USVI · Puerto Rico · Caribbean — Printed in Miami, Delivered to the Islands
Bulk Apparel for the USVI & Caribbean
ONYX INK prints bulk apparel in Miami and delivers it to the islands — weekly Friday sailings from South Florida put finished goods on the St. Thomas docks by Saturday. US-origin goods enter the U.S. Virgin Islands duty-free, Puerto Rico has no customs at all, and our proven production pace of 2,700+ pieces per day means island deadlines hold even when island capacity can't.
Why Island Buyers Print in Miami
The math is capacity. The entire U.S. Virgin Islands runs on a single automatic screen-printing press — so any large, multi-color, hard-deadline job outruns what the territory can produce in time. ONYX INK's two Miami facilities have proven surge capacity of 8,000+ pieces in 3 days (the FIFA World Cup 2026 Private Clubs run), and Miami's freight consolidators — Tropical, Crowley, Amerijet — load for the islands every week from minutes away from our Doral production floor. You get mainland capacity, island delivery, and one accountable partner in between.
And because the USVI and Puerto Rico ship at domestic USPS rates with no customs broker, ordering from Miami works like ordering from across town — just with a boat or a plane in the middle.
How Miami-to-Island Delivery Works
| Route | Method | Typical door-to-door |
|---|---|---|
| Miami → St. Thomas / St. Croix | Weekly ocean freight (Friday sailings) | 6–9 days |
| Miami → USVI / Puerto Rico | Air freight | Same day – next day |
| Miami → USVI / Puerto Rico | USPS Priority (domestic rates) | 3–7 days |
| Miami → wider Caribbean | Ocean or air, DAP terms | Quoted per island |
US-origin printed apparel enters the USVI duty-free with a small territorial excise (typically 0–4%). Puerto Rico is US customs territory — no duties, no broker, nothing. Foreign islands (Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman, and beyond) ship DAP: you act as importer of record and pay local duties; we handle everything to your port or door. Freight always appears as its own line on your quote — never hidden in the per-piece price.
Island Order Terms
Island logistics punish surprises, so our terms are published and built for how island commerce actually works:
- Minimum: 200 pieces per run — the same floor across screen printing, embroidery, and DTF.
- Payment: 50% deposit by wire (USD) to schedule production; balance clears before the vessel or aircraft departs.
- Proof approval replaces returns: you sign off on a digital proof before we print, and we send photo and video of your packed cartons before they ship. Goods can't economically round-trip an ocean — so approval happens up front, in detail.
- Hurricane season (June–November): hard-date orders are quoted with a 5–7 day buffer, an air-freight upgrade held as contingency, and cargo insurance on every ocean shipment.
- Blind shipping: available for island print shops and distributors — your labels, your packing slip, our name nowhere. See contract printing.
- One quote, one business day: line-itemized — garments, printing, finishing, freight — locked in writing.
Who We Serve Across the Islands
Cruise-Port & Souvenir Retail
The USVI is the Caribbean's fastest-growing cruise destination — roughly 3 million visitors a year and climbing. We keep Charlotte Amalie and Havensight shelves stocked with recurring reorders that ship on a schedule, not a scramble.
Resorts & Hospitality
Event merch, retail lines, F&B and activity-staff apparel — produced retail-quality in Miami and delivered to your receiving dock, with reorders held on file.
Festivals & Mas Camps
Troupe and band packages in the hundreds to thousands, against dates that don't move. Lock artwork 60–90 days out and the boat does the rest — with air as the safety net.
Island Print Shops & Distributors
Blind-ship overflow production for the trade: your client never knows we exist. Puerto Rico shops — we run your overflow too. Published trade terms on the contract page.
Schools, universities, and government buyers: ONYX INK is an eligible mainland vendor for USVI centralized purchasing (GVIBUY and DemandStar), and we already run year-round apparel programs for FIU Athletics — 5,000+ pieces per year with its own managed ordering portal. The same program model works for island schools and agencies.
The Festival Calendar Runs on Hard Deadlines
St. Thomas Carnival (April–May) and St. John Celebration (June–July) are domestic-shipping events — no customs, no duties, just a boat schedule to respect. Mas bands and troupes that lock artwork 60–90 days ahead get ocean rates; inside that window, air keeps the date. We also produce for Crop Over (Barbados, August), Sugar Mas (St. Kitts, December), and Junkanoo (Bahamas, December–January) on DAP terms. Festival production counter-cycles Miami's own season, which is why our presses have room when the islands need them most.
What Island Orders Cost
Island pricing is Miami pricing plus freight — nothing more mysterious than that. Our published Miami market pricing benchmarks apply to island orders piece-for-piece, and trade buyers get the same terms as our contract program. Freight is quoted as its own line based on carton count, method, and island — and the number we send is the number you pay, locked in writing within one business day.
Island Printing Questions, Answered
How long does shipping from Miami to St. Thomas take?
Ocean freight runs 6–9 days door-to-door, on weekly Friday sailings from South Florida that reach the St. Thomas docks by Saturday. Air freight lands same day or next day, and USPS Priority at domestic rates typically takes 3–7 days to the USVI and Puerto Rico.
Do I pay customs duties on apparel printed in Miami?
Not to the USVI or Puerto Rico. US-origin goods enter the U.S. Virgin Islands duty-free with a small territorial excise (typically 0–4%), and Puerto Rico is US customs territory — no duties, no broker. Foreign Caribbean islands ship DAP: you're the importer of record and pay local duties, and we handle the freight to your port or door.
What is the minimum for island orders?
200 pieces per run — the same floor across screen printing, embroidery, and DTF, whether we supply the garments or you do.
Do you ship beyond the USVI and Puerto Rico?
Yes — we deliver DAP throughout the Caribbean under our island order terms, including festival production for Barbados, St. Kitts, and the Bahamas. USVI and Puerto Rico get domestic-style shipping; everywhere else is quoted per island.
What happens during hurricane season?
From June through November, hard-date orders are quoted with a 5–7 day buffer, an air-freight upgrade held as contingency, and cargo insurance on every ocean shipment. Island deadlines are why the policy exists — we plan for weather so you don't have to.
Do you print for island print shops?
Yes — blind-ship overflow production is a core trade service: your labels, your packing slip, our name nowhere on the shipment. The USVI's largest jobs exceed on-island automatic press capacity, and that's exactly the overflow we're built for. Trade terms are on our contract printing page.
Get an Island Quote
Send your quantities, garment, artwork, island, and in-hands date — we'll come back with a locked line-item quote including freight, usually within one business day.
Request an Island Quote (305) 394-8500Or email sales@onyx-ink.com with subject line "Island Order"
