Case quantity

Case quantity is however many units a mill or blank supplier packs into a single shipping case at the factory — commonly a dozen for tees, sometimes 6 or 24 depending on the style — and it's printed right on the box. Ordering to that number, or a multiple of it, means a distributor ships whole, unopened cases; ordering three short of a case means someone has to break one open by hand.

Gildan's 5000 typically cases at 72 pieces in mixed sizes, while a heavier style like a fleece hoodie might case at 24 or 36 — the exact count varies by garment weight and box size, not by any fixed industry rule. We've seen buyers order 68 of a shirt that cases at 72, not realizing the extra 4 units would have cost almost nothing since the case was already being broken and repacked either way.

Check the case pack count before finalizing an order quantity and round up to it when the difference is small; the broken-case handling fee a supplier charges often costs more than the few extra blanks would have. This matters most on wholesale blank orders bought direct from a distributor, less so on a printer's own retail-style ordering.

The mistake: assuming case quantity is a universal number like 12 or 144 across every brand and style. It isn't — a tri-blend tee, a heavyweight hoodie, and a tank top from the same brand can each case at a different count, so check the spec sheet or ask before ordering to a number that seems standard.