How to Price Screen Printing Jobs (Without Guessing)
How to price screen printing jobs without guessing: cost blanks, real press-time labor, screens, and spoilage, then set margin from a live per-job verdict.
Ask ten shops how they price a job and you will get ten versions of "blank cost times a number that feels right." It works until it does not, usually on small runs and high-color jobs where the guess quietly turns into a loss.
Pricing does not have to be a gut call. If you build the price up from real costs and let the software tell you the margin as you go, guessing stops being part of the job.
Build the price from real costs, not a multiplier
A defensible price starts with the four costs that actually exist: the blank, the labor, the screens, and the spoilage. Pull the garment cost from your catalog, cost labor at real press time, add screen cost by color count, and reserve for the misprints you know will happen. Only then do you layer margin on top.
- Blank cost from your garment catalog, live if suppliers are connected.
- Labor at real press time, not a flat per-piece handling number.
- Screen cost driven by the color count in your separation.
- Spoilage reserved up front so misprints do not erase margin.
The labor number most quotes get wrong
The most common pricing error is treating the press like it runs all day. It does not; it prints only about a quarter to a third of the clock once you count setup, registration, and reclaim. Cost labor at the raw hourly rate and you understate it roughly threefold. Divide real press time by utilization instead, and small runs finally price honestly.
- Presses print only about 24 to 33 percent of the working day.
- Raw hourly rate costing understates labor about three times over.
- Use press time divided by utilization for the true labor cost.
- This is why guessed prices work on big runs and fail on small ones.
Let the verdict set your margin
Once the cost is honest, margin is a decision, not a mystery. PrintShopCRM shows a live flag on each quote, Losing Money through Strong, so you can dial the price up or the quantity higher until you like the verdict. Because separation feeds the screen count directly, changing colors updates the price without a re-quote.
- Each quote carries a live flag from Losing Money to Strong.
- Adjust price or quantity and watch the verdict move in real time.
- Color count from the built-in separation flows into the price.
- You set margin deliberately instead of hoping the multiplier holds.
Common Questions
Is a simple blank-cost multiplier ever good enough?
It can work for large, low-color runs where labor is a small share of the job. It breaks down on small quantities and high color counts, where setup and screen costs dominate and the multiplier hides a loss.
How do I price small runs without scaring customers off?
Set a real minimum that covers setup, and be ready to steer very small orders toward DTF where setup is lower. Honest job costing shows you the floor so you can hold it without guessing.
How does color count affect the price?
More colors mean more screens, more setup, and more press time, all of which raise cost. With separation built into the software, the color count flows straight into the quote so the price reflects it automatically.