# How much should a screen printer expect to make?



## ironhead (Dec 28, 2005)

Since every city may be a little different we'll just say on the average, or in upstate NY to be more precise. 
What would be a fair hourly wage for someone to start working at a shop who could start a job from exposing film to finished print with only basic 1-2 color press experience.

thanks


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

Minimum wage.


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## tdigital (Sep 14, 2008)

One hundred million dollars!


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## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

enough to pay all the bills and maybe enough for some food.


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## jppurdon (Jul 4, 2007)

Start your own company and work for free!!


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## frankiko (Jun 13, 2008)

more money for the boss....minimum wage for you


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## ambitious (Oct 29, 2007)

ironhead said:


> Since every city may be a little different we'll just say on the average, or in upstate NY to be more precise.
> What would be a fair hourly wage for someone to start working at a shop who could start a job from exposing film to finished print with only basic 1-2 color press experience.
> 
> thanks


I don't think you'll get much either, maybe if you did the graphics and seps, you can make more.

Have you ever thought of just starting your own biz?


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## ironhead (Dec 28, 2005)

Actually, I have my own part time screen printing business. (just my business partner and I)Although it has grown some in the past two years since when we first started from scratch. It just hasn't grown enough to generate a full time paycheck.
I'm doing other work also besides screen printing but am thinking of a career change that would give me a steady 40 hours.
Probably not good ethics to run my own screen print company while working at someone elses shop anyways. Also if the money isn't that good like some of you suggest than I'd probably pass.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

ironhead said:


> Actually, I have my own part time screen printing business. (just my business partner and I)Although it has grown some in the past two years since when we first started from scratch. It just hasn't grown enough to generate a full time paycheck.
> I'm doing other work also besides screen printing but am thinking of a career change that would give me a steady 40 hours.
> Probably not good ethics to run my own screen print company while working at someone elses shop anyways. Also if the money isn't that good like some of you suggest than I'd probably pass.


I understood your original question to mean how much should you pay someone you were going to hire to do these job duties.

If you are running your own business then you should already have a good idea how much you can make, no?

All you do is determine how much more your business will grow if you were at it full time instead of part time. The potential is certainly there. Owners of these businesses are making between $0 and hundred of thousands of dollars.


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

If you only have 1-2 color printing experience, they will most likely place you in a dirty part of the shop such as screen reclaiming. Maybe then you can work your way up.


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

TshirtGuru said:


> If you only have 1-2 color printing experience, they will most likely place you in a dirty part of the shop such as screen reclaiming. Maybe then you can work your way up.


I have 15 employees.
Shirt stackers make minimum wage.
Screen reclaimers start at $7.50.
Printers start at $7.50 and top out at $10.00.
My all around guy makes $12.75.
My artist makes $16.00.
The screen reclaimer will top out at $11.00 to $12.00 if they stay long enough. This is the most critical job in production. If I don't have good screens I don't have squat. I am still growing and I will pay someone what ever they are worth. I have to look at it and think how hard is it to replace them if they were to leave? Do I have to baby sit them? Pay is relative to what they are worth and how much you would have to do if you did not have them. Any one can stack shirts, I can train any one to load and print shirts but someone to reclaim screens that will stay at that job is sometimes rare. The last thing is the job market where your at. If it is hard to find a job the less you will have to pay. Good employees are very difficult to find. Trust me I fired 5 in the last year.


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## swilbert (Aug 4, 2007)

We pay our screenprinter $14.00 per hour plus Health Insurance. We are a small shop that has two manual Hix printers. We also embroider and cad-cut along with laser engraving. Our screenprinter does the prep and reclaiming along with an assistant whose pay is $7.50 per hour; the assistant screener has pay incentives based on job performance and longevity that will lead to a higher hourly wage. We try to pay our employees well enough to keep them with our company for an extended period- swilbert


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## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

mikelmorgan said:


> I have 15 employees.
> Shirt stackers make minimum wage.
> Screen reclaimers start at $7.50.
> Printers start at $7.50 and top out at $10.00.
> ...


haha when i first stated i worked for mini wage and i did everything. every morning i would come in reclaim the screen after emulsioning them burined then i printed, stacked and boxed the screens, cleaned, and some times did some art.


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

mikelmorgan said:


> I have 15 employees.
> Shirt stackers make minimum wage.


What is the minimum wage in your state?


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

My wife does the payroll but I think it is now $6.55


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## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

wow that pretty low here in calif its $8.00 but im sure its cheaper to live there


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## ImprintSC (Dec 28, 2007)

Many times the best/better employees are found from people you know or referred from those people. But, what else has anyone found that works well? 
_I recently looked at placing an ad for a graphics/mgr in my local newspaper, and it was close to $400 for a week including a listing for 30 days on Hotjobs.com. That's a lot of $_


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

ImprintSC said:


> Many times the best/better employees are found from people you know or referred from those people. But, what else has anyone found that works well?
> _I recently looked at placing an ad for a graphics/mgr in my local newspaper, and it was close to $400 for a week including a listing for 30 days on Hotjobs.com. That's a lot of $_


I pay my graphics guy $600 per week. He is worth every penny.


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## ImprintSC (Dec 28, 2007)

mikelmorgan said:


> I pay my graphics guy $600 per week. He is worth every penny.


 
Where do you usually find someone like this? I cannot seem to find someone and advertising for such is pretty expensive. It may be the best way; I'm just seeking alternatives for now.


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

He came to me. He left once and I had to advertise to find another. He came back before I found one. Graphic people are a dime a dozen. Good ones are a rare find and generally they know they are good and want the pay to go along with it. If you have to spend money to find a good one, spend it. They can be the difference in a good shop and a bad one. Not always but sometimes


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## firemansanford (Aug 30, 2009)

I am hiring a new screen printer. should I pay him by the print? He is new to screen printing so I think if I pay by the hour I will loose money. Any suggestions? is $.25 per color, per location enough?


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## pukingdeserthobo (Jun 3, 2008)

firemansanford said:


> I am hiring a new screen printer. should I pay him by the print? He is new to screen printing so I think if I pay by the hour I will loose money. Any suggestions? is $.25 per color, per location enough?


why nt hire some one that know what he is doing and not wast time and money


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

firemansanford said:


> I am hiring a new screen printer. should I pay him by the print? He is new to screen printing so I think if I pay by the hour I will loose money. Any suggestions? is $.25 per color, per location enough?


If he prints 100 single color prints an hour, you have to pay him $25 an hour.


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## splathead (Dec 4, 2005)

firemansanford said:


> I am hiring a new screen printer. should I pay him by the print? He is new to screen printing so I think if I pay by the hour I will loose money. Any suggestions? is $.25 per color, per location enough?


Check your state labor laws. I am not sure the minimum wage law allow payment by the piece schemes.


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

Garbage men=$80,000 New York City, $35,000 Pensicola FL. AVG. sal. for a ditch digger is $25,000.


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## Digitee (Jan 13, 2008)

a killzillion Dollars!


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## mikelmorgan (Nov 1, 2008)

DTFuqua said:


> I have a problem with your "signature. There are a lot of people that don't have the opportunity to be anything more than a ditch digger or picking up garbage for a living and in no way would be proud to have their job except for the fact that they are having a honest job. These and other jobs like french fry catcher are not inspiring and in no way would I or anyone with an ounce of ego/ambition would work their but off to be the best at their job. I live in Ms. and most blacks here without a lot of education are treated as lower class human beings and have no chance to be anything more even though they are good, honest, hard working people.)most of them) The thing is that not everyone has the same opportunities as you might have had so you signature is a slap in their face.


The point is that regardless of what you do be it a ditch digger or fry catcher or surgeon be the best "you" can be. Your statement "anything more than a ditch digger" sounds like you are degrading ditch diggers. I worked in a plant for 20 years doing a job that they could have trained a monkey to do. I did it to the best of my ability and I am not ashamed of it, I worked under a very harsh environment for not a whole lot of money. The opportunities that I have, I made for my self. I ran this business for five years working at the plant 9 to 10 hours a day and then 5 to 6 hours a night printing shirts and never paid my self from the profits from the screen printing. It all went back into the business. The saying about the ditch digger is a saying my father use to tell me when I was growing up. He did not care what I did, he wanted me to be the best I could be at it. Given what ever it was, all I could. I hire people to wash screens, flood bars and squeegees and stack shirts that come off the belt and if they are not giving me their best I will find someone that will. I am in no way slapping any one in the face and if someone is offended by the statement I'm truly sorry. By the way my father in-law started his career mixing mud for a brick mason and now runs a very large commercial construction business. So if you mix mud be the best mud mixer you can be, It may lead to bigger and better things. 

Your statement "I live in Ms. and most blacks here without a lot of education are treated as lower class human beings and have no chance to be anything more even though they are good, honest, hard working people.)most of them)". What does their color have to do with anything? And the comment most of them. Do you know what color I am? Do you know what color my children are? I do take offense to that statement as if someone's color determines their character.


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## TshirtGuru (Jul 9, 2008)

DTFuqua said:


> You obviously haven't spent much time in Mississippi. (wish I hadn't) Blacks here are (as a general attitude) treated as lower class people. It doesn't matter that we are in the 21 century here. This is still the "old south". I mentioned blacks here as an example of good, intelligent, hard working people that are held down and never given a chance unless they have extraordinary circumstances ( for them in this place) and generous help to raise themselves above what the general social levels they are forced to endure in Mississippi. That being said, there are a lot (few considering the population levels) of Blacks that have found the kind of support needed to raise their self esteem and ambitions to succeed in the world of adversity that is this backwards place. If my wifes family had not lived here and some of them promised to help with her care, I would have never moved here, it is such a backwards place. Another thing you don't seem to understand is that physologicaly, a great many people are not given a chance to become anything in this life. When you beaten almost every day and told to be silent " children are to be sean, not heard.". "Speak when spoken to" " I brought you into this world and I will take out of it too". Left abandoned and shifted from one place to the next untill your mother starts feeling guilty about abandoning you and then hates the effort and time it takes to provide and care for you when she does come and get you. A father that catres only about his partying with a wife that teaches you the meaning of "like a red headed step child" .
> Sure, your quote sounds good on the surface, but when you actualy know where the less fortunate people are living their life at, it doesn't sound so cute.
> Now if we can get beyond this editorial, I will say I'm sorry for being so sensative and posting at a bad time for me.


The color of your skin has nothing to do with his signature. His signature seems perfectly fine to me. You brought race into the subject which offends me. Race has nothing to do with being a ditch digger or a garbage man. His quote just states that be all you can be. 

And you brought this topic off subject.


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## MotoskinGraphix (Apr 28, 2006)

Mike also lives in Alabama and probably has a good understanding of the deep south. Whatever you do, do it to the best of your abilities I find a very proper and straight forward idea.

I imagine you probably do as well and just got jimmy legs at a bad time. No harm and no foul and lets get back on topic.


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

Sorry for inappropriate posts and unwise referances


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## BiGGraphics (May 29, 2008)

pukingdeserthobo said:


> wow that pretty low here in calif its $8.00 but im sure its cheaper to live there


Whoa....not that cheap here. Southwestern NY may not have clothing taxes, but WOW look out for all the other taxes. Coming from VA to NY to live is a drastic difference in overhead (our government).


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## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

The question is how much should a screen printer expect to make? Well how hard do you want to work is the reall question. Do you want to work 6 hrs a week or 10 hrs. a day. that is what is going to be the big question. 2 - 4 hrs day printing and how many hrs making contacts, calling and wrighting letters and checking your ads and going out to sell yourself. Notice I said sell yourself people have to get to know you be fore they will buy from you then they will realy look at what you are selling. Know your product and your prices if you don't know them most people will think you don't know what you are doing and will pass you over for someone else. So to answer this question what you make depends on how much work you put in to what you are doing.


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## DTFuqua (Jun 26, 2008)

They should make enough to live decently and be able to afford insurance if it isn't provided with the job. If they aren't productive enough and a good conversation can't get decent results, they should be informed why and let go. If you want cheep labor, you should find someone wanting to learn and not some slacker just wanting a paycheck. Its hard to find the right people in thess days but it can be done.


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## williekid (Apr 22, 2009)

Take the job, tough out the pay at about at least about ten bucks if that can help you get by in NY a hour and learn all u can learn gain experience then spread ur wings and fly. Its alot harder than most ppl think to get in with a shop. Also try and keep that you own your own equipment and run or use to rin business for yourself away from employers as hy will feel some insecurities of you being a threat to their company. Also if your good at something and you know it never do it for free nor for less. Charge what you know your worth is. As for the rest of the lames with the jokes. If you cannot be productive to the forum and give positive feedback you should just say nothing at all. Some actually do appreciate help and the feedback given by others. Hope this helped!


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## imprints1 (Sep 23, 2012)

We would hire a screen printer starting at about $9 per hour here in Texas. Depending on their skill level and work ethic they could expect to be raised to $10 per hour within a month or two. After that probably a yearly raise of 75¢ to $1 per year. Obviously if they work for you for a long time 5+ years you would want to cut back on the raises and establish a regular hourly wage that wouldn't cost too much. This example would be for someone that really is a HARD worker and really has put all their efforts into providing your shop with the best possible work they can produce at ALL times. An inexperienced screenprinter would probably start at minimum wage and as they learn to print well then compensate their wages. It would be tough to only have a inexperienced screenprinter printing for you because the quality of work would more than likely be poor unless your doing really simple single color prints, or maybe easy colors for them to print starting out maybe dark inks on light color shirts. Everyone's gotta start somewhere but it might be hard to find someone who is inexperienced and does quality work


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