How Far Ahead Should We Order Show Shirts or Concert Apparel?

By Brian Bufka, Owner, 1st Place Printing · Printing school-program apparel since 2011 · Updated August 2026

The safest way to plan school-program apparel is to start with the day the shirts need to be in your hands, then work backward.

Printing is only one part of the timeline. Artwork, proof approval, the family ordering window, garment availability, production, sorting and delivery all happen before handout day.

The earlier we know the date, the more options the program keeps.

Step 1: Start With the Need-By Date

Do not start with, “When should we order?” Start with: when do the shirts have to be ready? That might be:

• Band camp
• Show reveal
• First football game
• First competition
• Choir concert
• School trip
• Festival
• Opening night
• Senior night

Put the real event date on the calendar. Then set the desired apparel delivery date before that event. The day the bus leaves is not a comfortable delivery deadline.

Step 2: Give the Artwork Room to Get Better

Show shirts and special-event apparel often deserve more thought than a basic school logo shirt. You may need:

• Initial concept
• Artwork development
• Director review
• Staff or booster feedback
• Revision
• Final approval

Starting early means the program can say, “Let’s improve this,” instead of, “We have to approve something today or we miss the deadline.”

For show shirts especially, the artwork is part of the experience. Give it enough time.

Step 3: Decide When Families Will Order

If the shirts will be sold through an online store, the store needs an ordering window. Families need enough time to:

• See the announcement
• Open the store
• Choose garments
• Check sizes
• Place the order
• Handle family schedules and paydays

A clear deadline is important because the main production run begins after the ordering window closes.

For fall marching programs, a summer preorder can work particularly well because the store can be connected to the show reveal and the expense does not have to land during the first chaotic week of school.

Step 4: Production Starts After the Main Order Is Known

Once the order closes, there is still work to do:

• The final quantity is confirmed
• Garments are gathered
• Printing or decoration is completed
• Orders are checked
• School-delivery orders are sorted, bagged and labeled

Then they have to reach the program. The store deadline is not the same thing as the delivery date. That gap matters.

Step 5: Leave Room for Things You Cannot Control

Starting earlier preserves options when something changes. Possible issues include:

• A garment color temporarily unavailable
• A size temporarily unavailable
• Late artwork changes
• Additional program approval
• Shipping delays
• A change in quantity
• Peak-season production demand
• A student joining late

Good planning does not assume something will go wrong. It simply avoids building a plan that requires nothing to go wrong.

A Useful Marching-Band Rhythm

For many fall programs, May or June can be a natural time to begin the show-shirt conversation.

• The show is being introduced
• Artwork can connect to the reveal
• The store can run during the summer
• The main order can move toward production before the heaviest part of marching season arrives

Not every program follows that calendar, but the principle is the same: plan from the event backward instead of from today forward.

What If You Are Already Late?

Contact the printer anyway. Do not spend another two weeks assuming it is impossible.

Rush options depend on:

• Garment availability
• Artwork status
• Quantity
• Printing method
• Current production schedule
• Shipping requirements

Sometimes there is a workable solution. Sometimes choices have to be simplified. The earlier we know the real deadline, the more accurately we can tell you what is possible.

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