of load-ins.
Good tour merch is planned around the table, not just the art. That means a short menu of designs that read from across a dark room, a size run based on past shows, each size folded and bagged so the seller can count stock and restock by feel, and cartons labeled by design and size. Online sales between tours and a restock of the webstore come after the road.
What bands order, and why.
- 01
Tour tees
The core of the table: a front graphic, often with tour dates or a list of stops on the back. Dated backs are tied to one run, so many bands keep an undated design alongside them for later sales.
- 02
Hoodies for cold dates
Usually the priciest item on the table and the first thing fans reach for on autumn and winter nights. Reusing a tee graphic at the same print size can share screens and cut setup.
- 03
Hats and beanies
Embroidered dad hats, structured caps with a 3D puff logo and cuffed beanies pack easily, never need a size and give fans a lower-priced add-on to a shirt.
- 04
Show and festival exclusives
A one-night or festival-only design, often in a limited color or a small numbered run, gives fans a reason to buy at the venue instead of online later.
- 05
Webstore and Bandcamp restocks
Online sales between tours keep designs alive. Bulk stock can go to whoever ships your store, or we can pick, pack and ship each order from our So Cal facility.
- 06
Crew and VIP items
Crew shirts marked on the back so venue staff can spot your people, and VIP bundle pieces, like an embroidered beanie or a design only sold in the package.
How we make it
Screen Printing
The most economical method once a design runs past a small batch, and the most durable. Plastisol on black tees is the classic tour look, while water-based and discharge give a softer, vintage feel on cotton.
MethodEmbroidery
Hats and beanies are the low-risk table item: one size, no fit complaints. Digitizing is included, and 3D puff gives a band logo real height on a structured front.
MethodDTG Printing
No minimum, so it suits a small first run for a hometown show, a photo-heavy design, or a test of a new graphic before you commit to a screen printed tour run.
MethodRetail Finishing
Folding, polybagging and labeling by size turn a pile of shirts into countable stock. Ask for each size bagged and labeled so the merch seller can find a medium in a dark room.
- 01
Black heavyweight tees
Dark colors hide stage sweat and road wear, and heavier cotton keeps its shape after a month in a van. Bright inks on black need a white underbase.
- 02
Soft midweight tees
Ring-spun cotton at a lighter weight feels broken-in from the first wear, suits fans who like a fitted cut and weighs less in the trailer.
- 03
Pullover hoodies
The cold-weather staple. Keep the front print above the kangaroo pocket, or plan the art so it sits around the pocket on purpose.
- 04
Long sleeves
A print running down one sleeve adds a design element without a second front, and long sleeves fit cooler months and late shows.
- 05
Dad hats and beanies
Soft caps and cuffed beanies carry a small embroidered logo, never need sizing and fit in any road case.
- A first tour order is often a couple of tee designs and one hoodie, with headwear added once the table has proven itself.
- Tour size runs usually lean on medium, large and extra large, with smaller counts at each end, and past show sales are the best guide.
- On longer tours, bands often split stock into restock boxes sent ahead to a mid-tour stop rather than carrying every shirt from the first night.
- Between tours, evergreen logo designs tend to stay in stock online while dated designs stay on the road.
- How many shirts should we bring on tour?
- What sizes sell best at shows?
- Can you fold and bag everything by size?
- Should we print tour dates on the back?
- Can we do a small run for one show first?
- What file do you need for our logo?
When to order, by region.
- Desert Southwest. The cooler months from October to April carry the busiest outdoor show calendars, and summer heat pushes shows indoors and late. Light, breathable tees suit outdoor dates, and hoodies are for winter runs.
- California. Shows run year-round, and spring and early summer bring the festival circuit, which rewards deep tee stock in the common sizes. Coastal nights still call for a hoodie on the table, even in July.
- Texas and Oklahoma. Spring is the big window, with major music festivals and showcases in March, and fall festival season peaks in October. Summer outdoor dates mean light tees and tanks, and hoodies earn table space only on winter dates.
- Florida, the Gulf Coast and the Deep South. Festival season clusters in spring and fall, around the summer heat and the hurricane months. Summer outdoor dates want lightweight tees, and fleece is a December to February item, if it goes on the table at all.
- Upper South and Mid-Atlantic. Spring and fall are busy touring seasons, with the summer festival circuit between them and club shows all year. Carry hoodies from late October, when evening temperatures drop.
- Mountain West. Summer amphitheater and festival season runs from June through September, and mountain evenings get cold even then, so a hoodie belongs on the table year-round. Winter brings ski-town shows where beanies move.
- Pacific Northwest. Cool, wet weather for much of the year keeps hoodies and long sleeves on the table outside midsummer. The summer festival stretch from June to September is when tees carry the table.
- Midwest and Plains. Summer festival season brings large outdoor dates from June to August, and fall tours hit cold venues by October. Hoodies and beanies earn their space in the van from autumn through early spring.
- Northeast. Fall and spring tours are dense in the Northeast, with summer festival dates between them. Long sleeves and hoodies fit the table from September, and winter runs make beanies an easy add-on.
- Hawaii. Shows run year-round in warm weather, so lightweight tees, tanks and caps make up the table. Send stock ahead with extra transit time, since island freight is slower than mainland ground.
- Alaska. Summer is the touring and festival window, and winter dates need fleece and beanies. Freight to Alaska takes longer than mainland ground, so ship merch well ahead of the first date.
For bands
- Screen printed tour tees, long sleeves and hoodies in plastisol, water-based or discharge.
- Embroidered hats and beanies, digitizing included, with 3D puff for logos that need height.
- DTG with no minimum for one-off show designs and photo-heavy art.
- Folding and polybagging, with cartons packed by design and size to your spec for the merch table.
- Bulk ship-out of finished cartons, or pick, pack and ship for your webstore orders.
- Artwork review and a digital mockup approved before anything prints.
Six steps, nothing skipped.
Minimums and turnaround depend on the method, the garment and the run. The quote spells out both within 24 hours. DTG printing has no minimum, so a run of a few pieces is welcome.
- 01
Quote & discovery
Send the details and artwork. Within 24 hours you get line-item pricing for garments, decoration, finishing and quantities, with a committed timeline.
- 02
Specs & approval
Artwork is reviewed, a spec sheet is issued and a digital mockup is approved before anything runs. Sizes and colorways are confirmed here.
- 03
Sourcing & setup
Blanks are sourced and checked on arrival. Screens are burned or embroidery digitized, files are prepped and a strike-off is run.
- 04
Production
The first pieces are checked and signed off before the full run, with color and registration checks along the way.
- 05
Finishing & packaging
Labels applied, folded, bagged, tagged and packed to spec, then a final QC pass.
- 06
Delivery & fulfillment
Bulk shipped to you, your warehouse or a retailer, or picked, packed and shipped order by order to your customers.
From the production floor
Recent Merch Mob production.
Merch for bands: questions
How much tour merch should we order?
Start from what you know: past sales per show, expected crowd sizes, the number of dates and your prices. Keep the design menu short and put the depth into sizes, especially medium through extra large. If the tour is long, plan restock boxes instead of carrying everything from night one. Running out of a hit design hurts less than hauling unsold dated shirts home.
What does custom band merch cost, and is there a minimum?
Price comes down to quantity per design, ink colors, print locations, the blank and any folding or bagging. DTG has no minimum, and for screen printing and embroidery the minimum depends on the job. Send the art and quantities, and the quote comes back within 24 hours with line-item pricing, the minimum for your run and a committed timeline.
Can you fold, bag and label shirts by size for the merch table?
Yes. Retail finishing covers folding, polybagging and labels, and cartons can be packed by design and size so whoever runs the table can count stock before doors and find the right size in the dark. Ask for it in the quote so it is priced with the run.
Should band shirts be screen printed or DTG?
Screen print the designs you expect to sell in real numbers: the print is durable, bright on black and cheaper per shirt as quantities grow. Use DTG, which has no minimum, for a small first run, a one-night design or full-color art that would need too many screens. Plenty of bands do both on the same tour.
How early should we order merch before a tour?
As soon as the art is final. Timing depends on blank stock, the number of designs and colors, finishing, and shipping time to wherever the first show is. The quote gives a committed timeline within 24 hours, so you can work back from the first date and leave a buffer for transit.
Can you print on the sleeve or put tour dates on the back?
Yes. Each extra print location, such as a back or sleeve print, is its own setup, so it adds to the cost but not much complexity. Remember that a dated back ties the shirt to that tour, so keep an undated version if you want stock to sell online later.
Can you ship orders from our band's webstore?
Yes. We pick, pack and ship direct-to-consumer and Shopify orders one at a time from our So Cal facility and manage the stock between tours. If your platform handles its own fulfillment, the finished run can go to them in bulk instead.
Worth reading first
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Merch LibraryHow to Plan a Size Run: Size Curves, Real Data and Reorders
Plan a size run by turning the demand data you have into a size curve, the share of units each size gets, then multiplying it by the total quantity you can afford to…
Merch LibraryWhat Drives Screen Printing Cost (and How Many Colors to Use)
Screen printing cost is mostly setup spread over quantity. Every color in every print location needs its own screen, and a white underbase on a dark shirt counts as…
Merch LibraryScreen Printing vs DTG: Which Is Right for Your Order?
Screen printing pushes ink through a stencil, one screen per color, so it carries setup work but gets cheaper per shirt as quantity grows and gives the brightest,…
Merch LibraryPackaging for Apparel Orders: Polybags, Mailers and Unboxing
Most apparel orders ship in two layers: the folded garment in a clear polybag with a size or SKU sticker, inside a poly mailer or a box. Mailers are light and cheap…
Local Census figures for each city, and how ordering works from there. Every order is produced in Southern California.
- Gilbert, AZ
- Glendale, AZ
- Mesa, AZ
- Phoenix, AZ
- Tucson, AZ
- Anaheim, CA
- Bakersfield, CA
- Chula Vista, CA
- Fresno, CA
- Irvine, CA
- Long Beach, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Oakland, CA
- Riverside, CA
- Sacramento, CA
- San Diego, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- San Jose, CA
- Santa Ana, CA
- Stockton, CA
- Aurora, CO
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Denver, CO
- Washington, DC
- Cape Coral, FL
- Hialeah, FL
- Jacksonville, FL
- Miami, FL
- Orlando, FL
- Port St. Lucie, FL
- St. Petersburg, FL
- Tampa, FL
- Atlanta, GA
- Chicago, IL
- Indianapolis, IN
- Louisville, KY
- Baltimore, MD
- Boston, MA
- Detroit, MI
- Kansas City, MO
- Omaha, NE
- Las Vegas, NV
- Albuquerque, NM
- Buffalo, NY
- New York, NY
- Charlotte, NC
- Durham, NC
- Greensboro, NC
- Raleigh, NC
- Winston-Salem, NC
- Columbus, OH
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Portland, OR
- Philadelphia, PA
- Memphis, TN
- Nashville, TN
- Arlington, TX
- Austin, TX
- Corpus Christi, TX
- Dallas, TX
- El Paso, TX
- Fort Worth, TX
- Frisco, TX
- Garland, TX
- Houston, TX
- Irving, TX
- Laredo, TX
- Lubbock, TX
- Plano, TX
- San Antonio, TX
- Seattle, WA
- Milwaukee, WI
Let’s build
your next drop.
Tell us what you are making. You get a line-item quote, an honest timeline and production advice within 24 hours.