Little Falls, NJ - Novenber 1, 2011

One of the toughest parts about adding new decorating technologies into a custom t-shirt shop is figuring out how to price what it yields. Each technology has its own specific variables, so it's not as easy as sweeping a new product into an existing model.

Pricing digital tee shirt printing is no exception. Digital custom t-shirt printing has its own set of parameters to account for when determining profitable pricing. It is a completely different animal from custom screen printing or custom embroidery.

While there are obviously some similarities for existing shops that have calculated fixed costs to come up with a general profit margin, there are two areas where digital cannot be compared to any other apparel process. First is that ink costs are significantly higher than screen printing. And
second, while many decorators are accustomed to pricing by the number of colors, digital is priced by the square inch. This method has become the industry standard for pricing digital.

Labor is also unique in its application to digital. It's often less in terms of manpower; however, it is longer hours per individual to achieve the same numbers. In screen printing, for example, an automatic press run might involve three people (a loader, un-loader and someone at the end
of the dryer).

On the other hand, digital setups with a cabinet (drawer style) or a return-feed dryer only require one operator. That employee is going to work longer hours to get that same job done, but the direct labor cost is going to be less.

Another area that varies quite dramatically in terms of labor is in screen prep and setup. There are no costs for any of the labor associated with screen making and cleaning. READ FULL STORY

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