Cost Comparison for Chinese Characters T-shirts

For you do-it-yourselfers, sure you can, but we assure you it will cost you more in the end, and not without a lot headache. So let's break it down?

Presuming you are already familiar with Chinese writing (Japanese kanji, Korean hanja), and have a meaningful and accurate Chinese character or set of characters in the style of writing you want...

... You can hand over a picture file (.jpg format will do) to your local embroidery shop. They will first need to digitize it (convert it into a stitchable format).

What would digitizing cost me?

Costs for this range anywhere from $25 - $50, depending on the stitch count, and could likely require a minimum purchase. For those that wish to compare, stitch count depends on the size and number of Chinese characters you have, but for our purposes, it typically ranges between 3000 - 6000 stitches. (We encourage you to do your own research... we find our most diligent customers end up being our most appreciative!)

Be careful here, as Chinese character writing has a certain stroke order, which most Westerners are unfamiliar with. The stitching should reflect this stroke order and balance it with what is aesthetically pleasing from an embroidery perspective. In short, it's an art.

And what about shirt costs?

Okay, so we've got the digitizing out of the way, now we need a shirt. Let's assume you won't be buying in bulk. You can get a blank t-shirt for $5 - $15, depending on color, size, brand, and quality.

How about actual stitching costs?

Actual stitching costs are not that bad (relatively speaking) and will run you anywhere from $3 - $6 a shirt, again depending on stitch count, and again bulk orders likely apply. So let's do the math?

What does the total cost come to?

Based on the information above, here's what the total cost might be for your Chinese character shirt.

Costs

Best Case

Average

Worst Case

Digitizing *

$25.00

$37.50

$50.00

Shirt

$5.00

$10.00

$15.00

Stitching

$3.00

$4.50

$6.00

Total

$33.00

$52.00

$71.00

* Assumptions:

You are familiar with Chinese character writing (Japanese kanji, Korean hanja) and can supply your own accurate and verifiable image of your character or set of characters in the style of writing that you like (you cannot use ours as they are all copyrighted)
The person digitizing has a good understanding of Chinese character stroke order, and is able to balance that knowledge with stitch design that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
You can get around the typical minimum order amount.

The numbers speak for themselves, even in your best case scenario, you would pay more... and we can guarantee you the quality, workmanship, and expertise going into your shirt will not even come close. We believe we are accurate in the above numbers, but if you come up with different costs, simply adjust the numbers in the above table(s) to get your revised cost (if you DO come up with different numbers, please let us know!). And of course, this presumes all the above assumptions work in your favor!

How are you able to offer a such a customized product for less?

In short, we've built relationships with partners that allow us to buy our shirts in bulk. Additionally, we've invested in state-of-the-art software and embroidery equipment that enable us to perform all of your Chinese character digitizing and embroidery in-house. By combining our knowledge of Chinese characters, with our digitizing and embroidery experience, you can be assured you are getting great shirts from a credible source.

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