Screen printing price calculator

How this screen printing pricing calculator works

The calculator builds a price per piece from three parts, the same way many print shops build a quote. It works in any currency: enter figures in pounds or dollars and the answer comes back in the same.

• Garment: the garment cost each, plus your markup percentage.
• Print: print locations x colours per location x your print charge per colour, per piece.
• Setup: print locations x colours per location x your setup charge per screen, divided by the number of pieces.

The price per piece is garment plus print plus setup. The job total is that price times the number of pieces, with setup included. Every colour in every location needs its own screen, which is why both the print charge and the setup grow with locations and colours.

Worked example: the default job

The calculator opens with 48 shirts, a garment cost of 3.50, one print location with two colours, a print charge of 0.45 per colour per piece, a setup of 20 per screen and a 60% markup.

Worked example: front and back

Now print the same two colours on the front and the back of 144 shirts. That is two locations with two colours each, so four screens.

Why small runs cost more per piece

Setup is a fixed cost for the job, so the fewer pieces you print, the more of it each piece carries. With the default settings, 12 shirts carry 3.33 of setup each and come to about 9.83 a piece. At 48 shirts the setup adds 0.83, and at 144 it adds 0.28. This often explains a quote best.

Choosing your own figures

• Garment cost: your trade price for the exact style, colour and size.
• Markup: cover ordering, receiving, counting, spoiled pieces and the money tied up until you are paid.
• Print charge per colour: work it out from your press time, ink, labour and overheads per piece. It should be lower for larger runs.
• Setup per screen: cover film, emulsion, exposure, washout, registration on press and reclaiming the screen afterwards.

What this calculator leaves out

It is a quick estimate, not a full quote. Real jobs often add charges the form does not ask for. Add these to your own price where they apply:

• A flash or underbase on dark garments, which adds a screen and press time.
• Colour changes when one design prints on several garment colours.
• Different colour counts on different locations. The calculator uses the same number of colours for every location, so price uneven jobs location by location.
• Specialty inks, art time, folding and bagging, delivery and rush fees.
• Quantity breaks. Here the print charge is one figure; in practice it falls as quantity rises, so use the figure for the right quantity band.
• VAT or sales tax, which you add on top where it applies.

Tips for consistent quotes

• Turn your figures into a price matrix of quantity breaks against colours, so every quote follows the same rules.
• Set a minimum order quantity and point smaller orders to DTF or another transfer method.
• Waive or reduce setup on a reorder when you kept the screens, and say so on the quote.
• Review your figures when blank or ink costs change.

From calculator to real quotes

In Dyenzo, the same parts become your price matrices by quantity and colours, with setup per screen, flash and colour change fees added automatically. Each quote shows how its price was built, and customers accept it online.