618 Print Lab

Profitable shirt pricing starts with knowing the real cost of producing each piece. Blank cost alone is not enough. Transfers, labor, spoilage, packaging, payment fees and overhead all take part of the sale.

Calculate the direct cost

Add the blank garment, printed transfer, packaging and any job-specific supplies. If a shirt costs $3.50, the transfer costs $2.00 and packaging costs $0.50, the direct material cost is $6.00 before labor or overhead.

Pay for production time

Count the time used for communication, artwork setup, sorting sizes, pressing, quality checks, folding and packing. Divide the labor cost for the job by the number of sellable shirts. A small order often requires more labor per piece than a larger repeat order.

Allow for mistakes

Misprints, damaged blanks and size replacements happen. Build a small spoilage allowance into pricing instead of letting one mistake erase the profit from the order. Complex placements and customer-supplied garments deserve more protection because replacement risk is higher.

Include overhead and selling costs

Rent, utilities, equipment, software, advertising and maintenance must be paid by the business. Online sales can also include card-processing fees, marketplace charges and shipping materials. Estimate a reasonable overhead amount per order or per item and review it as volume changes.

Use a margin, not a guess

Cost and profit margin are different from markup. A simple pricing formula is:

Selling price = total cost ÷ (1 − target margin)

If total cost is $10 and the target gross margin is 40%, the calculation is $10 ÷ 0.60, or $16.67. Round deliberately and confirm the market supports the price.

Create clear pricing tiers

• Retail: one-off pieces and highly personalized work.
• Small bulk: enough quantity to reduce setup time per shirt.
• Large bulk: efficient repeat production with fewer changes.
• Rush: extra charge for interrupting the normal schedule.

Discount quantity, not quality. A bulk discount should come from actual efficiency: one design, predictable sizes and fewer customer changes.

Charge separately for extras

Additional print locations, oversized artwork, individual names, sleeve prints, specialty garments, difficult artwork and rush service add real cost. List them clearly so customers understand what they are buying.

Review the numbers monthly

Blank costs, shipping and supplies change. Compare quoted margin with actual profit and adjust. The goal is not to be the cheapest printer; it is to deliver dependable work at a price that keeps the business healthy.