Size run

A size run is the size-by-size split of a garment order — not "144 shirts" but 12 S, 30 M, 42 L, 36 XL, 18 2XL, and 6 3XL — and it's the number a decorator needs before scheduling press time, since an order heavy on 2XL and 3XL prints slower and burns more ink per piece than the same total skewed toward small and medium.

A standard adult unisex breakdown for general retail typically runs something like 5-20-30-30-10-5 across XS through 2XL, but a gym crew or a construction company usually shifts heavier toward L-3XL, and a 5K race field usually skews toward S-M. We've reprinted an entire batch of 2XL shirts for an event organizer who ordered the standard retail split for an audience that turned out to be mostly large and extra-large men — the breakdown didn't match the wearers, not any flaw in the shirts themselves.

Base the size run on the actual audience, not a generic retail split, and pull historical sales data if this is a repeat event or product line. Order a slightly heavier tail on 2XL and 3XL than intuition suggests — those sizes sell out first and cost the same to add now as to rush-reorder later.

The mistake: ordering a flat breakdown — equal counts across every size — on the assumption that it spreads risk evenly. It doesn't; adult apparel sales skew toward M-XL almost everywhere, so a flat size run reliably leaves XS and 3XL boxes unsold while M and L sell out mid-event.