Best Blank Hoodies for Screen Printing in Canada: Our Top 7 Picks

If there is one garment category where the blank you choose makes or breaks the finished product, it is hoodies. The weight of the fabric, the construction of the hood, the consistency of the fleece surface — all of it affects how your decoration looks, how the finished garment wears, and ultimately how your client feels about the job you did for them.

After supplying blank hoodies to screen printers, decorators, and merch brands across Canada, we have a very clear picture of which blanks consistently deliver and which ones create problems. This list covers our top seven picks across every price tier — from high-volume commodity runs to premium fashion drops — with honest notes on print surface, fit, and where each blank belongs in your production lineup.

All pricing referenced is approximate Canadian wholesale pricing and will vary based on quantity and colourway.

What makes a great hoodie for screen printing

Before we get into the list, it is worth understanding what separates a good screen printing blank from a great one — because not all fleece is created equal.

Fleece weight and density directly affect how your ink sits on the surface. Heavier, denser fleece gives you a more stable print surface with less ink bleed into the pile. Lighter fleece can produce softer-feeling prints but requires more careful squeegee pressure and ink viscosity management.

Surface finish matters enormously. A smooth, tight fleece surface produces sharper edges and more accurate colour reproduction. A rougher, more open pile absorbs ink unevenly and can make fine detail work look soft or fuzzy at the edges.

Pre-shrunk construction is non-negotiable for print work. A hoodie that shrinks after decoration is a refund conversation waiting to happen. Every blank on this list is pre-shrunk.

Consistency across dye lots is critical for bulk orders. A blank that produces different shades of the same colour across different production runs creates problems for clients ordering restock quantities. The established brands on this list have strong dye lot consistency — one of the reasons they have earned their market position.

With that context, here are our top seven.

1. Gildan Heavy Blend Hooded Sweatshirt — G18500 / 18500

Price range: $13–18 CAD wholesale Weight: 8 oz / 271 gsm Composition: 50% cotton, 50% polyester. We currently have a sale on Gildan at Fabrik.ca at the moment and that model is at a fixed discounted price of $13.95 regardless of the volume!

The case for it:

The Gildan 18500 is the undisputed volume king of blank hoodies in Canada. If you have been decorating apparel for more than five minutes, you have printed on this blank — and for good reason. The 50/50 blend produces a dense, smooth fleece surface that takes plastisol ink exceptionally well. Bold graphics, team names, event designs — the 18500 handles all of it consistently and reliably across enormous production runs.

The 8 oz weight gives it real substance without feeling heavy, and the price point is genuinely hard to argue with at volume. For runs of 72 pieces or more, few blanks in any category offer this combination of print quality and cost efficiency.

Print considerations: The 50/50 blend means dye migration is a real consideration for light ink colours on dark fabrics — particularly red, royal, and sport grey colourways. Use a dye migration blocker or adjust your cure protocol on darker colours. For bold single and spot colour work on lighter colourways, it is essentially worry-free.

Best for: High-volume event runs, sports teams, corporate orders, school spirit wear, any application where cost-per-unit and print consistency at scale are the primary drivers.

Not ideal for: Premium fashion merch where the end customer will be paying retail prices and expects a softer, more fashion-forward hand feel.

Browse the Gildan 18500 → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/produc...]

2. Independent Trading Co. SS4500 Midweight Hooded Sweatshirt

Price range: $25–27 CAD wholesale Weight: 8.5 oz / 288 gsm Composition: 70% cotton, 30% polyester

The case for it:

The Independent Trading SS4500 has quietly become one of the most respected blanks in the decorator community, and it earns that reputation every time. The 70/30 cotton-dominant blend gives you the best of both worlds — the softness and print receptivity of a high cotton content blank with just enough polyester for dimensional stability and durability.

The fleece surface on the SS4500 is notably smooth and dense for its weight class, which translates directly to sharper print edges and better ink laydown than you typically get from a commodity blank at this price point. Pick it up and it immediately communicates quality — the kind of hand feel that justifies a premium retail price for your end client.

Print considerations: The higher cotton content compared to the Gildan 18500 reduces dye migration risk on darker colourways, though it does not eliminate it entirely on the deepest shades. Water-based and discharge inks perform better on this blank than on a 50/50 blend. For decorators who offer soft-hand or vintage-wash print effects, the SS4500 is a natural fit.

Best for: Merch brands that want a noticeable step up from commodity quality without reaching the price point of ultra-premium blanks. Corporate clients who want something their recipients will actually wear rather than leave in a drawer. Decorators building their reputation on quality rather than price.

Not ideal for: Ultra-high volume commodity runs where the price difference versus the Gildan 18500 becomes significant at scale.

Browse the Independent Trading SS4500 → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/produc...]

3. Champion S700 Double Dry Eco® Hooded Sweatshirt

Price range: $28–31 CAD wholesale Weight: 9 oz / 305 gsm Composition: 50% cotton, 50% polyester (Double Dry Eco® recycled polyester)

The case for it:

Champion occupies a unique position on this list because it brings something the other blanks do not — consumer brand recognition. Your end customer knows the Champion name. They have seen it on retail shelves, on athletes, on their favourite streetwear brands. When you hand someone a decorated Champion hoodie, the blank itself carries perceived value before they have even looked at the decoration.

The S700 is Champion's core wholesale blank hoodie and it delivers on the promise of the brand name. The 9 oz weight is the heaviest on this list outside of the heavyweight tier, giving it real substance and warmth. The fleece interior is genuinely soft and the construction is solid throughout — reinforced seams, quality drawcords, a hood that holds its shape wash after wash.

Print considerations: The 50/50 blend requires the same dye migration awareness as the Gildan 18500 on darker colourways. The slightly heavier fleece pile compared to the Gildan requires marginally more squeegee pressure to achieve full ink penetration on screen print work — not a significant adjustment for experienced decorators, but worth noting if you are printing this blank for the first time. The print surface is consistent and produces clean results across bold and moderate-detail artwork.

Best for: Corporate gifting where the Champion brand adds perceived value. Clients in the athletic and fitness space where the brand resonates strongly. Premium event merchandise where you want a recognizable brand name on the label alongside your decoration. University and college merchandise programs.

Not ideal for: Independent brand builders who do not want a competing brand name on the label alongside their own. Very high volume commodity runs where the price premium over Gildan is difficult to justify to budget-sensitive clients.

Browse the Champion S700 → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/produc...]

4. ATC™ Everyday Fleece Hooded Sweatshirt — ATCF2500

Price range: $13–15 CAD wholesale Weight: 8 oz / 271 gsm Composition: 80% cotton, 20% polyester

The case for it:

ATC deserves far more attention than it typically receives in conversations about Canadian wholesale blank apparel. This is a Canadian brand built specifically for the Canadian market, and it shows in the details — strong domestic stock availability, consistent Canadian pricing, and a product that has been refined for the decorating industry over years of working directly with Canadian decorators and distributors.

The ATCF2500 punches well above its price point. The 80/20 cotton-dominant blend gives it a noticeably softer hand feel than a standard 50/50 commodity hoodie, and the fleece surface is smooth enough for clean print work without the premium price tag of the cotton-dominant American blanks. For Canadian buyers specifically, the domestic availability and CAD pricing make it a genuinely compelling option at this price tier.

Print considerations: The high cotton content makes the ATCF2500 one of the better performers on this list for water-based and discharge printing in its price tier. Plastisol prints well with standard protocols. Dye migration risk is lower than the 50/50 blends due to the higher cotton content, which is a practical advantage for decorators working with dark colourways regularly.

Best for: Canadian decorators and buyers who want to support a domestic brand while getting strong value. High-volume runs where the Gildan 18500 is the obvious choice but you want to offer clients a cotton-dominant alternative at a comparable price. Non-profits, schools, and community organizations working with tight budgets who still want a quality result.

Not ideal for: Buyers specifically seeking a premium fashion silhouette or a recognized consumer brand name on the label.

Browse the ATC ATCF2500 → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/produc...]

5. Bella Canvas 3719 Sponge Fleece Pullover Hoodie

Price range: $33–36 CAD wholesale Weight: 7.5 oz / 254 gsm Composition: 52% combed and ring-spun cotton, 48% polyester

The case for it:

If the Bella Canvas 3001 t-shirt is the benchmark premium blank in its category, the 3719 hoodie occupies a similar position in the fleece category. It is the hoodie that fashion brands, premium merch labels, and retail-quality decoration projects reach for when the blank needs to do some of the selling on its own.

The sponge fleece construction is what sets this blank apart. Unlike standard fleece which is knit and then brushed, sponge fleece uses a specific yarn construction that creates a naturally softer, lighter fabric without sacrificing the smooth exterior surface that screen printers need. The result is a hoodie that feels dramatically lighter and softer than its weight suggests, with a drape and silhouette that reads as genuinely fashion-forward.

Print considerations: The near-equal cotton-polyester blend means all the standard blend considerations apply — dye migration awareness on dark colours, no discharge printing, careful DTG pre-treatment calibration. The sponge fleece exterior surface is smooth and produces clean print results for bold and moderate-detail work. Where it shows limitations is in very fine halftone work, where the slightly textured sponge construction can produce marginally softer edges than a 100% cotton fleece surface. For the vast majority of print applications this is not a practical concern.

Best for: Premium merch brands and fashion labels where the blank's hand feel and silhouette are as important as the decoration. Retail-quality products where the end customer is paying a premium price and will judge the blank as part of their overall experience. Decorators who work primarily with fashion-forward clients and need a hoodie blank that matches the quality positioning of their other premium offerings.

Not ideal for: High-volume commodity runs where the price point is difficult to justify. Applications requiring discharge printing or very fine halftone detail work.

Browse the Bella Canvas 3719 → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/produc...]

6. Independent Trading Co. SS4500Z Full-Zip Hooded Sweatshirt

Price range: $19–22 CAD wholesale Weight: 8.5 oz / 288 gsm Composition: 70% cotton, 30% polyester

The case for it:

The full-zip hoodie occupies a specific and important niche in the decorated apparel market, and the Independent Trading SS4500Z is the strongest option in this format at the mid-premium price tier. It shares the same 70/30 cotton-dominant construction and smooth fleece surface as the pullover SS4500, which means everything that makes the pullover excellent for screen printing applies here as well.

The full-zip format opens up decoration options that the pullover does not easily accommodate — left chest embroidery and screen printing, sleeve prints, and back prints all work cleanly on the zip format without the hood placement complications that sometimes affect pullover designs. For corporate clients, the full-zip also reads as slightly more professional than a pullover, making it a natural choice for staff outerwear and corporate gifting programs.

Print considerations: Identical to the SS4500 pullover — the 70/30 blend performs well for plastisol and water-based work, with reduced dye migration risk compared to 50/50 blends. The zip placket requires design placement awareness — artwork needs to be positioned to accommodate the zipper rather than running across it, which most experienced decorators account for automatically but is worth flagging for clients who are providing their own artwork files.

Best for: Corporate uniform programs and staff outerwear. Athletic teams and organizations that prefer the full-zip format for warmup and sideline wear. Clients who want the quality positioning of the ITC brand in a zip format. Decoration projects where left-chest placement is the primary design location.

Not ideal for: All-over or large back print designs where the zip placket creates placement complications. Ultra-high volume runs where the price difference versus commodity zip hoodies affects overall project economics.

Browse the Independent Trading SS4500Z → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/produc...]

7. Just Like Hero Unisex Blank Hoodie — HERO-2020

Price range: $17–22 CAD wholesale Weight: 14 oz / 475 gsm Composition: 100% cotton

The case for it:

The Just Like Hero HERO-2020 exists in a different category than everything else on this list — and that is precisely the point. At 14 oz it is not competing with the Gildan 18500 or the Bella Canvas 3719 for the same customer. It is the answer to a completely different question: what does a merch brand founder reach for when they want a hoodie that feels like the premium streetwear their customers are already buying at retail?

The answer to that question, increasingly, is heavyweight 100% cotton with an oversized boxy silhouette and a garment construction that communicates intentional quality rather than commodity production. The HERO-2020 delivers exactly that. The fabric weight is immediately apparent — this is a hoodie you can feel before you see it — and the 100% cotton construction gives it the pure, clean hand feel that the streetwear market specifically seeks out.

For Canadian buyers, domestic availability of heavyweight streetwear blanks at this quality level has historically been extremely limited. The fact that Fabrik carries the HERO-2020 is a genuine competitive advantage for our decorator and brand clients who are serving this market.

Print considerations: The 100% cotton construction makes the HERO-2020 one of the best blanks on this list for discharge printing and water-based ink work — techniques that are particularly well-suited to the vintage and worn-in aesthetic that the streetwear market favors. Plastisol printing works well with standard protocols. The heavyweight construction provides exceptional stability under print pressure, with no puckering or distortion even on large print areas. The slightly open cotton fleece surface means ultra-fine detail work requires careful screen tension and squeegee pressure management, but bold and graphic work prints beautifully.

Best for: Streetwear brands, independent merch labels, and music artist merchandise where the heavyweight oversized aesthetic is the deliberate design intent. Premium fashion drops where the blank needs to compete with what the end customer is already buying at retail. Decorators serving fashion-forward clients who specifically request heavyweight cotton construction. Any project where discharge or water-based printing techniques are part of the creative brief.

Not ideal for: High-volume commodity runs where the price point and weight are beyond what the project requires. Corporate or institutional buyers who need a traditional hoodie silhouette rather than an oversized streetwear cut.

This model is fairly new and exclusive to Fabrik at no minimums, and printers are absolutely in love with it's canvas for optimal printing results.

This quickly became a printers' favourite and always has tons in stock.

Browse the Just Like Hero HERO-2020 → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/produc...]

Quick comparison: all seven blanks at a glance

Gildan 18500 — 8 oz · 50/50 · $13–18 CAD · Best for: high-volume commodity runs

ATC ATCF2500 — 8 oz · 80/20 · $13–17 CAD · Best for: Canadian buyers wanting cotton-dominant quality at commodity pricing

Independent Trading SS4500 — 8.5 oz · 70/30 · $22–28 CAD · Best for: mid-premium merch and corporate

Independent Trading SS4500Z — 8.5 oz · 70/30 · $26–32 CAD · Best for: corporate and zip-format decoration

Champion S700 — 9 oz · 50/50 · $28–35 CAD · Best for: brand-recognition driven corporate and athletic

Bella Canvas 3719 — 7.5 oz · 52/48 · $30–38 CAD · Best for: premium fashion merch and retail-quality drops

Just Like Hero HERO-2020 — 14 oz · 100% cotton · $17–22 CAD · Best for: heavyweight streetwear and premium brand drops

How to choose the right blank for your next hoodie run

Use this as your decision framework:

If cost-per-unit is your primary driver and you need reliable print quality at scale, start with the Gildan 18500. It earned its market position for good reasons.

If you want a meaningful quality step-up without a dramatic price increase, and you want to support a Canadian brand, the ATC ATCF2500 deserves serious consideration — especially for buyers who have not tried it yet.

If you are quoting a mid-to-premium client who wants something better than a commodity blank but is not in full fashion brand territory, the Independent Trading SS4500 is your strongest option at that tier.

If your client specifically wants a recognized brand name on the label, Champion S700 is the most accessible option that delivers genuine consumer brand recognition.

If you are producing premium merch or fashion brand product where the blank needs to do part of the selling, the Bella Canvas 3719 is the benchmark in its category.

If your client is building a streetwear brand or wants heavyweight construction that competes with what they see at retail, the Just Like Hero HERO-2020 is in a category of its own at the Canadian wholesale level.

When in doubt, order samples. Every blank on this list is available through Fabrik, and there is no substitute for feeling the difference in your hands before committing to a production run.

Order samples and wholesale pricing through Fabrik

All seven blanks featured in this post are available through Fabrik with Canadian pricing, live inventory, and domestic shipping across Canada. Whether you are placing a single sample order to evaluate a new blank or a full production run for a client job, you will find consistent wholesale pricing in CAD with no cross-border complications.

Browse our full hoodie and sweatshirt catalogue → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/produc...] Set up your wholesale account → [https://fabrik.ca/en-ca/accoun...] Contact our team with questions → [email protected] or by phone at 1-877-281-0499