T-Shirt Printing Cost Calculator
Calculate custom apparel screen printing and DTG costs across blank garment wholesale prices, color screens, print labor, polybagging, and retail margins.
Screen Printing & Apparel Blanks
Apparel Printing & Screen Run Formula
Total Cost = (Qty × Blank Cost) + (Total Color Screens × Screen Fee) + (Qty × Total Hits × Print Labor) + Packaging & Shipping- Wholesale Blanks: Base t-shirt price from distributors (e.g. Gildan 5000 ~$2.20, Bella+Canvas 3001 ~$4.25, Comfort Colors ~$7.50).
- Screen Setup Fees: Burning photosensitive emulsion mesh screens per ink color ($20–$30 per screen).
- Print Labor Per Hit: Press pass per location (front/back/sleeve) and ink color.
- Retail Pricing: Suggested retail benchmark at 50% gross margin (Cost Per Shirt / 0.5).
Step-by-Step Worked Example
Calculation Steps:
- Blanks Total = 100 × $4.25 = $425.00.
- Screen Setup = 3 screens × $25.00 = $75.00.
- Print Run Labor = 100 × (3 hits × $1.10) = $330.00.
- Packaging & Freight = $40.00 (polybags) + $35.00 (ship) = $75.00.
- Total Job Cost = $425 + $75 + $330 + $75 = $905.00 ($9.05 per shirt).
- Suggested Retail (50% margin) = $9.05 / 0.5 = $18.10 / shirt.
How to Use This Calculator
- 1Enter total shirt order quantity.
- 2Select printing method: Traditional Screen Printing vs Direct-to-Garment (DTG).
- 3Enter the number of ink colors on the front and back of the garment.
- 4Input blank wholesale tee cost, screen fees, print labor, and packaging fees.
Assumptions & Limitations
- Screen printing is most cost-effective for orders over 24 to 50 shirts with few ink colors.
- DTG (Direct-to-Garment) eliminates screen setup fees and is ideal for one-off full-color photographic prints.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between screen printing and DTG?
Screen printing uses physical mesh screens and plastisol/water-based inks pushed through stencils; it is durable, vibrant, and extremely cheap in bulk (50+ shirts). DTG functions like an inkjet printer spraying ink directly into fabric, ideal for complex multi-color designs on small orders.
Why does more colors increase screen printing costs?
Each ink color requires burning a separate physical mesh screen, washing it out with chemicals, mounting it on the press carousel, and manually aligning (registering) it to fraction-of-a-millimeter precision before printing.
What blank t-shirt is most popular for merchandise brands?
Bella+Canvas 3001 (100% combed ring-spun cotton) and Next Level 3600 are the industry standards for retail fashion and band merch. Gildan 5000 is standard for budget giveaways, while Comfort Colors 1717 is the leading vintage heavyweight garment-dyed tee.
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