How To Price Your Screenprinting Work

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Catspit Productions
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How To Price Your Screenprinting Work

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I actually did not have a methodology to my pricing. I normally checked around to see what the going rate was for different types of printing. You can do this by calling screenprinting shops and asking for a pricing chart or getting a quotation as a customer for a specific job. Then you can compare their pricing with the cost of your garments and the labor involved.

In the end you need to be happy with what it turns out to be by the hour. Since printing is like printing money then we can say time is money and the more we can print the more we can earn. So how long it takes you to print the job is an important factor. Supplies like inks and emulsion should be easy to not factor in if you're pricing is in the right place. Meaning if you're concerned you're using too much ink or emulsion then either you're doing something wrong in the printing process OR you're simply not charging enough for your work.



I often get asked how many shirts will a gallon of ink print? But that answer varies wildly on exactly what you are printing and how you print it. But the bottom line is you should get hundreds of prints out of a quart and thousands out of a gallon and the ink should make a lot of profit for you. If not then like I said, something's wrong.

I sell a gallon of black ink for $40 plus shipping. If you can’t make your money back from that on printing tee shirts then something is so terribly wrong. A gallon of black ink should print thousands of prints and that equals thousands of dollars for ROI or “return on investment.” So when people start asking me how many screens will a gallon of emulsion coat or how many prints will a quart of ink do I get concerned that they are wasting consumables through poor management and poor printing.

Using the right tools for the job also help reduce consumables usage. Rigid screens with tight mesh print much less ink. Setting off contact and using an appropriate squeegee durometer with a nice sharp straight blade will all help print a better print easier with less consumable all around.

It's a good idea to see what the going rate for printing is in your area since pricing can vary greatly depending on where you are as well. Here is the pricing I was using in Phoenix about 2011. Remember, there are over 200 screen printiners in the Phoenix area so this pricing was competitive.

Based on: White Gildan® Heavyweight Cotton T-shirt - 5000 Pre-shrunk 100% cotton 5.3 ounce t-shirt. Double-needle stitched neck, sleeve and bottom hems. Quarter-turned. Shoulder-to-shoulder taping. Seamless collar. Ash contains 1% polyester, Sport Grey contains 10% polyester.
Pricing.jpg
Pricing includes full front or crest print & back print on 1 color jobs only. 2 & 3 color
pricing includes a 1 color crest print & full 2 or 3 color back print. White shirts only with
any color inks, (pricing is for the same color inks on entire run). For long sleeve shirts
add $2.00 each piece. For black shirts add 50 cents each piece. Add $1.25 for xxl & xxxL,
add $1.50 for xxxxl if available.

Set Up or Screen and Art Fees:

Okay so you probably noticed I did not even mention this in the video but after thinking about it I thought I should add this note. This is another fee you will find out who is charging for when you call around to get quotes on print jobs. So you should get this information naturally through your research as each printer will tell you the set up fees along with the printing fees. However, it is common in highly competitive markets to see print shops giving away screen, art or any set up fees in order to bring the print work in. Therefore this is another fee you will need to determine if you can charge. I can say normally smaller volume print jobs are subject to set up fees whereas larger volume print runs may not charge set up fees. You can see from my pricing I did not have any set up fees in Phoenix.

But be careful. If you charge set up fees on a smaller job and don’t charge enough for the actual print work then you could find yourself in a situation with a repeat order where the price you gave for the printing less the setup fee is not very good for you. You have to remember a customer won’t want to pay set up fees every time you print their job so usually we keep screens on file for up to one year as long as the customer keeps ordering all year. If not, you can reuse the screen or screens and 1 year later charge for set up fees once again. Follow?

Here’s the link for the equational formula considering overhead factors. This is on the Catspit Productions Learn How To Screen Print Forum as well.

http://www.catspitproductionsllc.com/fo ... =47&t=2173

This is a price list from a screen print shop in New York State:
http://upstatemerch.com/apparel-printing/

This is a price list from a screen print shop in Massachusetts:
http://www.qrsts.com/index.php?page=screenprinting-2

This is a price list from a screen print shop in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida:
http://www.atlasembroidery.com/custom-screen-printing

This is a price list from a screen print shop in Los Angles, California:
http://www.jimmyjamtshirts.com/index1.p ... GwUE30lDTQ

This is a price list from a screen print shop in Grants Pass, Oregon:
http://odmanhouse.com/screenprinting.htm

Be sure to examine these price charts carefully. Some may include the garment while others do not so study them thoroughly before using them to format your pricing. As you can see pricing varies wildly depending on several factors first of which is physical location.

Screenprinting equipment and supplies, classes, training, shop rentals:

Catspit Productions, LLC
4219 South 37th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85040
480-899-9089

http://catspitscreenprintsupply.com/

Our hours are: M-F 9AM to 5PM

#screenprinting #silkscreening #silkscreen #screen #print #printing #equipment #supply #supplies #store #Phoenix #Arizona
Jonathan Monaco
Catspit Productions, LLC
Learn how to screen print tee shirts!

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