DSF

Right something I've never done before so need some help, hopefully I've posted it in the right place.
A local school clothing shop has come to me and asked me to vinyl print on school leaver Hoodies and p.e kits. They will supply all clothing I just need to print chest logos onto 60 odd tops for the first lot. but a price is required. this is where I need your help. How the hell do I price something like that. I've only ever printed onto tops I supply. but as its 1 of two registered local school suppliers this could lead to a lot of work.
Ill post up a couple of examples I need to quote for.

need to see the detail, and info on size of media used

Stuff like this

The first one looks like it is a badly cut out inkjet transfer. If you have a pigment ink printer you could make those cheaply and fast, or you could use something like subliflock from xpres. Just get a better contour line around the image. Probably cost you 20-30 pence per transfer. Screen print would be better, and cheaper if you can do it yourself. Vinyl would be a pain.

The other one is obviously vinyl. Simple to weed, due to it being block capitals. You would get more than 60 out of 1 metre ( per colour) so again about 20p per print. That has been printed onto AWD Just Cool t-shirts, so you would be best to use a blockout vinyl for the white and the red.

I would refuse to do the job if the school is supplying the garments, but that is just me. If I did do the job then I would be looking for £1.50 - £2 per print, based on the size and quantity, and the method used.

Something to consider, if quantities are good and the same design is being printed on all shirts in a batch, is Plastisol Transfers. Note that multicolour designs cost more though, depending on the number of screens the supplier needs to set up. All you need is a heat press and result are excellent, comparable to screen prints. Spare sheets can be printed at the same time and kept, to cope with any future return orders.

Excuse me for being blunt but I have never understood why you would ask how to price something on a forum...

Things to consider are a business in London is going to charge considerably more than a business in North Wales. There are business rates and the general cost of living that play a major factor in why.

But ignoring that, this is how you price something...

Work out the material cost including postage etc. Add running costs of the machine and factor in rent if you have a business unit. Once you have factored in all those costs you can divide it by the number of garments you need to produce (add an additional 10% for wastage).

You then need to add how much you would like to earn per hour. This is why I never understand the question. A London based business would need to earn in the region of £20.00 per hour to survive. Where I am it is A LOT less.

Once you have worked out your hourly rate and how many you can print per hour you will come up with the magic figure.

Please note, that there are sometimes you will get it wrong and experience and time will correct that, but to ask how much on here will not help you unless you are either being lazy or are trying to get as much as possible from your customer without creating a sound business structure.

As an example of how pointless it will be:

LOGOBEAR might say £5.00
WEBTREKKER might say £15.00
I might say £100.00

We may all charge that in our day to day business simply because of where we are based, competition and footfall.

Im going to put my 2cents worth in as well. I agree with Social, but when I calculate a cost I also add into the costs my overall outgoings too. For example; My rent, my heating, electric, insurance, maintenance, WAT of machines, my car, petrol, car costs etc. Then come my personal expences. My mortgage, insurance, social security, food, holidays and every other living costs.
Once you know all this then you can work out an hourly rate. And that is just for the overheads. Then you add the material costs.
20 pounds per hour just isnt enough. (sorry social) 60 to 80 is more like it no matter where you are. (Add a bit more if you are in London).

If you think Im wrong then take you car to a reputable garage and get a service. Look at their hourly rates, it wont be far off 60 pounds per hour.

No need to apologise Earl. They were arbitrary numbers for illustrative purposes anyway.


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My experience of many London based businesses ( and also other large cities such as Birmingham and Manchester) is that they end up being more competitive than more rural or suburban firms.They benefit from increased footfall but suffer from more competition.

In this instance Fletcher is essentially asking about contract printing - supplying to a uniform shop for a third party customer. There is little outlay aside from material and the chance of getting regular bread and butter work. Contract work has to priced competitively to get the job. By definition it is 'bonus' work that can generally be fitted around regular customers, and makes a financial contribution to the fixed costs of the business that are there if you take the job or not. ( my earlier comment regarding not doing the job if the customer supplied the shirts is out of the window -I was working under the assumption that it was the school providing the garments, not the shop.)

At £2 each for the two colour logo x 60 there is slightly more than £100 net contribution ( £120 less 2m vinyl and some electric) for about 2.5 hours work.

The transfer print will be even quicker to produce. Both jobs could be done by one person in a morning, giving £200 - £250 net contribution.

pw66;133022 wrote:The first one looks like it is a badly cut out inkjet transfer. If you have a pigment ink printer you could make those cheaply and fast, or you could use something like subliflock from xpres. Just get a better contour line around the image. Probably cost you 20-30 pence per transfer. Screen print would be better, and cheaper if you can do it yourself. Vinyl would be a pain.

pw66 the first one is just a picture cut out and placed ontop. Of what the customer wants. They just want the white bit in vinyl printed onto black tops.
Thanks for your advice.