High Vis Shirts

High Visibility Safety Shirts

Be noticeable at the workplace

Wearing your usual safety clothes may not be enough for certain times of the workday or even portions of a job site. Work shirts imposing high visibility are an essential piece of personal protective gear for people employed in places subjected to low-lighting conditions. OSHA requires workers operating in construction, maintenance, utility, any public-access roadways, transportation, and responding to emergencies or incidents to wear hi-vis safety apparel. Its luminescent colors, some with reflective stripes, enable the workers to be easily seen on-site and prevent possible accidents or injuries from occurring. This brightly colored clothing is also used by cyclists, motorbike riders, and hunters to increase their visibility on the road or in the wilderness. At Discount Safety Gear, you can find a variety of high-visibility tees sweatshirts, vests, jackets, and polo shirts, Some of these are even available in wholesale orders.

What is considered a high-vis shirt?

A high-visibility shirt is a bright fluorescent-colored apparel that is easily notable when subjected to any background. ANSI-compliant hi-vis workwear must have no less than 40% reflectiveness on both the front and back of the apparel when laid out on a flat surface. Aside from neon-shaded fabric, high-visibility garments are usually designed with retroreflective stripes that can throw back up to 82% of the source light to make the wearer distinguishable, especially on job sites related to roadworks, transportation that includes railways and airport terminals, and heavy machinery operations. These safety work shirts must meet ANSI Class Standards to guarantee their high performance in keeping the worker safe from hazards and risks within working conditions that lack sufficient lighting.

What colors are considered high visibility? Are blue hi-vis vests legal?

Few colors are considered by ANSI and OSHA standards for high-visibility workwear. The ANSI and ISEA safety requirements regard shades such as fluoresces yellow-green, orange-red, red, and other close luminescent versions of these colors as applicable for high-visibility clothing. These colors are chosen due to the eyes' sensitivity and quick response in seeing them, day or night. Adding retroreflective tapes in the design is also required for jobs operating during nighttime or in low-lighted workplaces. These bright features make the wearer stand out from all the other colors in a working environment, particularly those not properly lit enough to recognize a person is at work right away. Some hi-vis safety workwear may show black bottom tapes as accents to the design but should not overpower the reflective function of the apparel

There is no definite source accounting for the legality of using blue hi-vis clothing at the workplace. But one thing is for sure. Blue is not certified by ANSI nor OSHA as high-visibility safety apparel. This color is less effective in emitting light. Some industries allow their workers to wear non-ANSI-rated hi-vis shirts in blue as long as these people are not assigned to do OSHA-specified jobs that require ANSI-certified high-visibility garments. Why risk it? Always choose to wear safety clothes that comply with the protection standards set in place. Save yourself from having doubts about the reliability of your protective gear.

The benefits of reflective safety shirts on the job site

ANSI-certified Class 2 and 3 hi-vis tees

High-visibility apparel are classified by ANSI in different standards but Classes 2 and 3 are exceptional to provide the safety requirement workers need for rugged workplaces. ANSI mandates Class 2 hi-vis clothing to have a minimum of 775 square inches of safety yellow or orange background fabric with a total of 201 square inches of retroreflective stripes across the garment. ANSI Class 2 shirts, vests, and jackets are recommended for workers exposed to road works or moving traffic, running at least 25mph but not faster than 50mph. This apparel is typically worn by toll booth operators, parking attendants working in high-volume car parks, airport workers, school pedestrian guards, survey crews, and even forestry laborers. Discount Safety Gear offers the Radians ST11W Class 2 Hi-Vis Women's T-Shirt and Dickies VS200 High-Vis ANSI Class 2 Short Sleeve Men's T-Shirt to protect you in such working conditions.

ANSI Class 3 hi-viz workwear requires the highest protective material to match the needs of an extremely dangerous work site. Class 3 hi-vis safety apparel, such as shirts and pants, are designed for the most unsafe environments where the visibility of a working individual is of the greatest importance. This workwear must be constructed with at least 1,240 square inches of safety yellow or orange field fabric and a minimum of 310 square inches of reflective striping. Workers assigned in places with over 50mph of moving traffic are required to wear ANSI Class 3-rated high-visibility clothing. Men and women operating in road construction and roadside assistance are best to have this maximum protection on the field as well. Truck operators, incident site investigators, and utility workers must have this type of rated PPE, too, for their safety in low-lighted job sites. Look no further because Discount Safety Gear has Utility Pro Type R Class 3 High Visibility Bird's Eye Pocket Men's T-Shirt and OccuNomix LUX-TSSP3B Type R Class 3 High Vis Short Sleeve T-Shirt to keep you safe and comfortable at work.

Moisture-wicking, breathable polyester, and cotton-poly blended fabric

High-visibility clothing's commitment to always comply with the ANSI visibility standards depends on the right fabric used to make these hi-vis safety shirts. Polyester fabric is capable of sustaining high-visibility dyes despite frequent use and washes. This cloth is very tensile and versatile, with moisture-wicking properties that provide breathability and comfort. Polyester has good color retention, ensuring lasting vibrant ANSI-compliant safety colors. Its moisture-wicking feature promotes comfort as the fabric sponges up the sweat and enables faster evaporation to leave the wearer dry.

Meanwhile, cotton is not advisable for high-visibility clothing since this material has a poor dye-absorption ability and can not hold the luminescent colors to meet the ANSI visibility standards. You can still enjoy hi-vis cotton shirts' softness and non-irritating texture as manufacturers blend this material with polyester to guarantee a lasting presentation of fluorescent safety-compliant shades.

Long-, short-sleeve, and sleeveless high-vis shirts

Shirts come in different styles and shapes. But, the most common forms of workwear are those with sleeves and those without. High-visibility clothing has a wide variety of sleeve types to complement the weather conditions of the workplace. Long-sleeve hi-vis tees are typical PPE for most industrial and construction sites. The fluorescent-colored sleeves cover the entirety of the arms, protecting them from cuts, burns, heat exposure, and the sun's UV rays. Visibility is enhanced by retroreflective tapes on the sleeves, essential for road laborers and traffic enforcers to be easily recognizable at night or in areas without sufficient lighting.

Short-sleeved hi-vis shirts are less used by workers handling a construction or industrial work site. This shirt type is usually worn indoors alongside heat-producing machines. The short sleeves help minimize exhaustion and worn-out arms caused by working in a hot environment. Since the arms are not too exposed, the short sleeves contribute to better arm movements and flexibility. Welders wearing short-sleeved hi-vis tees generally use safety-enhancing arm pads to protect them from sparks or hot debris.

Sleeveless hi-vis shirts are mostly in vest form. High-visibility safety vests decrease the risk of workers from being a victim in an oncoming traffic accident. Warehousemen and construction laborers put them on so heavy-equipment operators can identify their presence easily. These safety vests are usually worn over other protective workwear to improve the workers' visibility within a working environment.

Flame-resistant (FR) safety feature

Work safely in scarcely-lit, high-risk job environments with fire hazards by wearing a flame-resistant hi-vis outfit. This safety feature curtails the dangers of acquiring critical injuries and even death while operating in some of the most insecure working environments. The protective compounds used to construct a flame-resistant fabric help to improve the workers' safety and productivity on the job site. Discount Safety Gear prioritizes your safety. Browse through our high-visibility apparel to get what you need at a reasonable price.

Custom-printed logo service for high-vis work clothing

Advertise your business by personalizing your workers' high-visibility shirts with your custom-printed company logos. Discount Safety Gear offers a low set-up fee for a 1- or 2-color logo, per location for at least 12 orders of your preferred hi-vis tops such as our Custom Rugged Blue Type R Class 2 High-Vis Short Sleeve T-Shirt, Custom OccuNomix LUX-LSET2B Type R Class 2 High-Vis Long Sleeve Shirt, and many more! Order 20 custom hi-vis shirts or more and get them WITHOUT any setup charge.

Artworks must be submitted in a camera-ready art file with .ai or .eps file extensions or vector .pdf. Your order will be subjected to an additional artwork charge if you fail to submit the file using any of the required vector formats. The extra fee is for redrawing your artwork and saving it as the art file we need to commence with the customization. Multiple artwork locations, such as the shirt's front, back, and/or sleeves for screen-printing, may also entail additional setup charges. Please call us at 1-877-411-0035 or e-mail customproducts@onlinestores.com to ask for a quotation regarding multiple artworks printed in different locations.