Price custom apparel jobs from full unit cost (C), then set selling price with Price = C ÷ (1 - M) using your target gross margin (M).

Core formula

Selling price per unit = C / (1 - M)

Where:

• C = total cost per decorated unit (blanks + decoration materials + direct labor + allocated overhead + spoilage reserve + setup amortized by quantity + packaging/payment fees as applicable)
• M = target gross margin as a decimal (e.g. 0.40 for 40%)

Worked mini-example (illustrative only): If C = $8.00 and you want a 40% gross margin, price = 8 ÷ (1 - 0.40) = $13.33 per unit.

Part of the DAX Learning Hub: practical guides for apparel decorating. For method breakpoints on small runs, see Screen Printing vs DTF Pricing for Small Runs. For fee architecture, see How to Price Setup Fees, Rush Orders, and Minimums.

Published by DAX (Decorated Apparel Expo) · Last updated: September 2026

Also see How to Get and Run Corporate and Team Apparel Orders and Licensing and Trademark Basics for Printed Apparel (Not Legal Advice).

Also see Contract Screen Printing and Embroidery: How It Works.

Find more business and pricing guides in the DAX Learning Hub. Related guides: First Hire SOPs: From Solo Shop to One Employee and What to Ask a Shop Management Software Provider.

In this guide, profit starts as gross profit on the job: selling price minus the full costs you can attribute to that job. Net profit only appears after you also cover unallocated overhead, owner pay, debt service, taxes, and growth reserves. A job that "feels cheap to print" can still lose money if setup, spoilage, and overhead are ignored.

Use the same cost-first logic for screen printing, DTF, and embroidery. Methods differ in where cost concentrates (screens/setup vs. film area vs. stitch/machine time), not in whether you need a complete C before you quote.

Cost checklist

Build every quote from full unit cost. Work through each component before you lock a price:

Markup vs. Margin for Custom Apparel Pricing

Do not mix these two:

Margin = profit ÷ selling price. Markup = profit ÷ cost. Quoting "50% markup" is not the same as a 50% margin.

How to Price Custom Apparel by Order Quantity

Use quantity bands as structure only, not as a published rate card:

Many shops discuss ~30% margin targets on wholesale/B2B and ~40-50% on retail as starting conversations, not universal rules. Your required margin per unit should come from monthly overhead + owner pay + profit goal ÷ realistic productive capacity.

How to Calculate Custom Apparel Cost Per Unit

Landed blank cost

Start with what you pay, not what a catalog shows:

Blank cost = unit invoice + freight share + duties/fees share - credits

Track by SKU (style, color, size curve). Dark vs. light, performance fabrics, and structured caps change decoration time even when blank price is similar.

Decoration materials

Estimate materials actually consumed on this job, not last month's supply invoice alone:

• Screen: ink by coverage/impression, emulsion/chemistry share, film/output, screen wear share, cleanup chemicals share.
• DTF: film area used (not "one design"), ink/powder share, failed weeding/test pulls, press consumables if significant.
• Embroidery: thread by stitch estimate, stabilizer/backing by garment type, bobbin, needle wear share.

If you cannot measure precisely yet, use a materials % of blank or per-impression / per-sq-in / per-1k stitches provisional rate, and replace it with measured data as soon as you can.

Direct labor (burdened)

Labor $ = hours on job × burdened hourly rate

Include art cleanup, separations/digitizing coordination, screen burn or transfer layout, machine setup, production, QC, bagging, and reclaim/cleanup. Owner time counts. Burden wages for payroll taxes and benefits so "$20/hour on the floor" is not treated as $20 true cost.

Allocate overhead

Pick one consistent method and stick to it:

1. Per productive machine/press hour: OH rate = monthly fixed OH ÷ realistic productive hours
2. Per unit capacity: OH per unit = monthly fixed OH ÷ realistic monthly decorated units

Example shape (illustrative): $12,000 monthly overhead ÷ 120 productive press hours ≈ $100/hour absorbed. A job using 0.75 hour absorbs ~$75 overhead before blanks and materials.

Do not assume every calendar hour is productive. Utilization often sits well below 100%; underestimating downtime is a common path to underpricing.

Spoilage and remakes

Add a spoilage reserve into C, then track actuals:

Spoilage $ per unit ≈ (blank + decoration materials) × spoilage rate

Planning bands often cited in decorator operations talk: roughly 1-3% as a target; months trending above ~5% usually need process review (not just higher prices).

Amortize setup

Setup per unit = setup $ (art, screens, digitizing, first articles) ÷ quantity

Either show setup as a separate line (clearer for clients) or bake it into unit price (simpler invoice). Math must still recover setup.

Illustrative setup shapes (verify locally): screen work often carries meaningful per-color/per-design prep; embroidery often carries digitizing and first-hoop cost; DTF often has lower traditional "screen" setup but still has art, layout, and test-press cost.

Choose margin, compute price

1. Sum all components → C.
2. Choose M from your required margin floor (capacity math) plus job risk (rush, specialty ink, hard substrates, tight deadlines).
3. Price = C ÷ (1 - M).
4. Sanity-check against market and against profit per productive hour, not revenue vanity.

Required margin floor (shop health check):

Margin $ needed per unit = (monthly OH + owner pay + profit goal) ÷ realistic monthly units

Every decorated unit, screen, DTF, or embroidery, should contribute at least that floor on average, or capacity math fails.

How to Price Screen Printing, DTF, and Embroidery

How to Price Screen Printing

• Cost often front-loaded in setup per color and reclaim; unit cost falls hard with quantity and color count discipline.
• Price for true colors, underbase needs, specialty effects, and dryer/energy time, not "one print fee" for every job.
• Small multi-color runs can consume more skilled hours than the invoice suggests; protect setup recovery.

How to Price DTF Printing

• Cost often tracks print area and sheet efficiency, then press time. A left-chest and a full-front are not the same job.
• Gang-sheet waste quietly destroys margin; price from usable transfers, not hopeful nesting.
• Materials can look cheap per design while labor/press handling and remakes still matter. Put both in C.

How to Price Embroidery

• Cost often tracks stitch count, hoop changes, and garment handling more than "logo vs. not."
• Digitizing is real work (in-house or outsourced); recover it in setup.
• Caps, thick outerwear, and 3D/puff change time and spoilage risk; do not use flat tee assumptions.

Across all three: choose the method that fits the job's durability, hand-feel, color needs, and quantity, then price that method's actual cost stack. Do not crown a "best" process in the quote; crown a complete cost model.

Custom Apparel Pricing Example: 48 T-Shirts

Assume 48 tees, one decoration location (illustrative numbers only):

Change method inputs (screen colors, DTF sq in, embroidery stitches) inside the same worksheet. Do not change the worksheet structure.

Common Custom Apparel Pricing Mistakes

1. Confusing markup with margin. "Double cost" is 50% margin; "50% markup" is only ~33% margin.
2. Forgetting setup amortization. Especially lethal on short runs and multi-color screen or multi-location embroidery.
3. Using unloaded labor. Ignoring payroll burden and owner hours understates C.
4. Skipping overhead absorption. Pricing "ink + blank + a little" while rent and software still accrue.
5. Copying a competitor's menu. Their capacity, wage market, and blank program are not yours.
6. Flat fees that ignore size/complexity. Same price for pocket hit and jumbo back; same stitch rate for 3k and 15k without time truth.
7. Volume discounts without measured savings. Discounting 20% because "that's what we always do" when setup barely changed.
8. Ignoring spoilage and remakes. Especially on dark garments, performance fabrics, structured hats, and rush jobs.
9. Optimizing revenue instead of profit per hour. Busy shops can still be broke.
10. Never revisiting the matrix. Blank, film, thread, and wage costs move; stale matrices silently erase margin.

Frequently Asked Questions About Custom Apparel Pricing (FAQ)

What margin should an apparel decorating shop target?

There is no universal number. Many operators discuss roughly ~30% on wholesale-style work and ~40-50% on retail as conversation starters. Build your own floor from overhead + owner pay + profit goal divided by realistic capacity, then adjust for risk and market.

Should setup fees be a separate line item on custom apparel quotes?

Either approach works if math recovers cost. Separate lines educate customers on why short runs cost more. Bundled unit prices look simpler but hide risk if you forget to amortize.

How do I price screen printing vs DTF for the same apparel order?

Run the same cost worksheet two ways with method-true inputs (screen colors and setup vs DTF area and sheet yield). Present options by quantity, color needs, hand, and turnaround, not by crowning a vendor. For a deeper breakdown of setup and screen-burn costs vs transfers on small runs, that deserves its own guide.

What spoilage percentage should a print shop build into apparel pricing?

Many shops plan around roughly 1-3% and investigate process when actuals trend higher (often a concern zone around ~5%+). Use your shop's history by method and garment type when you have it.

How should I price rush custom t-shirt orders?

Price rush jobs from full unit cost first, then add a rush adder only when capacity or process risk is real. Rush often means overtime labor, interrupted setups, higher spoilage, and freight you absorb. If a rush order bumps other work, include that opportunity cost in the quote or decline the job.

Figures and ranges in this guide are illustrative and go stale; verify blank, supply, and throughput numbers against your supplier invoices, machine specs, and shop time studies before you publish prices.

Pricing gets easier when you can see how blanks, consumables, equipment capacity, and shop workflows fit together, side by side, method by method. At DAX (Decorated Apparel Expo), compare equipment, blanks, consumables, and production workflows across screen, DTF, embroidery, and related decoration paths. Use what you learn to tighten your cost model and margin floor, not to crown a single vendor. Browse more guides in the DAX Learning Hub, and check 2027 cities and dates on the DAX show schedule.