# Hoping I did my bulk heat transfer pricing right?



## Flazart (Jun 17, 2007)

Hello every one just joined the site and I was hoping to have a question answered by some of the veterans in the field.

I am just starting and i got my first bulk order from a local High School for almost 300 T shirts with a small design ( about 3" x 3" ) on the left breast were the pocket would be. When I made my bid i added 10% to materials and the rest was labor cost. I came to about $4.30 for S, M, L, XL, $5.30 for XXL and $5.80 for XXXL.

I was just wondering how I did on pricing if any one will be willing to comment. Like I said I am a NOOB at this and I really dont want to be known as the guy who undercuts the competition but also I dont want to be known as the guy who charges way to much for his product.

Please if any one can let me know how i did for my first large order bid I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks alot


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## TeddyRocky (Mar 23, 2007)

*Re: Hopeing I did right*



Flazart said:


> Hello every one just joined the site and I was hoping to have a question answered by some of the veterans in the field.
> 
> I am just starting and i got my first bulk order from a local High School for almost 300 T shirts with a small design ( about 3" x 3" ) on the left breast were the pocket would be. When I made my bid i added 10% to materials and the rest was labor cost. I came to about $4.30 for S, M, L, XL, $5.30 for XXL and $5.80 for XXXL.
> 
> ...


Looks about right Frank. Also depends on your area, if you're area doesn't have many printers, you might be able to charge a little more. Good luck!


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## Flazart (Jun 17, 2007)

*Re: Hopeing I did right*

Thanx TeddyRocky. I feel alot better now that i know I am in the right ballpark with my quotes. I appreciate the response


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## Ujudgnme2 (Mar 28, 2006)

Given that you had 300 tees, not a bad price, but I am wondering how much did the 2x and 3x cost you. It looks like you averaged $2 profit for each tshirt???? If so, kool. For friends, I have charged as little as $5 for printing only and $8 for printing and tshirt and the orders are small. I have quoted a family reunion photo tee for the same prices you have below for 100 tshirts.



Flazart said:


> Hello every one just joined the site and I was hoping to have a question answered by some of the veterans in the field.
> 
> I am just starting and i got my first bulk order from a local High School for almost 300 T shirts with a small design ( about 3" x 3" ) on the left breast were the pocket would be. When I made my bid i added 10% to materials and the rest was labor cost. I came to about $4.30 for S, M, L, XL, $5.30 for XXL and $5.80 for XXXL.
> 
> ...


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## Flazart (Jun 17, 2007)

i paid $2.98 for xxl and $3.05 for xxxl. I kind of figured they pretty much cost me about a dollar more for xxl and xxxl than for s m l so i just basically added $1 to my price for xxl and $1.50 to my price for xxxl.


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## Ujudgnme2 (Mar 28, 2006)

I just started the printing game, but I have always sold my own designed/printed tees.

What I do is:
S-XL $2.00 for tshirt (t prob cost me a $1.00)
$2.00 for ink (ink under a $1.00)
$2.00 for transfer (paper under $1.00)

2X-3X $3.00-$4.00 for tshirt
$2.00 for ink (ink under a $1.00)
$2.00 for transfer (paper under $1.00)

then I add a bit more for my time....

Friend price for printing only $5.00 for each item which is a steal for my friend. Others are charging $10.00 each but I got the biz and it only cost me a little over $1.00 to do it.

It's all a learning curve and you sometimes have to bid to get the job. I am not greedy, just want the customer happy and return. Since I started printing, I have some great feedback and customers who want to give me the business.  

You are well on your way. I have not had a 300 piece order for printing,,,whew if I did, I might need some help.



Flazart said:


> i paid $2.98 for xxl and $3.05 for xxxl. I kind of figured they pretty much cost me about a dollar more for xxl and xxxl than for s m l so i just basically added $1 to my price for xxl and $1.50 to my price for xxxl.


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

Hold on amigo.. 300 tee shirts and you did not go with plastisol transfers?????????
On plastisol you could have gotten a minimum of 9 transfers ganged on a sheet. At first edition you would have needed about 35 sheets. Cost roughly for 35 sheets.. single color$1.65 2 color $3.35 3 color 4.90.. so your cost would have been between 18 cents to a 54 cents.. no ink, no paper to cut, nicer quality transfer.. and a lot less labor.. add that to a dark shirt That is under $3.00 and if it was a white shirt even more Lou. No way would I have used printed transfers????????????


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## Ujudgnme2 (Mar 28, 2006)

He is learning. This is why he has come to the board altho he should have before he took the job.

I have an upcoming event which I am pretty sure I will be using dtg or plastiol transfer. Heat transfer is time consuming just for small jobs.



badalou said:


> Hold on amigo.. 300 tee shirts and you did not go with plastisol transfers?????????
> On plastisol you could have gotten a minimum of 9 transfers ganged on a sheet. At first edition you would have needed about 35 sheets. Cost roughly for 35 sheets.. single color$1.65 2 color $3.35 3 color 4.90.. so your cost would have been between 18 cents to a 54 cents.. no ink, no paper to cut, nicer quality transfer.. and a lot less labor.. add that to a dark shirt That is under $3.00 and if it was a white shirt even more Lou. No way would I have used printed transfers????????????


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## Flazart (Jun 17, 2007)

Sorry Im getting a little confused. I am using thermo plus heat transfer vinyl wich is cut with my vinyl plotter. I also do Vinal cut signs and decal as well as Giclee printing. So i figured the best way would be to use the Thermo Plus vinyl. I got 155 logos cut out of 2 yrds of material. I am not printing or screening the shirts.

I should have been clearer on the materials i was using. I am just learning now that there are countless ways to print and decal shirts. The only other problem i really had was the school contacted me on the day they needed the quotes handed in by so i really didn't have to much time to research what the best method to go about this was wich is why i went with the Thermo Plus. I knew the material was fairly inexpensive and i worked with it before.


What exactly is Plastisol Transfer? If some one could link me a site so i can check it out and read up on it i would appreciate it.


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## Ujudgnme2 (Mar 28, 2006)

If you search this site for "plastiol transfer" you will find plenty of answers.




Flazart said:


> Sorry Im getting a little confused. I am using thermo plus heat transfer vinyl wich is cut with my vinyl plotter. I also do Vinal cut signs and decal as well as Giclee printing. So i figured the best way would be to use the Thermo Plus vinyl. I got 155 logos cut out of 2 yrds of material. I am not printing or screening the shirts.
> 
> I should have been clearer on the materials i was using. I am just learning now that there are countless ways to print and decal shirts. The only other problem i really had was the school contacted me on the day they needed the quotes handed in by so i really didn't have to much time to research what the best method to go about this was wich is why i went with the Thermo Plus. I knew the material was fairly inexpensive and i worked with it before.
> 
> ...


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## Chani (Jun 18, 2007)

I understand that that's a big order and a small design, but how can you actually make money selling for that low???

I'm confused...


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

*Re: Hopeing I did right*



TeddyRocky said:


> Looks about right Frank. Also depends on your area, if you're area doesn't have many printers, you might be able to charge a little more. Good luck!


I would have been at about $4.40 for white and around $5.15 for colored shirts with that quantity and design. So you seem to be in the ballpark..


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Chani said:


> I understand that that's a big order and a small design, but how can you actually make money selling for that low???
> 
> I'm confused...


The cost of the shirt would be around $1 for white or $2 for colored and the design should'nt cost more than say $.15 or so. This puts you at about $3 gross profit per shirt. 

$900 for a few hours work....not bad!!


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## Chani (Jun 18, 2007)

Okay, but how long will each one take from cut to weed to final for each shirt?

I'm a complete noob here, so please be kind. My Fiance is the one that knows everything.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Chani said:


> Okay, but how long will each one take from cut to weed to final for each shirt?
> 
> I'm a complete noob here, so please be kind. My Fiance is the one that knows everything.


No problem Chani!!  

I don't think it was mentioned as to exactly what method was used but my pricing was based on using a plastisol transfer ganged about 9 to a sheet (maybe a few more). There wouldn't be any cutting (other than cutting the designs from the ganged sheet which would be easy) or weeding required so not much labor involved.

Workflow would be:

Place shirt on heat press
Prepress shirt to remove moisture and wrinkles
Place and measure design
Carefully place Teflon sheet on shirt not to move design
Press shirt
Remove Teflon sheet and design backing
Remove shirt

You could probably comfortably do 2 shirts per minute or 30 shirts per hour. Probably more once you got into the groove. That would be about 10 hours worth of work or about $90/hr profit ($3/shirt X 300 shirts / 10 hrs).

I wouldn't recommend using heat transfer vinyl for such a large job but it could be done. However, you would then have to factor in the amount of time required to weed all of those designs.

Hope that helps......


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## Chani (Jun 18, 2007)

Thanks, John!

But the thing is, Frank IS using heat transfer film that he cut on his vinyl cutter. 

NOW how would you price it? 

I really appreciate your response.


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## Flazart (Jun 17, 2007)

Thanx for all your replies every one. It is really helping me to understand the preccess and materials as a whole. I am definetly going to check into that Plastiso Transfer  . Just wanted to let you all know how much i sppreciate your input. 

I am starting to see the point about weeding all the logos. OOF there are alot


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

Flazart said:


> Thanx for all your replies every one. It is really helping me to understand the preccess and materials as a whole. I am definetly going to check into that Plastiso Transfer  . Just wanted to let you all know how much i sppreciate your input.
> 
> I am starting to see the point about weeding all the logos. OOF there are alot


Here's a good overview: http://www.t-shirtforums.com/t-shirt-crossover-diary-heat-press-newbie/t13204.html


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## T-BOT (Jul 24, 2006)

treadhead said:


> ....using a plastisol transfer ganged about 9 to a sheet (maybe a few more). There wouldn't be any cutting (other than cutting the designs from the ganged sheet which would be easy) ..


...just to add to the post.  

When ganging small pocket size designs on a transfer sheet, you will have more than enough of them for the job and each design/transfer will cost you very little.

So, I think if you leave .75-1 inch between designs, most transfer makers will CUT them for you FREE of charge. This will reduce your JOB time when they come pre-cut, ready to apply. No need to cut them by hand...200-300 of them.   




:


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

T-BOT said:


> ...just to add to the post.
> 
> When ganging small pocket size designs on a transfer sheet, you will have more than enough of them for the job and each design/transfer will cost you very little.
> 
> ...


Good point Lucy....


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Chani said:


> Thanks, John!
> 
> But the thing is, Frank IS using heat transfer film that he cut on his vinyl cutter.
> 
> ...


Sorry...I missed that part!!  

I guess it really depends on how easy the design is to weed and your proficiency at weeding. Some people can do it in there sleep and spend very little time doing it...others don't like doing it at all.

For me...I typically add between $.50 to $1.00 per shirt for using heat transfer vinyl to cover my weeding time...depending on the above and the quantity. Many times, I have our son weed designs to earn a little extra money which we probably would have spent on him anyway...so it's kinda free...


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## Flazart (Jun 17, 2007)

It took me about 30 to 45 minutes to weed 155 logo designs. So looking at about 1 hour to weed all 255 logos. That really isnt that much time on weeding so i dont think the weeding process will add that much cost to the final product. So between material and time figuring $40/hour weeding I came up with a cost of between .25 to .30 cents per logo. Plus the cost of the shirt so i feel that i am still making a decent profit doing to logo designs myself.


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## Chani (Jun 18, 2007)

That's really good to hear.

I'm sorry I was being so pushy. I'm just so new to this I need to figure out OUR prices for shirts. 

I'm relieved to hear you're not cheating yourself.


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## Flazart (Jun 17, 2007)

No need for any appologies i never thought you were being pushy  This is the first time I ever made an order because i just started doing shirts last month. I am happy to see that there are people other than myself getting usefull information from this thread.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

Flazart said:


> It took me about 30 to 45 minutes to weed 155 logo designs. So looking at about 1 hour to weed all 255 logos. That really isnt that much time on weeding so i dont think the weeding process will add that much cost to the final product. So between material and time figuring $40/hour weeding I came up with a cost of between .25 to .30 cents per logo. Plus the cost of the shirt so i feel that i am still making a decent profit doing to logo designs myself.


That seems reasonable.....

It all depends on your proficiency at weeding, weeding complexity, and the hourly rate you apply to your time... 

The important thing is that weeding is taken into account in your pricing model.

Seems to me that you did pretty good your first time around!


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## murani (Sep 13, 2006)

If the design is simple then its not much trouble weeding it yourself but if it is complex do not use thermal vinyl use plastisol transfers. I tend to get carried away when i'm designing a shirt for people and make the design totally complex then end up regretting it when I have to spend 10 minutes per shirt weeding. I've learned to design simple, clean designs and if customer wants something more complex they pay extra for that.


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## landmines (Mar 30, 2007)

At what point do you think It becomes more cost effective to switch to plastisol? I used vinyl on my last order of 35 shirts and my employee is stressing to me that it still would have been more cost efficient to go with plastisol? It has a decent amount of weeding(some floating text) They are taking us a while to weed. It might just be that we are both new to this though.


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## murani (Sep 13, 2006)

Well i'm not sure as I have a screen print press as well as a vinyl cutter so I just switch between the two. I will say though that it will depend largely on if the supplier you are using for plastisol transfers requires a minimum quantity ordered. If there is a minimum (I use american eagle transfers for mine and they require 25 sheets) then figure out the cost of the minimum order you would need to do and compare that to the cost of producing the garment vinyl. If the two costs are comparable and the weeding that needs to be done to the vinyl will take out alot of time go with the plastisol. Thats my rule of thumb.


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## landmines (Mar 30, 2007)

How long is the usual turnaround for 1 or 2 color transfers with most screen print companies.


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## murani (Sep 13, 2006)

The ones I used to deal with standard turnaround time was like 10-12 business days. I then had the option to get a quicker turnaround but the quicker the turnaround the more added on to the price.


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## treadhead (Jul 26, 2006)

landmines said:


> How long is the usual turnaround for 1 or 2 color transfers with most screen print companies.


Typically a week or so. But, I believe F&M Expressions (a forum member) is now offering 3 day turnarounds and have good pricing and quality. I've been very happy with them.

Contact nathananderson or zachellsworth on this forum for more information....

Good luck!!


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