# online screen printing quote calculator to give customers quotes from your website?



## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

I'm trying to get an idea of how many screen printers would be interested in software that they could plugin to their website that would allow them to give customers quotes right from the website.

I know that when you have a website that accepts quotes via an email form, a lot of time can be spent going back and forth with the customer to narrow down the pricing. 

This thread last year seemed to confirm that customers want to see prices on a screen printing website, even if it's just to get an idea of what to expect on a job: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/general-t-shirt-selling-discussion/t106704.html

To be clear, this wouldn't be a fancy "online t-shirt designer" type script where a customer would design the t-shirt online.

I'm just talking about something that would make the process of giving an instant quote to a customer via your website much, much easier.

When I was doing screen printing quotes, I found that sometimes getting the job was as easy as just replying back to the customer with a quote in a reasonable time period (hours instead of days).

Let me know if this is something you could use on your website that markets your screen printing services. It would either be a script you install on your server or a hosted script (Software as a Service) that you linked to that matched your existing website brand.


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## lben (Jun 3, 2008)

I could use something like that but it would all depend on the price.


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## AtkinsonConsult (May 2, 2011)

Rodney:

There's a lot of value to something that would work as you describe, but a lot of printers I know would be very wary of the competition scoping out their price and undercutting them. If some sort of security or thought process could be built around solving that scenario, it would probably go a long way.

Good luck,

-M


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## Mabuzi (Jul 3, 2007)

I think its a great idea. 
At least you wont waste time quoting for customers who are only interested in cost base pricing rather than quality and relationships. Price gouging happens all the time and we are an expsensive printer so this does not concern me at all.

The only issues will be what customers see as one colour print is actually a few colours otherwise bring it on.


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## ScreenFoo (Aug 9, 2011)

The big problem I have run into trying to conceptualize something like this is the artwork-- if you don't actually look at it, you could be overbidding or underbidding greatly.

A 1 color text design is worlds apart from a B&W photo that needs two or three screens to keep tonal range intact.

And--as Mabuzi pointed out, you can't compensate for customer misunderstanding...


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

lben said:


> I could use something like that but it would all depend on the price.


I agree, the pricing would be an important aspect. It'd have to be something that allowed everyone to still profit


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> There's a lot of value to something that would work as you describe, but a lot of printers I know would be very wary of the competition scoping out their price and undercutting them.


@AtkinsonConsult that's something I thought about. It's actually one of the main reasons why I never put pricing on a screen printing website. I just had a quote form that would allow me to reply via email.

But over the years, from reading this forum and from my own experiences, I'm beginning to think it's less of a valid concern. 

I mean, sure, there will always be people that try to undercut, if your pricing is your pricing, then it shouldn't matter _too much_ what the other guy charges. If he wants to race to the bottom in pricing, you can let him win 

From reading through that thread about customers wanting to see pricing on a printer's website before working with them (and a few others), I get the feeling that the upside of a more transparent pricing model and easier access to pricing by customers will outweigh the downsides of the occasional lowballer. 

The other upside is even more important, which is less time spent by staff replying back and forth to quotes that could have been quickly auto-generated with a variety of combinations by the customer. Hopefully that would also lead to more informed customers.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Mabuzi said:


> At least you wont waste time quoting for customers who are only interested in cost base pricing rather than quality and relationships. Price gouging happens all the time and we are an expsensive printer so this does not concern me at all.


That's what I hope. If your price is pretty much set, then it makes it easier for the printer because if a customer feels it's too high, they can shop somewhere else, but if they can find out on their own (without having to talk to a "salesman"...part of the beauty of the internets ), then when they do contact you, they should be more ready to order because they've already seen the pricing.



Mabuzi said:


> The only issues will be what customers see as one colour print is actually a few colours otherwise bring it on.





ScreenFoo said:


> The big problem I have run into trying to conceptualize something like this is the artwork-- if you don't actually look at it, you could be overbidding or underbidding greatly.
> 
> A 1 color text design is worlds apart from a B&W photo that needs two or three screens to keep tonal range intact.


These are great points. I think customers are sometimes confused by what can be pulled off. Sometimes they over estimate the colors (I remember seeing quotes where the customer put down 100+ for the number of colors )

Hmm, how to handle those. Maybe a combination of some educational prompts at the "number of colors" stage that shows examples of 1 color prints, 4 color prints, process, etc.

I'm hoping that the majority of jobs would be easier to count. Company logos, text, etc. There may be still some cases where a email/phone conversation is necessary. I guess, realistically, the script wouldn't completely _eliminate_ the extra work...just reduce it greatly


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## gorilladiver (Oct 25, 2011)

I would be interested in something like that for my site. Personally I don't like dealing with companys that keep their prices hidden, and you have to wait hours or days for a salesperson to contact you. With custom printing I wouldn't expect anyone to give an exact quote without seeing the artwork, but at least general price range or starting point.


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

I use to have a pricing grid on my web site but took it off because customers did not know how to read it. Like they did not know that black was a color? Or one color on the front and the same color on the back cost more than just one color on the front. ( it's the same color on both sides why does that cost more?) It got way too complicated to try to explain on a web site so I dropped it. I'm would be interested in what some one can come up with.
I am about to finish up a pricing software to sell to the average screen printer. Low cost and easy to understand. It will produce work orders and schedule orders also. I have some ginny pigs trying it out now. So far so good.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

To give you a better idea, here's an example of the software I'm talking about: Category List


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Rodney said:


> To give you a better idea, here's an example of the software I'm talking about: Category List


I would definetely be interested in something like this...depending on price of course...


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## Spyder Graphix (Dec 20, 2008)

I am also interested in this...


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## Dan K (Nov 15, 2006)

Rodney,

I think you would find great interest in this! Much of what you said in the OP sounds very familiar!

I have no concerns with having prices on our website. There are undercutters everywhere out there, customers show and share your estimates to your competitors more often than you'd like to think, and anyone can pose as a regular customer and get pricing and estimates from just about any shop... To combat the undercutters you have to be ready to let bad business go, and you have to be confident in what you offer, confident that your quality, or service, outweigh a lowball price.

As someone else said previously, posting prices also weeds out customers you don't want to talk to and gets you customers who are already familiar with your pricing and not afraid of it - easier to convert those orders than the ones who are going to hardball you cause someone else offered them the same thing for 10 cents less.

And you're right Rodney, the time saved is immense! Imagine if you could get 1 out of 5 orders to convert without you even talking to the customer?! Sometimes I send 10 different estimates before an order converts, and that's totally OK, but if I could send 1 and have an order convert, that is 10 times better.

I completely understand the concern from the above paragraph too - what if a customer places an order, you never talk to them, and the art turns out to be not what you expected and would actually cost a lot more to run? Simple - disclaimer it. Set your terms and conditions, make them click a box that says the customer has read and agrees to the terms and conditions, have a specific statement that says something like: "Estimates are subject to change until final art is reviewed, if we review art once you have placed your order and find that the print is actually more colors, more complex, or anything that would make it more expensive to print then the cost may change."

Or better yet, you put in practice reviewing all art once a day or more. Make it mandatory for the customer to upload art to get an estimate or something, that way you have something to look at and if you see someone submitting an order for a 1 color print when actually that 1 color print is foil all over a shirt or something, then you can head the issue off at the pass, hit up the customer, put the brakes on, and get them an accurate estimate.


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## matsu (Jul 13, 2011)

This is exactly what i am looking for now. I saw a company with the quoting system that i wish for my site to have. But i don't know where they got it from, or who made it (Gildan Heavy Cotton T 5.3 oz - Fairfax Screen Printing)


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## piezo (Oct 13, 2010)

I've got a really simple price generator that I created for my business over a year ago, when I first opened.

After running this shop for a year and a half, I've got a great bit more insight as to what I need to be charging to make a profit. My prices now are actually a little cheaper than my website reflects, but I haven't made any changes to the price generator yet.

I probably should update it, but I definitely agree that I'd rather have someone go to my website and get scared off by a nickel or a quarter than waste my time telling me all about their job and then never following through with an order because they shopped a cheaper price from one of my competitors.

People, myself included, really like to get an idea of how much they're gonna spend before making actual contact with a shop.


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## personalazeit (Nov 5, 2009)

Rodney, yes, please! Price pending as everyone else mentioned. Thanks!


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## CharlesHanna (May 10, 2008)

matsu said:


> This is exactly what i am looking for now. I saw a company with the quoting system that i wish for my site to have. But i don't know where they got it from, or who made it (Gildan Heavy Cotton T 5.3 oz - Fairfax Screen Printing)



I'm not sure if you're still looking, but the quoting system on Fairfax's site is produced by a company called Digital Fruition - kind of pricey:

Apparel Decoration Quoting System - Digital Fruition


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## MAYBTMRW (Oct 13, 2008)

Did anything ever come of this? I have been searching for weeks on how to have clients generate a rough estimate on my website. The amount of hours spent manually back and fourthing over the price when you finally give it to them and they don't respond... is valuable time wasted to say the least. I'm trying to unchain myself from my computer and have as much of that end automated as possible.

I just signed up for the new quickbooks which has made a HUGE difference on invoicing and bookwork. Now I just need this estimate generator. Simple, almost like a spreadsheet.


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## Logowear (Mar 9, 2007)

Rodney
Is that software available?
and what is the price
thanks
MK


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## tkhender (Jul 14, 2009)

I am still looking for something exactly like this without spending 4K + $150/mo. Can anyone point me in the right direction?


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## ShirlandDesign (Nov 29, 2009)

Fast Accurate Bids + Open T shirts


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## Pegasus30 (Nov 18, 2010)

This would be a great asset. I would really love to find out the cost.


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## marzatplay (May 25, 2014)

Pegasus30 said:


> This would be a great asset. I would really love to find out the cost.


This never happened. It should have!


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## lvprinting (Sep 23, 2014)

Rodney said:


> I'm trying to get an idea of how many screen printers would be interested in software that they could plugin to their website that would allow them to give customers quotes right from the website.
> 
> I know that when you have a website that accepts quotes via an email form, a lot of time can be spent going back and forth with the customer to narrow down the pricing.
> 
> ...


I already do this using WordPress and some plugins/custom code. I created it as seen in my site below.

http://lehighvalleyprinting.com/shop

My site example is more complex because I also use WooCommerce, but it's not impossible and really easy without WooCommerce.

Sent from my SM-G900T using T-Shirt Forums


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## mfranklin (Jan 13, 2015)

I know this is an old thread, but I would LOVE to have a cost calculator on my site. Without all the apparel brands, sizes, and color options. Maybe item type and a few location options and colors per location, and quantity of items to be printed.

If you let it be known that it is just a tool, and is in no way binding to the company or client. It might help to help start the process. You would just have to have the disclaimer that these prices are for printing charges, and if they are interested in placing an order or a closer estimate have them submit their email address with the products they are interested in.

It would be awesome if anyone had one they wouldn't mind sharing!!


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## valleyboy_1 (Jan 23, 2010)

I found this: T-shirt screen printing Quote Generator

Not sure if they are still in business or not, but I did find this site because I'm looking for the same thing. What do you guys think?


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## Lunatic Taskbar (Aug 26, 2010)

Hi I know this is an old thread... But I found it while looking for the same thing. However what I have found is this. 

its simply html code its free and its works. You illness to tweak the code to work. But if nothing else its a starting point.





Calc








Number of Shirts

Number of Colors on Front

Number of Colors on Back


*Total:* *Per Shirt:*


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## Imperfect Societ (Aug 14, 2009)

Hey guys..did you ever get an answer to this question? I need a plugin or a widget I can easily embed on my website to provide quotes to customer.


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