How long does branded workwear take?
Most orders are ready in around 10 working days — but the clock doesn't start when you order. It starts when you approve the proof. Here's what really sets the date, and how to get your kit faster.
Your timescale, by order type
These are the working-day ranges we plan to. They begin once your artwork is approved — and a firm delivery date is always confirmed by a person once your order is booked in, never left to a system to guess.
The everyday turnaround once your proof is signed off.
Includes first-time artwork sign-off, usually the first 1–3 working days. Then you're on standard timescales.
Even in our busiest periods — your artwork's already on file, so there's less to set up.
Bigger runs are planned with you rather than rushed. More on those below.
"Working days" means weekdays — excluding weekends and bank holidays. And every range above assumes the design is approved, which is the part that matters most.
Your sign-off starts the clock
If there's one thing to take from this page: an order isn't ready to go into production until the proof is approved. Everything is planned around that moment.
Once you've ordered, we prepare a proof — a visual showing exactly how your logo will appear — usually with you within 48 to 72 hours. From there, the ball's in your court. On average customers take four to six working days to approve, and that's fine — but the clock to production only starts when you say yes.
The trap is assuming approval and production are the same thing. Waiting a week to sign off doesn't mean your kit is a week away — once approved, it still has to be planned into the schedule. So the biggest lever on your delivery date isn't us; it's how quickly you review and approve.
What's actually happening
"Ten working days" can feel like a black box. Here's what's inside it — and why it's a planned process, not an instant one.
Your order comes in
From our team or online — and we order the garments. Most stock arrives within around 48 hours; some specialist European lines can take up to about 10 working days.
Goods are checked in
Every delivery is double-checked against the production sheet — quantities, sizes, colours — before anything moves forward.
Your job is scheduled
Orders run oldest to newest, planned around daily capacity. Urgent and express jobs can be filtered in where there's room — but that capacity is limited and depends on how full the schedule already is. Our head of operations sets the production date.
It's decorated
Your garments go through embroidery or DTF (direct-to-film) print — framed, run, trimmed and finished by the team.
It's checked and dispatched
Every order goes through a final quality check before it's packed and shipped.
None of these steps are skippable — which is exactly why the standard is a dependable ten working days rather than a same-week scramble.
Large runs are planned, not rushed
Large runs — think 500 pieces and up — are handled a little differently, deliberately so. Rather than putting one huge order across every machine and grinding everything else to a halt, we plan it with you: run it through the right machine setup, start a touch earlier where we can, and hold it to a sensible up to around 21 working days. If part of it's needed sooner, we can often dispatch an urgent portion early and follow with the rest.
If speed is the priority, ask about our shorter-lead packages. These are kept deliberately simple — a single garment colour, one logo position, a set quantity that fits one production run — precisely so they can move quickly. Constraining the choices is what makes the speed possible.
And if something goes wrong mid-production — a garment damaged, a stock shortfall — we don't let it derail the order. We complete as much as possible and raise an emergency order for anything affected, usually adding only around a day, and keep you posted so there are no surprises.
How to get your kit faster
Most of the delivery date is within your control. The orders that arrive quickest tend to do the same handful of things:
- Approve your proof promptly — by far the biggest one. Fast sign-off is the difference between this week's schedule and next week's.
- Send changes clearly and all at once — one complete set of amendments beats several back-and-forth rounds.
- Get your artwork right up front — a clean, usable file avoids a redraw step. Our guide to getting your logo ready covers exactly what to send.
- Tell us your deadline early — an event, a launch, a new starter. We'll tell you honestly whether it's achievable and plan around it.
When you need a firm date
Everything above is how we plan; what you can rely on is the date a person gives you. Once your order's booked in and your proof approved, we confirm a firm delivery date — and if you're working to a tight deadline, the fastest thing you can do is tell us early and get your sign-off back quickly.
Tell us what you need, when you need it, and what it's for. We'll give you a straight answer on whether it's doable — and if it's genuinely too tight to do properly, we'll say so rather than let you down at the finish.
Keep deciding with confidence
Getting Your Logo Ready
Send the right file first time and skip a redraw step.
Embroidery or Print?
How to choose the right finish for your workwear.
The Penguin Academy
Advice-first guides to help you decide before you order.
Workwear Bundles
Kit built around the job, not the price tag.
Meet the Team
The people who frame, print, trim and check your order.
Contact Our Team
Tell us your deadline and we'll talk it through.