Sportswear Express

What Sportswear Express is

Sportswear Express is a custom apparel and printing shop at 624 W. Broadway Ste 220 in Mesa, Arizona. It decorates garments for businesses, teams, events and individuals, and describes itself as "Your one-stop shop for custom apparel and printing services in Mesa, Arizona", specializing in screen printing, embroidery, DTF transfers, sublimation, hat patches and stickers. The part of its offer that fits a print-on-demand seller is the POD Embroidery program: "Custom embroidery built for the Print on Demand market", letting a seller "Sell personalized hats and apparel to end users at extremely low quantities with no minimums per design." Alongside it the company runs wholesale contract printing for other print shops and brands, team stores, and a DTF gangsheet service.

The footer lists the areas it serves as Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe and Gilbert, and the homepage promises "Fast turnaround for Mesa and Phoenix metro."

How the POD embroidery program works

The program page sets out four steps:

1. Apply to the program. You contact the company to apply, and "A minimum of 20 orders per month is required to participate."
2. Submit orders, either through the SWX portal or in a production-ready format with vector artwork.
3. Sportswear Express digitizes and embroiders your designs on customer-supplied or pre-purchased garments.
4. You pick up the finished goods, or the company dropships them directly to your customer for $4 per order.

The requirements are strict and clearly stated. Artwork must be vector (AI, EPS, SVG or PDF). The maximum embroidery size is 4" x 4" for every placement. The 20 orders a month minimum applies to staying in the program as well as joining it. Garments "must be pre-supplied by the customer or pre-purchased through us", and orders must come through the SWX portal or be ready for production.

Prices

Unlike its other services, the POD embroidery program publishes per-piece pricing, and "Digitizing is included with every order":

• Standard Embroidery, with 15 standard thread colors: $15 per piece, digitizing included, for hats and apparel, max artwork 4" x 4", vector artwork required.
• Unlimited Colors, using ColorReel Technology: $25, with unlimited thread colors.
• Dropshipping service: $4 per order. "We pick, pack, and ship directly to your customer. Shipping costs are billed separately at actual carrier rates."

So a seller's cost per embroidered item is the per-piece price plus the garment (supplied by the seller or bought through Sportswear Express), plus $4 and actual postage when the company ships to the buyer.

Placement options

Hats can be embroidered on the left, center or right panel of structured and unstructured caps, which the page recommends for branded merchandise, team hats and custom POD products. Apparel can be embroidered on the left chest or right chest of polos, hoodies, jackets and more, for logos, monograms and small designs. There is no back or large-format placement, which follows from the 4" x 4" size limit.

Other decoration services

Outside the POD program, Sportswear Express decorates in several ways. Screen printing is aimed at bulk orders, with bright, durable prints on a wide variety of garments. Embroidery covers polos, caps, jackets and corporate uniforms. The DTF gangsheet service lets you "Upload your print-ready gangsheet, set your size, and we'll print and ship your transfers fast", which the site calls ideal for small runs and detailed designs, and a DTF Quick Order form sits in the menu. Sublimation cut and sew produces "Fully custom jerseys, uniforms, and activewear" with all-over printing and no color limits. Hat patches come in woven, PVC, leather and embroidered versions. The menu also lists shirt tags and promotional products.

Artwork services include custom artwork creation, embroidery digitizing, screen print separations and screen print film output, and the homepage says "We'll prep your artwork." Team Stores are custom online stores for teams, schools and organizations to sell branded apparel and gear "with no minimums."

For trade customers the homepage adds: "Print shop, promotional products distributor, or apparel brand? We also run wholesale contract screen printing and contract embroidery on your blanks, with free inbound freight through SanMar PSST and blind shipping under your name." Bulk embroidery orders are pointed to the contract embroidery program rather than POD.

Garment catalog

The apparel catalog behind these services is broad. It includes t-shirts (100% cotton in 5-5.6 and 6-6.1 weights, 50/50 blends, long sleeve, ring spun and specialty), polos and knits, sweatshirts and fleece (crewnecks, hoodies, full zip, 1/2 and 1/4 zip, heavyweight), outerwear (3-in-1, corporate, insulated and work jackets, soft shells, rainwear, vests), woven shirts (camp shirts, denim, fishing, oxfords), activewear and jerseys, bottoms including joggers and scrub pants, and workwear such as flame-resistant and stain-resistant pieces. There are tall sizes, women's and youth ranges, infant and toddler items, and a caps section spanning fitted, Flexfit, mesh back, visors, beanies and recycled styles. Bags run from backpacks and duffels to coolers, totes and golf bags, and accessories include aprons, blankets, golf towels and robes. For POD embroidery, these garments can be pre-purchased through the company instead of supplied.

Industries and support

The site organizes its work by industry: construction and contractors; HVAC, plumbing and electrical; restaurants, bars and breweries; schools and spirit wear; hospitality, resorts and golf; cleaning and janitorial; fire, police and EMS; corporate events and company stores; dental and veterinary practices; bands, creators and merch brands; medical offices; landscaping; small businesses; youth sports leagues; and tradeshow booths.

The office is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with a phone line and an info@ address listed on every page, and a quote form for projects. The homepage promises rush orders, "Transparent pricing with volume discounts", a "100% satisfaction promise", and a "Dedicated team to help with design, sizing, and order questions." Homepage testimonials come from a youth baseball coach praising sublimated jerseys, an operations manager who uses the company for company polos and hats, and a small business owner who likes the DTF gangsheet builder.

Who it suits

The POD embroidery program suits established sellers of embroidered hats and small-logo apparel who already move at least 20 orders a month, can supply vector artwork, and want flat per-piece pricing with digitizing included and optional $4 dropshipping. Print shops and brands that need a contract decorator with blind shipping, and teams or local businesses in the Phoenix area, are the other core customers. It is less suited to a brand-new seller testing designs, because of the monthly minimum, or to anyone wanting large prints or full-front designs through the POD route, since embroidery is capped at 4" x 4" and chest or cap panel placements. The pages name no store integration, so orders go through the SWX portal.