Last updated: August 2026. By Ben B., founder of Embroidery Inc, Woodland CA. I own one of the companies compared here. Every Arklavo statement below is quoted or paraphrased from their own public website as of August 2026, and I have kept this strictly to facts you can check yourself.
Arklavo is one of the newer names in custom apparel. Their site says the company was founded in 2023, and their pitch overlaps with ours almost word for word: no minimum orders, a proof before anything is made, fast shipping. If the pitches sound identical, the practical differences live in three places: what kind of proof you get, what you can verify about each company, and what happens after your first order.
The short version
- Arklavo's offer, per their site: no minimum order, no setup fees, a free digital proof before production, and shipping from the USA in about two days. They sell embroidery, screen printing, and digital printing across a broad apparel catalog.
- Our offer: no minimum order, and a $30 digitizing service that includes your logo sewn on a real test hat, with photos to you in 24 to 48 hours. You approve the actual stitched result or request changes before production. Orders ship 3 to 5 business days after approval. Every piece is embroidered in-house at our shop in Woodland, California. The $30 is waived at 12 or more items and on every reorder.
Side by side
| Embroidery Inc | Arklavo (their stated claims) | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum order | 1 piece | No minimum |
| Proof before production | Logo embroidered on a real test hat, photographed, approve or revise in 24 to 48 hours | Free digital proof (a rendering, approved before printing) |
| Setup / digitizing | $30 including the sewn proof; free at 12+ items and on all reorders | No setup fees |
| Turnaround | Proof in 24 to 48 hours, ships 3 to 5 business days after approval | States shipping from the USA in about two days |
| Production | Embroidered in-house, Woodland, California, by the people whose names are on this site | Site states US-based operations, Wilmington, Delaware |
| Company age | Embroidering since before it was interesting; same shop, same owner | Founded 2023 per their site |
| Independent review footprint | 4.7+ verified customer rating on Reviews.io, reviews collected by a third-party platform | 4 reviews on Trustpilot as of August 31, 2026; their website displays a much larger review count collected on-site |
The proof difference, because it decides most orders
Both companies promise you see your logo before production. The word proof is doing very different work in each sentence. A digital proof is a graphic: your logo rendered onto a product photo. It confirms placement and spelling. It cannot show you how polyester thread catches light, whether quarter-inch lettering closes up, or how a curved hat front distorts a design, because none of that has happened yet. Our proof is the thing itself: we digitize your art, run it on a real test hat, and photograph actual stitches. If something is off, we fix the file and sew it again before your order runs. The full breakdown is in digital mockup vs real sewn proof.
That is also the honest explanation of the fee difference. Free digital proofs cost a shop nothing to generate. A sewn proof costs machine time and a hat. We charge $30 for it once, then never again for that logo: waived at 12 pieces, waived on every reorder.
What we cannot compare
Stitch quality, customer service, and how either company handles a problem order are things you can only judge from verifiable customer reviews and your own experience. On that front we will simply point to where each company's reviews live: ours are collected by Reviews.io, an independent platform, and Arklavo's public Trustpilot page held 4 reviews as of this writing. Check both and weigh them however you see fit.
The bottom line
If a free digital preview and their stated two-day shipping fit your job, Arklavo's offer is easy to try. If you want to approve real embroidery on a real hat before production, from a shop where you can see exactly who is doing the stitching, that is what we do all day. One hat is enough to find out. No minimum applies both ways.
FAQ
Is Arklavo legit?
They are a US-registered company founded in 2023 per their own site, with an active storefront and published policies. This comparison sticks to their public claims; verify anything that matters to you directly on their site.
What is the main difference between Embroidery Inc and Arklavo?
The proof. Arklavo offers a free digital rendering before production. We embroider your logo on a real test hat and send photos within 24 to 48 hours, then produce after you approve the actual stitching.
Who is cheaper?
Their site advertises no setup fees. Our digitizing is $30 with the sewn proof included, free at 12 or more items and on every reorder, and most of our hats run $18 to $24 with embroidery included. For a 12 piece team order the fee difference is zero.
Who is faster?
Arklavo states shipping in about two days. Our sewn proof takes 24 to 48 hours and production ships 3 to 5 business days after your approval. If those two days matter more than approving real stitches first, that is a fair reason to pick them.
Ben B., founder of Embroidery Inc, Woodland CA