Custom Design for Metropolis: free 24-hour proofs, published pack pricing, and tracked delivery in 5 to 7 business days.
In-house designers turn napkin sketches and old low-res logos into print-ready vector art. Free with every order, proof in 24 hours. For Metropolis, that comes with published pack pricing and door delivery in 5 to 7 business days.
Metropolis is home to about 5,800 people across 6.0 square miles, and every one of those addresses is inside our standard 5 to 7 day delivery window. If your people are spread out, that is fine: Brookport, IL (4 mi), Paducah, KY (6 mi), Massac, KY (8 mi) sit close enough that one order can outfit all of them. For the military community, Scott Air Force Base sits about 118 miles away, well inside our normal unit-order routes.
Nothing here needs a storefront. Art goes in by phone or upload, a designer proofs it free, and the shipment lands in Metropolis counted against your roster.
A typical week of custom design orders from this corner of Illinois mixes Metropolis crews with neighbors like Brookport, 4 miles over, all running through the same designer, the same proof cycle, and the same tracked delivery.
The rescue service: old logos rebuilt as clean vector files that print sharp forever. We handle the art, the sizing spread, and the deadline. You handle handing them out.
Insignia drawn correctly, with trademark rules respected and flagged. Bring a rough idea, even a phone photo of a whiteboard, and our designers make it print ready at no charge.
Describe it in a sentence; a designer builds it and proofs it within 24 hours. What you approve in writing is what ships. That rule has no exceptions.
Typography matched to the era, from Vietnam-period stencil to modern athletic block. Nobody chases an order here. Your contact tells you where it stands before you have to ask.
One design system across shirts, banners, and signs so everything matches. We handle the art, the sizing spread, and the deadline. You handle handing them out.
A small collection designed to sell, not just to exist. Ask for the honest option and you get it, even when it is the cheaper one.
Serving the military community is not a marketing line here, it is the operating system. Metropolis customers deal with one accountable person, get dates that mean something, and receive work held to a uniform standard.
It also means we say no when we should. If a design will not print well at the size you want, or a date cannot be hit, you hear it before you spend money, not after.
The Design Lab puts your art on the real garment, takes your size counts, and totals the whole order, shipping included, without asking who you are.
Start from the garment and the rest follows. Among Metropolis customers, these three blanks carry most of the orders, each designable online on its real photos.
The 7.5oz boxy blank is where streetwear concepts land, oversized front or full back. Bring a rough idea, even a phone photo of a whiteboard, and our designers make it print ready at no charge.
Most new designs land on the Classic first. 80 plus colors means your art gets the exact backdrop it needs. Nobody chases an order here. Your contact tells you where it stands before you have to ask.
Serious designs deserve the garment-dyed heavyweight, which reads brand rather than handout. Packs mix garment colors freely, so squads, shifts, or grade levels can each get their own.
Half the orders we take begin as a phone photo of a sketch, an old shirt, or a sentence describing the idea. A designer turns that into print-ready vector art at no charge, sends the proof inside 24 hours, and revises it until you sign off in writing. Nothing is produced before that signature, which is why what shows up matches what you expected.
Prefer hands-on? Build the design yourself in the Design Lab on real product photos, with the running price on screen while you work.
No mystery pricing. These are the published packs on our light cotton tee, front print included, and Metropolis customers watch the per piece cost fall as quantity climbs.
| Quantity | Pack price | Per shirt | Shipping | Add back print |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack of 10 | $180 | $18 ea | $18 | $4 ea |
| Pack of 15 | $250 | $16.67 ea | $18 | $4 ea |
| Pack of 20 | $320 | $16 ea | $20.99 | $4 ea |
| Pack of 25 | $375 | $15 ea | $20.99 | $3 ea |
| Pack of 50 | $700 | $14 ea | $22.99 | $2 ea |
| Pack of 100 | $1200 | $12 ea | FREE | $2 ea |
Back prints add per piece at the rate shown, dropping to $3 at 25 pieces and $2 at 50. Oversized full body fronts add $3 per piece under 25 pieces and $2 at 25 or more, and sizes 2XL and up add $6 each under 25 pieces or $4 each at 25 or more. Heavier garments follow the same pack structure at their own price points, all shown live in the Design Lab.
Kick it off however suits you: describe the concept in the quote form or drop your art straight into the Design Lab. Polish is not required at this stage.
Twenty-four hours gets you a designer-built proof on the exact blank you chose. Iterate freely until it is right.
Production waits for one thing only: your written sign-off on the proof. That signature is the contract for exactly what prints.
Approval to doorstep runs 5 to 7 business days as the default, faster when rush is booked and honestly refused when it cannot be.
We archive your art and garment specs, which makes the second order a two minute conversation.
Every order ships tracked to Metropolis addresses with standard production plus shipping at 5 to 7 business days. Free shipping kicks in at 100 pieces, and pack shipping rates below that are published, not surprises at checkout.
Boxes get counted twice against the roster before they seal, and the tracking number reaches you the day of pickup. Damage or shortage claims are our expense and our rush.
The minimum order is 10 pieces. Your metropolis crew can order ten today and a hundred next month; the packs just make each piece cheaper as the count grows.
Vector files such as AI, SVG, EPS, and PDF are ideal. A 300 DPI PNG with a transparent background also prints clean. If all you have is a screenshot, we redraw it free.
We do, at the same pace as domestic orders. Deployed and overseas service members at APO and FPO addresses are covered alongside all 50 states.
That is the point of the Design Lab: the complete number, packs, back prints, size upcharges, shipping, updates live while you design, before any contact form.
The standard clock is 5 to 7 business days covering both production and delivery. Many orders can run faster; name the date and we will confirm or decline honestly.
Yes, and it costs nothing with your order. Send a sketch, an old logo, or just the idea, and a designer sends a print ready proof within 24 hours.
Large runs are the core business: hundreds of pieces, mixed sizes, multiple colors, one named contact who owns it from first proof to the delivery scan.
More answers on the full FAQ page.
Zoom out to custom design across Illinois, back to the Metropolis hub, or into the custom design deep dive. Other services in Metropolis: Screen Printing, Embroidery, DTG and DTF Printing, Sublimation, Banners and Signs.
The sequence never changes: free 24-hour proof, your written sign-off, then production at the price you already saw.