Custom Ink is a bulk-order printer. You design a shirt, place an order for 12, 24, or 100 pieces, and they print and ship. Best for a single team event, a fundraiser, or a one-off facility apparel drop.
Printful is a print-on-demand tooling platform. They give you the printing infrastructure but you build the storefront yourself (typically on Shopify, which is an additional $30+ per month plus design work). Good for facilities that already have a developer or want full storefront control.
Bear Grips Pro Shops is a ready-to-go branded storefront with print-on-demand built in. You sign up, upload your logo, pick pieces from the catalog, and your shop is live at your subdomain. No Shopify needed, no per-piece minimums, no setup fees.
Assume a facility selling 120 pieces of branded apparel across a year (a typical 200-athlete facility):
| Path | Annual platform cost | Setup fees | Per-piece cost | Storefront |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Ink (bulk orders) | $0 | $200-$400 per order | $22-$32 | None (one-off orders) |
| Printful + Shopify | $360-$500 | Design and dev time | $18-$28 base | Self-built |
| Bear Grips Pro Shops VIP | $708 ($59/mo) | $0 | $19-$45 base | Branded subdomain included |
For a facility doing 120 pieces a year with multiple orders, Custom Ink ends up most expensive (bulk minimums force overbuying). Printful is the cheapest if you already have a Shopify and a designer. Pro Shops is the simplest path with zero infrastructure work.
Bear Grips Pro Shops: Custom Apparel for Your Team. No Minimums. Free Shipping.Custom Ink wins when: you need 50+ shirts for a single one-time event (combine, championship, alumni day) and you do not need an ongoing shop. Bulk per-piece pricing is competitive on big single drops.
Printful wins when: you already run a Shopify store, you have a designer in-house, and you want full storefront control with no monthly platform fee beyond Shopify.
Pro Shops wins when: you want an ongoing branded apparel program for your athletes and staff with no inventory, no minimums, no Shopify, no setup. The shop is live in 30 minutes and runs on autopilot.
Most facilities moving over from Custom Ink make the switch for one reason: they are tired of placing a new bulk order every time a new coach is hired or a new program launches. The switch is straightforward:
You can keep Custom Ink in reserve for one-time bulk events (championship shirts, alumni reunion drops) and let Pro Shops handle the ongoing facility program.
If your facility only orders apparel once a year as a bulk drop for the team and you do not want an ongoing athlete-facing shop, Custom Ink may still be the right call. The monthly platform fee on Pro Shops only pays for itself if you are running an active shop with at least 6-8 pieces sold per month. For a true once-a-year facility, no platform fee is the better answer.
Open a free account, list your first 3 pieces, see what your facility can run without a bulk minimum or Shopify build.
Start FreeYes. Many facilities use Pro Shops for the ongoing athlete shop and use Custom Ink for occasional bulk team events. The two do not conflict.
Marginally on some pieces, when comparing raw base prices. Pro Shops includes the storefront, branded subdomain, and dashboard, which on Shopify+Printful would add $30+ per month in subscription fees.
Yes. Your facility logo as a transparent PNG uploads directly. You do not need a print-ready file, the system handles sizing per garment.
At 30 pieces a year, the free plan is likely the right starting point. VIP pays for itself somewhere around 7-10 pieces per month sold.
Bear Grips Pro Shops