What is the Difference Between Garment Dyed and Pigment Dyed Hats: Which Is Better for Customization?
By: CapBargain Posted on: Nov 25, 2025If you’ve purchased hats in bulk before, you must have come across dyed hats. The process enhances that vintage vibe, particularly for dad hats that are already popular for the retro appeal. These types of dyed fabric are common among dad hats. CapBargain’s dad hats wholesale collection has quite a lot of fabric-dyed hat styles. If you're running a promotional campaign, selling custom merchandise, or building a hat business, at some point you may have to choose between garment-dyed and pigment-dyed caps.
Rest assured, both dyeing methods deliver that vintage, laid-back vibe you expect from a dad hat, but they work differently.
Understanding how each process affects fabric and customization will help you buy the right hat style you need from our vast wholesale hats selection.
What is Garment Dyeing?
Garment dyeing is a process that the hat is subjected to once it’s fully constructed. The finished piece is submerged in a dye bath so the color penetrates deep into the fibers. This essentially creates a chemical bond, which results in the cap taking a dyed appearance.
Benefits:
- Consistent color tone - Dye saturates fabric completely, delivering reliable color matching across your entire order. Critical for promotional campaigns or retail inventory where brand consistency matters.
- Softer texture - The dyeing process relaxes fabric fibers, giving hats that broken-in comfort right out of the box.
- Better color retention - Colors hold up better through washing and UV exposure because dye penetrates fibers.
- Natural variations - Slight differences in dye absorption across seams create visual interest without sacrificing consistency.
Best Hat Styles:
What is pigment dyeing?
Pigment-dyeing is also applied on a finished hat, but on the surface. However, instead of penetrating fibers, pigments rest on top of the surface. This is done using binding agents, which results in an intentionally-faded and often distressed appearance on a fresh hat. Though pigment-dyeing is more prevalent in dad hats, we also have trucker hats that are pigment-dyed in our collection.
Benefits:
- Instant vintage aesthetic - Pigment-dyed hats deliver that washed-out look immediately.
- Individual character - Each piece develops its own personality. No two hats are identical.
- Soft finishing - Special washing processes give pigment-dyed hats a comfortable hand feel.
- Creative color effects - Surface application allows variations that fiber-reactive dyes can't achieve.
Best Hat Styles:
What are the key differences between garment-dyed and pigment-dyed caps?
Appearance and Texture: One of the key traits of garment-dyed and pigment-dyed blank hats is the soft, uniform tone with a worn-in aesthetic. Colors are consistent though they look lived-in. Pigment-dyed hats and their washed-out appearance have intentional variations, which essentially gives each hat its own character.
Durability and Color Fastness: Garment-dyed colors go through the fibers so it doesn’t fade from UV or washing like regular caps. Pigment-dyed colors, however, sit on the surface. So they are a little susceptible to crocking where the color may transfer through friction. The blank pigment-dyed caps you will find in CapBargain’s selection are specifically engineered to reduce crocking - something OTTO CAP specializes in.
With proper care, garment-dyed hats maintain appearance longer. Pigment-dyed hats may experience faster color loss relatively. But many customers view this “continued aging” as a feature, and even asked us if we have dyed hats that lose their color organically.
How to Care for Garment-Dyed Hats and Pigment-Dyed Hats?
- Garment-dyed: Wash in cold water, turn inside-out, air dry, wash with similar colors.
- Pigment-dyed: Wash separately for first 2-3 washes, use cold water, turn inside-out, air dry. Slight continued fading might occur which is normal and desirable.
Best Use Cases
Garment-Dyed Caps: Promotional campaigns, retail, customers wanting durability
Pigment-Dyed Caps: Casual brands that want vintage aesthetics, retail, and customers seeking a “broken-in” look
Tips to Choose the Right Dyed Cap in CapBargain
- Choose garment-dyed caps if you want the hat to match exact brand colors
- Choose pigment-dyed caps if you want each hat to have its own unique character
- Garment-dyed caps are more preferable as promotional tools between the two
- Garment-dyed caps suit professional service businesses better
- Lifestyle brands and streetwear companies mostly go for pigment-dyed caps
- If large designs are planned for the front, go for mid-profile, pro-style or high-profile caps
- Take into account customization compatibility, branding goals, if any, and the target market
Both methods work well with embroidery, CapBargain's most sought-after decoration technique. Garment-dyed fabrics provide stable surfaces for embroidery, while pigment-dyed hats offer structured foundations that support detailed stitching. We have more tips for you to get your logo perfectly embroidered on caps. Still, we recommend taking many factors into account before getting your choice of blank caps designed. For screen printing and heat transfers, garment-dyed generally provides more predictable results.
Budget and Material Considerations
Garment-dyed hats typically cost slightly more due to additional labor. Pigment dyeing is a simpler application. So, per-unit costs will be generally lower unless the cap style is part of a premium product line. We recommend checking fabric composition on product pages first, which can also help choose the right customization method.
CapBargain offers maximum value on bulk purchases of our blank hats, on top of our already low wholesale prices on top-quality caps from OTTO CAP.
Choosing Between Pigment-Dyed & Garment-Dyed Caps
Both garment-dyed and pigment-dyed hats deliver the soft, vintage aesthetic driving dad hats sales in the United States. To choose between the two, consider your brand identity, target audience, customization plans, and budget. To make your custom dad hat ideas easier, we offer professional-grade decoration services at the best overall costs, along with fast shipping across the Continental United States.
Ready to start? Explore CapBargain's collection of wholesale blank dad hats from OTTO CAP. Every style is available at wholesale prices with no minimum order requirements. Test samples before committing to bulk orders, customize with CapBargain's free design creator, and take advantage of bulk discounts. Check out the most trending hat styles in the United States now and popular decoration methods that enhance these hats in more ways than one.
Have more questions or need support with embroidery digitization? Our friendly customer support team is always ready to help you find the perfect style to elevate your brand.