# Pricing heat transfer and vinyl



## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

Hi everyone
I hope this is cool to post here. I have been reading everything I can on here and came up with a formula to price my shirts at. I will be doing plastisol transfers vice screen printing and then cutting my own vinyl and heat pressing them.

Just not sure if the prices are going to work here or not.
My vinyl prices for one full side
1 color 11.88
2 color 16.56 and so on to 7 color
and adding a chest logo is 1.00 and 1.25 respectively up to 4.37 on the same shirt

just a chest logo on a shirt is done with same method and using a 4X4 square plus shirt...etc
1 color 8.64
2 color 10.08
3 color 11.52
etc

And for the plastisol transfers i did same size transfer and just took known prices, factored in the shirt cost profit and all and come up with these numbers... all one full side design
1 color <12 $ 25.95 
<24 $ 18.90
<50 $14.24
<75 $11.55

Of course this gives me plenty of room for discounts/sales. But 
I am wondering once I get my site up and running if these numbers will scare people away without a discount or what really to do. I am writing out my BP and trying to be realistic as I can without actually going through it. My focus is going to be on larger orders- races, businesses and such. I did up to 7 colors to 1000 shirts (plastisol) and then my vinyl shirts will be same price from like 1 to 20 and then my goal is to price it so that anything over 30-40 shirts the prices are cheaper for them to do my plastisol transfers.. if that makes sense.
This way if they want an upgraded shirt I can just add the price difference per shirt and give an on spot quote. I am just hoping they are close to realistic

I just figured I would run it by yall and get any feedback. Good or bad.. what ya think???


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## SonicEagle (Jun 22, 2013)

Pricing is entirely dependent upon location and market you are competing in. It is impossible for me or anyone to tell you how that pricing looks unless they are in your area. 

How well do you know your competition? What are their prices, price breaks, bulk prices, etc. What is their overhead expenses, large building, small building, in their garage? These things are what you must know in order to set your pricing model.


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## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

Thanks Phillip, I guess I need to do more homework! I did some research but not sure how to go about getting as much pricing info as I can without coming off wrong, as I wont be actually buying. And most do not have pricing online that i found. 

Go Bucks! I recently moved from Columbus down here to Virginia Beach


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## SonicEagle (Jun 22, 2013)

Just go shopping at local print apparel shops and check prices. Call around for some price quotes, use an alias. It's fairly easy to get the info.


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

$11.55 for a one color print. 75 and up?? Am I reading that right 
?


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## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

11.55 for above 50 shirts and less than 75
10.65 for above 75 and less than 100
10.20 100 - 200
9.90 200 - 300
9.60 300-500

these seem high to you? I did the formula i came up with across the board. I did search online national places and I am much higher than them but that is why I am asking here. 

do people start a bigger price break after a certain number of shirts? and at what point? Im not asking anyone to do it for me just trying to get as much info as I can. What makes me sound silly today will help me be great in the future

Ill be calling around here locally using the alias!


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

It all depends on your area. In my area it's high but not sure where you are at. 
If you feel that is what you need to charge then stick with it them adjust your price accordingly. When I started I always felt like my prices were to high then I ended up working for free when it was all said and done. Now I give them my price and if they don't like it oh I don't do transfers so I'm not aware if the cost for them. 

Good luck


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Those price seem very high to me....
Here is a sample of some of my prices for 1 colour 1 location transfers
colour - 60 for 335.00 120 for 550.00....
white 60 for 299.00 120 for 478....


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

Are you trying to sell retail or wholesale.


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## jen2swt (Apr 19, 2013)

royster13 said:


> Those price seem very high to me....
> Here is a sample of some of my prices for 1 colour 1 location transfers
> colour - 60 for 335.00 120 for 550.00....
> white 60 for 299.00 120 for 478....


Don't mean to cut in, but that is cheap for 60 white. That would cost me alone to make them. Unless I'm doing something wrong..lol

Does your area have alot of competition for bids? Just curious.


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## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

these would be retail prices.

I used the 2x cost for wholesale
and 2 times wholesale for retail method. but my prices shown are cost X3 which is worrying me as they seem high to me, but they are what they are. I do not do screen printing myself so I have to rely on plastisol transfers. I am guessing that is where my cost is ballooning or if I should tailor the pricing more at a % off on more shirts ordered
but the transfers themselves were priced at the 6,12,24,50,75 mark so i figured that would work for me as the gradient. 
I am trying to sell to businesses schools and the like.


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## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

jen2swt said:


> Don't mean to cut in, but that is cheap for 60 white. That would cost me alone to make them. Unless I'm doing something wrong..lol
> 
> Does your area have alot of competition for bids? Just curious.


I was thinking the same thing.. Now I am really worried LOL


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

jen2swt said:


> Don't mean to cut in, but that is cheap for 60 white. That would cost me alone to make them. Unless I'm doing something wrong..lol
> 
> Does your area have a lot of competition for bids? Just curious.


I pay under 1.50 for a white blank and less than 50.00 for 60 transfers.....So my costs are less 150.00 for 60 shirts....

I offer 1 colour shirts with transfers as a "promotional shirt"....Hence the budget price.....


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## jen2swt (Apr 19, 2013)

royster13 said:


> I pay under 1.50 for a white blank and less than 50.00 for 60 transfers.....So my costs are less 150.00 for 60 shirts....
> 
> I offer 1 colour shirts with transfers as a "promotional shirt"....Hence the budget price.....


Gotcha. Thanks. Makes sense now. 

Marc - I do plastisols as well. I don't have screen print equipment so I rely soly on plastisol most of the time. I use them mainly for retail items. I give my customers the option to use those or inkjet transfers for their orders.


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## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

jen2swt said:


> Marc - I do plastisols as well. I don't have screen print equipment so I rely soly on plastisol most of the time. I use them mainly for retail items. I give my customers the option to use those or inkjet transfers for their orders.


assuming you have a seperate pricing for the inkjet transfers?, which to me would be way less expensive than plastisol. One thing I am worried about with the inkjet... as I am doing that too, is the quality. Mine have came out nice but I have read the longevity is not there. Do you ever have people come back and comment good or bad on the inkjet transfers? 
I'll pick your brain for all I can!


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## jen2swt (Apr 19, 2013)

Marc132 said:


> assuming you have a seperate pricing for the inkjet transfers?, which to me would be way less expensive than plastisol. One thing I am worried about with the inkjet... as I am doing that too, is the quality. Mine have came out nice but I have read the longevity is not there. Do you ever have people come back and comment good or bad on the inkjet transfers?
> I'll pick your brain for all I can!


I have not done any yet and yes it scares me too how long they are to last. I honestly just setup my printer this past weekend and ordered sheets yesterday. So I have not had the chance to do an order yet. I only did some samples. 

Most of the feedback when we announced we would be doing shirts, was “I want this, I want that” (1-2 shirts on colored shirts)…My target audience is also colored shirts. So the opaque inkjets scare me. I’ve read good things about the JPSS and whites, but again, how long is long? It’s a risk and I’m not sure I want to risk it. Once I do get a bid, I will give them the options on what they want and what I offer. Let them know up front that the inkjets are far less likely to last than the plastisol transfers. But my problem is, how do you explain that to a customer at the same time trying to sound professional. 

If I were the customer and someone told me, well ma’am, we can offer you inkjet prints….I would think..pfft. Then on the other hand if they were to say, well we can offer screen print transfers, but they are more pricey and last longer…I would think, welllllll I would like those but it’s not in my budget. Then I lose a customer.

I struggle with decisions…haha

Sorry...I ramble..


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## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

jen2swt said:


> I have not done any yet and yes it scares me too how long they are to last. I honestly just setup my printer this past weekend and ordered sheets yesterday. So I have not had the chance to do an order yet. I only did some samples.
> 
> Most of the feedback when we announced we would be doing shirts, was “I want this, I want that” (1-2 shirts on colored shirts)…My target audience is also colored shirts. So the opaque inkjets scare me. I’ve read good things about the JPSS and whites, but again, how long is long? It’s a risk and I’m not sure I want to risk it. Once I do get a bid, I will give them the options on what they want and what I offer. Let them know up front that the inkjets are far less likely to last than the plastisol transfers. But my problem is, how do you explain that to a customer at the same time trying to sound professional.
> 
> ...


No worries i think we are in the same boat per say. I have not done any colored shirts yet but i did some on white. came out nice but not as vibrant as my vinyl stuff of course. I am scared to do the opaque without the vinyl cutter cutting it out for me. They say the opaque transfer will leave a "white 'ish" color wherever it is not cut off. And I am not gonna sell a shirt that looks like arse! I am sure more experienced peeps can give more accurate feedback as well. I put one on a white shirt without cutting it out just to see what happened and sure enough you could see it on white as well.. not as obvious to see but definitely could feel it. I am ordering my cutter today or tomorrow... hard to pull the trigger on that one for me but I know if handled right it will pay for itself very soon. 
I have a friend out of state that has been cutting my vinyl for me but its just hard to add 3-4 days to every order just to get the materials and then another 3-4 days before it gets to customer.

I have an idea about promoting both style of shirts, inkjet and plastisol buy using different keywords... wholesale, digital promotional, pigment ink and using the plastisol as a premium ink type deal... if that makes any sense. if customer wants quality, they will pay for it but if they just want a quick advertisement cheaply than the pigment ink is their best option. I will word it somewhat like that I think. I am going to set up pricing for vinyl, plastisol and for the inkjet i just came up with 2 prices.. one for dark shirts and one for light shirts. gonna see how that plays out. 

any other ideas floating around... and I ramble too!


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## royster13 (Aug 14, 2007)

Marc132 said:


> I have a friend out of state that has been cutting my vinyl for me but its just hard to add 3-4 days to every order just to get the materials and then another 3-4 days before it gets to customer.


Buy a Cameo Silhouette cutter....Cheap and does the trick for shirts....

That said, I do not do ink jet transfers.....For me I have never found the quality I want and/or there is simply not enough money in doing 1 offs.....

With my cutter I charge 35.00 for 1 "custom" shirt and 99.00 for 6 and 175.00 for 12 of the same design....At 12+ I typically use transfers unless time is of the essence.....


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## jen2swt (Apr 19, 2013)

Marc132 said:


> No worries i think we are in the same boat per say. I have not done any colored shirts yet but i did some on white. came out nice but not as vibrant as my vinyl stuff of course. I am scared to do the opaque without the vinyl cutter cutting it out for me. They say the opaque transfer will leave a "white 'ish" color wherever it is not cut off. And I am not gonna sell a shirt that looks like arse! I am sure more experienced peeps can give more accurate feedback as well. I put one on a white shirt without cutting it out just to see what happened and sure enough you could see it on white as well.. not as obvious to see but definitely could feel it. I am ordering my cutter today or tomorrow... hard to pull the trigger on that one for me but I know if handled right it will pay for itself very soon.
> I have a friend out of state that has been cutting my vinyl for me but its just hard to add 3-4 days to every order just to get the materials and then another 3-4 days before it gets to customer.
> 
> I have an idea about promoting both style of shirts, inkjet and plastisol buy using different keywords... wholesale, digital promotional, pigment ink and using the plastisol as a premium ink type deal... if that makes any sense. if customer wants quality, they will pay for it but if they just want a quick advertisement cheaply than the pigment ink is their best option. I will word it somewhat like that I think. I am going to set up pricing for vinyl, plastisol and for the inkjet i just came up with 2 prices.. one for dark shirts and one for light shirts. gonna see how that plays out.
> ...


Exactly! I too am getting my cutter this weekend to do vinyl. I would offer vinyl over pigment ink firstly I think. Our concern is vinyl has gotten such a bad rap in the past that we have been scared with the feel of some vinyl (thick, sticky and shiney). Can't wait to get it and fool around with it. 

Sounds like we both are doing the same thing..lol. I'm more geared towards retail than custom but eventually would like to focus on custom work. Like I stated, we deal with alot of colored shirts and I think vinyl will be the second on the list....

Hit me up if you want to chat or anything.


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## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

royster13 said:


> Buy a Cameo Silhouette cutter....Cheap and does the trick for shirts....
> 
> That said, I do not do ink jet transfers.....For me I have never found the quality I want and/or there is simply not enough money in doing 1 offs.....
> 
> With my cutter I charge 35.00 for 1 "custom" shirt and 99.00 for 6 and 175.00 for 12 of the same design....At 12+ I typically use transfers unless time is of the essence.....


I think i have settled on the gcc expert 24LX

on vinyl shirts i was pricing them at 11.88 1 color 16.56 2 color and so on. I am not 100% sure I am understanding it all correctly but it seems u get your plastisol transfers for well cheaper than i do and vinyl is more expensive for you or you are adding more into than I am. I may well be undercutting myself, I don't know. Possibly adding more $ for time spent weeding. my price is based on materials and then making a retail price.


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

It best to be able to print your own designs or if you buy them. that can keep the price low.

The shirt im posting is almost 2 years old done with inkjet transfer from walmart when I ordered my epson 7510 which is now a sublimation printer.

the thing with these are you need to print the whole page or cut off what part is showing. even on the white its still a different white from the white shirt. 

and going on dark color shirts you also need to trim away the extra. 

Most buy a vinyl cutter with contour cut to cut out the design. I dont really like inkjet cause it has a cardboard feel.

I make my own plastisol transfer and make my stencil out of decal vinyl from oracal 651.

Also shirts I pay $1.00 to $1.50.

I also do HTV and cut my designs. I started with a laserpoint 1 till I got my 24"Graphtec and all I use is 60* blades.


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## djque (Feb 5, 2013)

Marc132 said:


> I think i have settled on the gcc expert 24LX
> 
> on vinyl shirts i was pricing them at 11.88 1 color 16.56 2 color and so on. I am not 100% sure I am understanding it all correctly but it seems u get your plastisol transfers for well cheaper than i do and vinyl is more expensive for you or you are adding more into than I am. I may well be undercutting myself, I don't know. Possibly adding more $ for time spent weeding. my price is based on materials and then making a retail price.


 this price will change with the different material you use like flock,glitter flake,fashion flex, glitter etc. where these are $15 to $18 a yard


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## Marc132 (Jun 26, 2014)

djque said:


> this price will change with the different material you use like flock,glitter flake,fashion flex, glitter etc. where these are $15 to $18 a yard


Right I have it set up at the standard vinyl i use... that way i can just add the difference in price per sq inch to the total and im done.


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## diveuk (Aug 14, 2013)

Marc132 said:


> No worries i think we are in the same boat per say. I have not done any colored shirts yet but i did some on white. came out nice but not as vibrant as my vinyl stuff of course. I am scared to do the opaque without the vinyl cutter cutting it out for me. They say the opaque transfer will leave a "white 'ish" color wherever it is not cut off. And I am not gonna sell a shirt that looks like arse! I am sure more experienced peeps can give more accurate feedback as well. I put one on a white shirt without cutting it out just to see what happened and sure enough you could see it on white as well.. not as obvious to see but definitely could feel it. I am ordering my cutter today or tomorrow... hard to pull the trigger on that one for me but I know if handled right it will pay for itself very soon.
> I have a friend out of state that has been cutting my vinyl for me but its just hard to add 3-4 days to every order just to get the materials and then another 3-4 days before it gets to customer.
> 
> I have an idea about promoting both style of shirts, inkjet and plastisol buy using different keywords... wholesale, digital promotional, pigment ink and using the plastisol as a premium ink type deal... if that makes any sense. if customer wants quality, they will pay for it but if they just want a quick advertisement cheaply than the pigment ink is their best option. I will word it somewhat like that I think. I am going to set up pricing for vinyl, plastisol and for the inkjet i just came up with 2 prices.. one for dark shirts and one for light shirts. gonna see how that plays out.
> ...


Have you looked into laser printing on self weeding paper, (which is what we use), more expensive per print than inkjet but much better results(i.m.h.o.).


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