Wholesale cost for t-shirt?

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Tmoyer
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Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2014 8:03 am

Wholesale cost for t-shirt?

Post by Tmoyer »

First off this is a great, friendly and supportive forum. Really nice to see! I am looking at helping a friend start a t-shirt business that will focus on wholesale printing as well as a retail line. My question is wholesale related;

What would my price be per shirt to my accounts? Obviously I will need to take into account size of order (more shirts ordered is a better price), amount of colors, etc. I read the responses regarding my cost per shirt which was very helpful.

Also, how many shirts can a person print (one color for instance) on a 2-4 press? Would it be better to just spring for a 4-4?

That's it for now and thanks in advance,

Travis
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Catspit Productions
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:47 am
Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Re: Wholesale cost for t-shirt?

Post by Catspit Productions »

You’re welcome. Thanks for joining and I appreciate the sentiment. The forum is very simple but we all try to make sure it is a welcome place for everyone.

The pricing you give your customer will depend greatly on quantity, the design being printed and the garment chosen to print on. Some people break it down into cost per print. These are questions I may not be well suited to answer honestly since these calculations never bother me. Rather I look at the cost of the shirts versus the profit and break it down by hours into the job. If it’s too low per hour then I can adjust my pricing accordingly. In other words if I make $10 profit for a job that took me 4 hours to do then that is not cost effective for me is it?

When you first start out jobs will take much longer than they should and there is nothing wrong with that. So you may need to look at this differently to begin. If it still takes you the same time a year later then there may be something wrong ;)

The pricing you give your customer will depend greatly on quantity, the design being printed and the garment chosen to print on. Some people break it down into cost per print.

Check out this thread about the very topic:
http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/fo ... =47&t=2173

Here is my pricing based on a Gildan 5000 short sleeve white tee shirt:
http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/sc ... vices.html

As for the printing and how long it takes to print a job, that depends on many things. I think the 2 biggest factors will be the print job itself and the the printer. In my prime I could print about 125 white tees in an hour with a 1 color print. I think that was as fast as I could go manually and still produce an excellent product. These days I am easily distracted and I tend to take my time. Printing a 2 color with flash would probably reduce me to about 50 per hour. Maybe 75 if I stayed focused... LOL.

Believe it or not you will find some inks flash faster than others. Flashing is time consuming so we try to print “wet” when possible but this can be difficult to do manually depending on the desired print results. Artwork is critical when printing a multi-color design without a flash cure between colors.

I’m not sure if that helped out or not.
Jonathan Monaco
Catspit Productions, LLC
Learn how to screen print tee shirts!

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/CatspitProductions
Tmoyer
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2014 8:03 am

Re: Wholesale cost for t-shirt?

Post by Tmoyer »

Of course you helped Jonathan! I'm sure you've forgotten more than most people know!

Why would someone need a 4-4 over a 4-2 if there was one person printing? Does it make it easier to flash in between colors while working on another shirt and being efficient?

I wish you were closer so I could do a one on one class but I'm out in Ohio.

Thanks again in advance,

T

PS What is the tattoo on your left arm? Just curious.
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Catspit Productions
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Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:47 am
Location: Phoenix, Arizona

Re: Wholesale cost for t-shirt?

Post by Catspit Productions »

Thanks, I’m glad I could help out.

Yes, the more stations you have on a manual press, most often up to 6, the more cool down time you have for multi colored jobs with a flash. If you’re not flashing then loading the pallets and rotating is a personal preference but noir necessarily a must.

Check out these references for how and why to rotate a manual press with more than 2 stations.

http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/ma ... press.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ouCbQJRlMQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_CpAfNrFkk

Yeah I wish I was a little bigger company too so I could do more trade shows with classes and reach more people with my products. I really enjoy what I am doing now and I’d love to keep doing this indefinitely.

Please make sure to subscribe to the YT channel if you haven’t yet and if you need any equipment or supplies please consider doing business with Catspit.

http://www.youtube.com/user/CatspitProductions

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

With a little luck and support from people like you maybe we’ll get there one day ;)

PS: The tattoo art I have is 100% original art created by me. The right arm work is highly symbolic steeped with physics. The one on the left is a tribal design with Egyptian influences. I stuck an ancient Egyptian eye in the bottom of the design. I am fascinated and intrigued by ancient Egyptian art, culture and history. If I could be mummified like King Tut I would be.... LOL ;) I think there are a few videos I made with no shirt or with a tank top in which you can see them well. Remember it’s 100 degrees plus here in the summer so I am often barefoot and without a shirt.
Jonathan Monaco
Catspit Productions, LLC
Learn how to screen print tee shirts!

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/CatspitProductions
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