Sellers searching for a comparison between these two are usually trying to answer one of two very different questions: which blank is cheapest, or which blank looks the most premium. The Gildan Softstyle 64000 and Comfort Colors 1717 answer those two questions separately, because they are not really in the same category of shirt. The 64000 is a light, inexpensive, everyday tee. The 1717 is a heavyweight, garment dyed tee built around a soft, worn-in, vintage look. Putting them side by side is less "which is better" and more "which job are you hiring a blank to do."
We make mockup software, not shirts, so we have nothing to sell you here either way.
The short answer
The Gildan Softstyle 64000 and the Comfort Colors 1717 aren't real competitors: one is a lightweight everyday tee and the other is a heavyweight, garment dyed vintage tee, and the gap between them (4.5 oz versus 6.1 oz) is one of the largest weight differences in any blank comparison print-on-demand sellers run into. The 64000 is 100% ringspun cotton, semi-fitted, and piece dyed before the shirt is cut and sewn. The 1717 is 100% ring spun cotton, cut in a relaxed, boxy, seamless body, and garment dyed after the shirt is fully constructed.
For most print-on-demand sellers, choose the Gildan Softstyle 64000 for everyday, budget-conscious listings where protecting margin matters most; pick the Comfort Colors 1717 instead when your design is vintage, boxy, or streetwear-coded and your price point can absorb a heavier, garment dyed blank. This isn't a close call decided by fabric quality. It's a decision about what kind of shirt your brand is actually trying to sell.
Specs, side by side
| Gildan Softstyle 64000 | Comfort Colors 1717 | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 4.5 oz/yd² (153 g/m²) | 6.1 oz/yd² (207 g/m²) |
| Fabric | 100% ringspun cotton, 30 singles | 100% ring spun cotton |
| Dye process | Piece dyed (dyed before cutting and sewing) | Garment dyed (dyed after the shirt is sewn) |
| Fit | Semi-fitted, modern classic cut | Relaxed, boxy, seamless (tubular) body |
| Collar | Rib knit collar, taped neck and shoulders | Top stitched classic width rib collar, twill taped neck and shoulders |
| Label | Tear-away | Sewn twill |
| Heather colors | Mostly 50/50 to 65% polyester / 35% cotton; Antique shades and Sport Grey are 90/10 | Solid 100% ring spun cotton; color varies by dye lot rather than fiber blend |
| Relative cost | Lower | Higher |
Is the Gildan Softstyle 64000 good for print on demand?
Yes. The Gildan Softstyle 64000 is one of the most widely stocked tees across every major print-on-demand provider, and its 4.5 oz, 100% ringspun cotton gives DTG ink a smooth, even surface on solid colors. It is cut in a semi-fitted, modern classic shape, meaning it runs roomier than a true fitted tee like the Bella Canvas 3001 but is not the boxy tent of an old-school heavyweight cotton shirt.
The thing to watch is heather colors. Gildan Softstyle heathers run heavy on polyester, with most landing between 50/50 and 65% polyester / 35% cotton, and only Antique shades and Sport Grey staying close to all-cotton at 90/10. Higher polyester content changes how water-based DTG ink cures, usually producing a lighter, more washed-out print than the same design on a solid color.
Is the Comfort Colors 1717 good for print on demand?
Yes. The Comfort Colors 1717 is a standard catalog item at Printful, Printify, and nearly every other major print-on-demand provider, offered as a DTG blank with pretreatment built into the provider's production process. Its 6.1 oz, 100% ring spun cotton is thick enough to hold ink well and gives bold graphics a substantial, premium feel in hand.
Two things to plan around: it costs more per unit than a lighter tee like the Gildan 64000, and because the fabric is dyed after the shirt is already sewn together, there's normal color variance between dye lots. That variance isn't a defect. It's inherent to garment dyeing, and it's part of why Comfort Colors shirts have a slightly different character from batch to batch instead of looking machine-uniform.
Which shirt is heavier, the Gildan 64000 or the Comfort Colors 1717?
The Comfort Colors 1717, at 6.1 oz/yd², is roughly 35% heavier than the Gildan Softstyle 64000's 4.5 oz/yd². That's a genuine, feelable gap, not a rounding error the way 4.2 oz versus 4.3 oz would be between two premium fitted tees. Pick up both shirts and the 1717 will read immediately as the thicker, more substantial garment, while the 64000 will read as the lighter, more casual one. Neither weight is objectively better fabric; they're built for different jobs.
Fit: semi-fitted and modern vs. boxy and seamless
The Gildan Softstyle 64000 is cut semi-fitted, in what Gildan calls a modern classic shape. It isn't a slim fashion fit, and it isn't the old boxy Gildan 5000 either. It sits in the middle, which is part of why it works as a safe default for buyers who don't know their size on a given brand.
The Comfort Colors 1717 has a relaxed, boxy, seamless body, built from tubular knit fabric with no side seam. That construction is the real source of its oversized, vintage drape. Sellers who want to lean into the signature look often recommend buyers size up by one from their normal fit, since the shirt is meant to hang loose rather than contour to the body.
If your brand photographs shirts close and fitted, the 64000 reads cleaner. If your brand photographs shirts loose and lived-in, the 1717's drape is doing real work for you, not fighting against the design.
Print surface: fine detail vs. bold, simple graphics
The Gildan Softstyle 64000's lighter, finer surface takes small text and thin linework slightly more crisply than the Comfort Colors 1717's heavier, more textured weave. That matters if your catalog leans on detailed illustration or small type.
The Comfort Colors 1717's thicker, more visibly woven surface suits bold, simple graphics well, and a lot of vintage-style designs are built to look a little soft and worn anyway. In that case the texture is an asset rather than a limitation. If your design absolutely depends on crisp fine detail at a small size, the 64000 will render it more faithfully.
Price: the gap most sellers actually care about
The Gildan Softstyle 64000 is consistently the cheaper blank at wholesale and through print-on-demand providers. Two things drive the gap: it uses noticeably less fabric by weight than the 1717, and piece dyeing fabric before cutting and sewing is a cheaper process than garment dyeing a fully constructed shirt. Exact pricing moves constantly and varies by provider, so check your own provider's current catalog instead of relying on a fixed number here.
What that gap buys you is positioning as much as cost. On a budget listing, the 64000's lower blank cost is the difference between a healthy margin and a thin one. On a premium listing, the 1717's heavier, garment dyed feel is a big part of what justifies charging more in the first place, since the shirt itself visibly looks and feels like a more considered product the moment it's out of the bag.
Which should you choose?
Choose the Gildan Softstyle 64000 when:
- You're competing on price or running high-volume, low-cost listings
- Your buyer wants a modern, semi-fitted, everyday tee rather than an oversized one
- Your design relies on fine detail or small text
- You need deep stock across every size and color, with no sourcing risk
Choose the Comfort Colors 1717 when:
- Your brand's aesthetic is vintage, streetwear, or oversized
- You're charging a premium price and want the shirt itself to help justify it
- Your design is bold and graphic rather than fine detail
- A boxy, relaxed, garment dyed drape is part of the look, not just the fabric
Show the actual shirt
A 4.5 oz semi-fitted tee and a 6.1 oz boxy, garment dyed tee don't just weigh differently, they drape and photograph differently, and a generic flat mockup template flattens that distinction into one generic shirt shape. Drop Studio generates mockups on the real blank and color you sell, so a loose, tubular heavyweight tee hangs the way it actually hangs and a semi-fitted everyday tee doesn't look boxier than it is.
Related reading:
- Bella Canvas 3001 vs. Gildan Softstyle 64000
- Comfort Colors 1717 vs. Bella Canvas 3001: Which Should You Sell?
- GSM, Ring Spun, and Combed Cotton: What T-Shirt Specs Actually Mean for Print on Demand
Sources: manufacturer and distributor spec sheets for the Gildan Softstyle 64000 and Comfort Colors 1717. Fabric content, available colors, and pricing vary by provider and season, always confirm current specs with your print provider before listing.