# going rate for a black dtg t-shirt?



## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

hello. a local shop is charging me $10 to print a full color image on a black shirt using dtg machine...and i have to supply the shirt. is this too much or am i getting a fair price?


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## IYFGraphics (Sep 28, 2009)

chonkymonky said:


> hello. a local shop is charging me $10 to print a full color image on a black shirt using dtg machine...and i have to supply the shirt. is this too much or am i getting a fair price?


Doesn't sound that bad to me, we retail a shirt like that for $20-$30 depending on the artwork and quantity, are they printing both sides? if so I'd say they are making very little money on that job even though your supplying the shirt, and you are talking a one-off right not a quantity of 10 or 20 of the same design?


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## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

hey thanks for the reply. yeah i figured that was a fair price but since i have no knowledge of pricing for dtg i figured id check first. im having four printed and only on the front. i really need to get on the ball with the diy dtg machine ive been reading about in this forum. i do mainly screen and sublimation but sublimation wont print on black and i do not have the experience to pull off screen printing highly detailed and colorful images yet. thanks again for your reply.


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## IYFGraphics (Sep 28, 2009)

chonkymonky said:


> hey thanks for the reply. yeah i figured that was a fair price but since i have no knowledge of pricing for dtg i figured id check first. im having four printed and only on the front. i really need to get on the ball with the diy dtg machine ive been reading about in this forum. i do mainly screen and sublimation but sublimation wont print on black and i do not have the experience to pull off screen printing highly detailed and colorful images yet. thanks again for your reply.


No problem, if it helps you we have several customers that we do fulfillment printing for that sends will us print ready artwork we supply the shirt and wholesale the job for $9-$11 per shirt but this is as I said wholesale and we are printing 10-20 shirts at a time with the same design.

Hope this helps.


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## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

hey thanks for the heads up. im trying to get my own brand going. i can do all of my full color designs on light tees with the sublimation but have been limited to very simple designs on black. i certainly will keep you in mind when im ready to get my designs printed on black. thanks again.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

We would charge at least that amount. The white ink is expensive. A full sized solid print has a $5-$6 ink cost.


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## loloxa (Sep 5, 2007)

more than fair.


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## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

ok quick update. the owner of the shop says that the cost for the design on black shirt is $20. apparently the $10 quote was just an estimate given to me by someone that just works there but knows very little about the printing. so the owner looked at the design and now says $20. is that still fair or should i look elsewhere? below is the design i want printed.


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## QV (Jun 18, 2009)

Hi, what are the dimensions of the print?


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## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

well they want it to cover most of the front of the shirt..so i would guess maybe 14"x16"? the shirts will more than likely range from small to 3x so this would probably be a good size.


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## TexasTJetter (Feb 14, 2010)

If you are only printing 1 shirt (and supplying it) and the design is that large, then yes, $20 for the print is a fair price. $15-$18 seems more reasonable, but $20 is still fair. However, it sounds like you need more than 1 shirt printed, is that correct?


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## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

@texastjetter- yes i will need between 5 and 10 shirts...maybe more. not sure yet since i still need to see how many members of the fan club will actually place an order. ive made shirts for them before and i never know the total amount until i get all the orders in which usually takes a few days after i let them know that the shirts are available. the last time i made shirts for them not all of the members bought shirts... but most of the ones that did ordered more than one each. i wont let them know the shirts are availaable until i find a dtg printer that will give me a good price.


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## QV (Jun 18, 2009)

If the graphics are handled properly, then around $15 would be fair for 2-6 shirts, for one shirt $20 is completely appropriate.


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## WholesalePrint (Sep 23, 2008)

> If you are only printing 1 shirt (and supplying it) and the design is that large, then yes, $20 for the print is a fair price. $15-$18 seems more reasonable, but $20 is still fair. However, it sounds like you need more than 1 shirt printed, is that correct?


I agree. The issue might be is that you may not own a machine but are familiar which the actual costs and are perceiving the value differently. Thats one thing I really feel uncomfortable with. I know this forum is for knowledge seeking but sometimes I feel it is used for leverage. JMHO. If you are buying really short amounts of shirts theirs always that grey area of what a wholesale rate should actually be.


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## TexasTJetter (Feb 14, 2010)

For 5-10 shirts, I would charge $15 per shirt. Have you shopped around your area yet to see how other printer's prices compare to the $20 quote you got? And this is the retail quote. I don't see many people giving you a wholesale price on only 5-10 shirts being printed dtg on dark.


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## chonkymonky (Apr 1, 2007)

@texastjetter...does that include the shirt? if so then thats the price range im looking for. at $20 a shirt that these people are charging me i really don't see how i can make any profit especially if i have to provide the shirts. i think my best bet is to look for someone else thats local. maybe close enough for me to pick up the shirts myself. thank you all for the heads up on the pricing..now i have some idea of how much is "too" much.


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