Property of Shirts: How to Make Them with DTF Transfers

A "Property of" shirt is the athletic-department look: a small "PROPERTY OF" line above a bigger team, name or place, usually in one color and a block or slab font. It is one of the easiest custom designs to make with DTF transfers, because it is type only and packs tightly on a gang sheet. This guide covers the layout, free fonts licensed for shirts you sell, print sizes, and what a small run costs.

How do you make a "Property of" shirt with DTF transfers?

To make a "Property of" shirt, design a small "PROPERTY OF" line above a larger name in a bold block or slab font, order it as a DTF transfer or add it to a gang sheet, then heat press it at your supplier's temperature and time. One-color designs are the classic look and pack tightly on a gang sheet.

What a "Property of" shirt looks like

The style copies old gym and athletic-department issue shirts. The usual layout has three parts:

• A small top line reading "PROPERTY OF", in capitals, clearly smaller than the name.
• The main line: a team, family name, gym, school club or place, in a heavy collegiate block or slab font. It can run straight or arched.
• An optional bottom line such as "ATHLETIC DEPT.", a year or a number.

One color on a contrasting shirt is the classic version: navy on gray, white on navy, black on white. "Property of" t-shirts, sweatshirts and the "Property of" font people search for all come back to this layout.

Fonts for "Property of" shirts

Every font below is on Google Fonts under the SIL Open Font License or the Apache License 2.0, both of which allow commercial use, including printing on shirts you sell. We confirmed each family's license in the Google Fonts repository on November 13, 2026.

More type ideas are in our streetwear fonts guide. A font license covers the typeface only. A college, pro team or brand name in a "Property of" layout is still that owner's trademark, so use names you own or have permission to print; the licensed character and trademark guide explains the limits.

Print sizes by placement

Widths are the adult figures from the DTF Database placement guide, which also gives the distance from the collar for each size.

A wide, short design such as an 11 x 4 inch front print is efficient on film: two fit side by side across a 22 inch sheet.

How to make one with DTF, step by step

1. Set the type at print size, for example 11 inches wide for an adult front, with the top line clearly smaller than the name.
2. Export a vector file or a 300 DPI PNG with a transparent background. Convert text to outlines if you send a vector file.
3. Leave the art right-reading. Mirror it only if your supplier or your own printer software asks for a mirrored file.
4. Order a single transfer or add it to a gang sheet alongside other designs.
5. Press at the supplier's settings. Without a sheet, our temperature and time chart starts 100% cotton at 300 to 325°F for 10 to 15 seconds at medium-firm pressure.
6. Peel as the film requires, hot or cold, then finish press through parchment.

What a small run costs

The math below uses published gang sheet prices from our September 27, 2026 check and STAHLS' advertised square-inch rate. It assumes an 11 x 4 inch front print and ignores the small gaps a real sheet needs, so expect slightly fewer per sheet.

For 1 to 10 shirts, most DTF suppliers have no minimum order, so a sheet can mix several names or sizes. Find one in the DTF transfer supplier directory and size a sheet with the gang sheet calculator. Team ideas that use the same layout are in team and spirit shirt design ideas.

How this guide was made

DTF Database has not yet photographed a pressed "Property of" sample for this guide. Sizes come from our placement guide, settings from our temperature chart, and prices from the suppliers' own pages on the dates given.

Written by Darrin DeTorres, DTF Database founder. AI helped research and draft this guide; every figure was checked against the named sources before publishing.