Screen-printing pricing calculator.

How to price a screen-printing job

Calculate the complete cost of the order, divide it by the number of finished shirts, then set a selling price using your target margin. This calculator keeps the blank purchase quantity separate from the number of shirts you promise to deliver.

1. Enter the finished quantity and the blank garment cost in one currency.
2. Add ink and other consumables per finished shirt. Include material used in test prints in the setup cost.
3. Enter total production hours and your labor cost per hour. If two people work for two hours each, that is four labor hours.
4. Enter setup and allocated overhead once for the entire job, including all print locations.
5. Add your extra-blank allowance, choose a target margin, and check the total quote before printing the job sheet.

Worked example: pricing 100 printed shirts

This is an illustrative calculation, not a market-rate recommendation. At 100 finished shirts and a 5% extra-stock allowance, the order needs 105 blanks.

A 40% target margin gives $557.50 ÷ 0.60 = $929.166… before rounding. The calculator rounds the unit price up to $9.30 per shirt, giving a $930.00 quote and $372.50 estimated job profit. Displayed cost per shirt is $5.58; pricing uses the unrounded cost.

What belongs in setup, labor, and overhead?

Use setup for job-specific preparation, such as artwork preparation, screen preparation, and test-print materials. Use labor for the time you have not already included in setup. Use overhead for a consistent allocation of shop expenses. For example, if an hourly shop rate already includes overhead, do not add the same expenses again.

For a front-and-back job, combine the preparation and production time for both locations. The calculator does not automatically infer screen count, color count, press speed, or an underbase. Add those costs to the inputs yourself. Use the ink consumption calculator to check materials and the quote checklist to check scope.

Pricing questions

Does selecting a different currency convert my costs?

No. The currency selector changes the display only. Enter every cost in the selected currency; there is no exchange-rate conversion.

Is estimated job profit the same as business net profit?

No. It is quote revenue minus the costs entered for this job. Omitted expenses, taxes, financing costs, or other business-level costs can reduce the amount you ultimately keep.

Can I use a customer’s target price instead?

Use the screen-printing break-even calculator to explore a fixed selling price. For the relationship between cost, revenue, markup, and margin, read margin versus markup for print quotes.