How PriceMyPrint calculates costs
Pricing a print job well is not complicated once every real cost is on the table. The hard part is remembering all of them. This is the equation behind every PriceMyPrint estimate.
The core equation
- Materials
- Active Labor
- Equipment
- Setup
- Allocated Shop Costs
- Waste
= Estimated Job Cost
What that means in plain English
- PriceMyPrint begins with estimates. Typical U.S. decorator costs and production assumptions get you a useful number immediately, without a discovery project.
- You can replace estimates with your actual shop costs. Anywhere you see a PriceMyPrint Estimate badge, your own number can take its place and the estimate gets sharper.
- Costs vary — a lot. Equipment, suppliers, labor rates, production methods, and workflow all move the number. Two shops printing the same shirt can have honestly different costs.
- We do not claim one universal cost fits every shop. There is no single correct cost per shirt in this industry, and any tool that says otherwise is guessing on your behalf.
- Results are estimates. They are a decision aid, not a guaranteed financial outcome.
Margin vs markup
Markup is what you add on top of your cost. Margin is the share of the selling price you keep. They are not the same number, and confusing them is one of the most common ways shops lose money without noticing.
If something costs you
$10.00
- A 50% markup
- $15.00
- A 50% gross margin
- $20.00
Half of your cost added on top.
Half of the selling price stays with you.
Five dollars per piece, on every piece. On 144 shirts that is the difference between a good week and a busy one that went nowhere.
Try the DTF pricing calculator to see the equation applied to a real job.
Need the operating-cost number behind that equation? Calculate your productive-hour overhead and break-even sales free, with no account required.