Screen Print Job Quote Calculator — Price Per Shirt and Break-Even Order

What should this screen printing job cost?

Enter the order and your shop's costs. You get the price per piece that hits your margin, a price-break ladder by quantity, and the smallest order that pays at the price you were going to quote.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The example numbers are made up. Arithmetic over what you enter, not business advice.

1. The order

Pieces ordered

Colours per print location

Print locations (front, back, sleeve)

Blank garment cost each ($)

Spoilage (%)

2. Setup and press

Cost per screen: mesh, emulsion, film, reclaim ($)

Setup minutes per screen (registration)

Fixed job setup minutes (loading, test print)

Press speed (impressions per hour)

3. Your costs and margin

Labor cost per hour ($)

Overhead per press hour ($)

Ink per impression ($)

Target margin (% of price)

Screen fee you charge the customer per screen ($, optional)

Price each you were going to quote ($, optional)

Enter your numbers, or load the example, then click Calculate.

Quote

Price each

Your cost each

Profit on the order

Where the cost goes

Item	Cost

Price breaks

Price each at your margin for other order sizes, same screens and costs.

Pieces	Price each	Your cost each

How it works, and what it leaves out

Screens = colours per location × locations. Each is burned once per job.
Pieces printed = pieces ordered ÷ (1 − spoilage), rounded up. Spoiled blanks are bought and printed, so they sit in the cost.
Hours = (screens × setup minutes + fixed setup) ÷ 60 + impressions ÷ press speed. Labor and overhead are charged on those hours.
Revenue needed = total cost ÷ (1 − target margin). Price each = (revenue − screen fees you charge) ÷ pieces.
Not modelled: artwork time, flash and cure, shipping, tax, payment fees, specialty inks. Count an underbase as a colour.

Common questions

How do I price a screen printing job?

Add the blank garments (including spoiled ones you had to buy), the screens, ink, and the press and setup time at your labor and overhead rates. Divide that cost by one minus your target margin to get the revenue the job needs, subtract any screen fees you charge separately, and divide by the number of pieces.

Why does the price per shirt drop as the order gets bigger?

Burning screens and registering the press cost about the same for 24 shirts as for 240, so on a small order that fixed setup is spread over few pieces. The price ladder shows the per-piece price at each quantity so you can set price breaks that still hold your margin.

What counts as a screen?

One screen per colour per print location. A three-colour front and a one-colour sleeve is four screens. Every piece passes under every screen, so press time and ink scale with pieces times screens.

Should I charge a screen fee?

That is your call. If you charge one, the tool takes it out of the per-piece price so your margin target still holds. If you do not, the screen cost is recovered inside the piece price, which makes small orders look expensive.

What does this leave out?

Artwork and separation time, ink waste and reclaim chemicals beyond the per-impression figure you enter, flash and cure time, shipping, sales tax, specialty inks and underbase passes (count an underbase as a colour), and payment fees.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab. There are no accounts.

Is this business or financial advice?

No. It is arithmetic over the costs and margin you enter. Check the output against your own books before quoting a customer.