How Custom Apparel Pricing Actually Works (Setup Fees, Tiers, and the Truth About Minimums)

"Call for a quote" is the most common phrase in this industry, and it usually means the shop doesn't want to explain its pricing logic in public. Here's the logic, in full, so you can evaluate any quote you get — from us or anyone else — and know whether it's fair.

The two costs that make up every price

Every custom apparel order has two cost components: a fixed setup cost (the same regardless of quantity) and a variable per-piece cost (which scales with how many you order). Understanding which is which explains almost everything about how pricing works.

• Fixed setup cost: burning a screen per color (screen printing), digitizing a logo (embroidery). Same cost whether you order 1 piece or 500.
• Variable per-piece cost: the blank garment, the ink or thread, the labor to print or stitch each individual piece.

Why order minimums exist industry-wide

A $40 screen fee spread across 50 shirts adds 80 cents to each one. Spread across 1 shirt, it's the whole $40. Most shops solve the math problem of small orders by refusing them outright — it's simpler than explaining a fixed-cost breakdown to every customer. That's a business choice, not a law of physics, which is why a genuine no-minimum policy is possible if a shop is willing to show its math instead of hiding behind a refusal.

What DTG and DTF change about this

Neither method has a real per-color setup fee — the printer just sprays whatever colors are in the file. That's why DTG and DTF orders don't carry the same minimum-order pressure that screen printing and embroidery do: there's no fixed cost being spread thin across a small order in the first place.

How to read any quote you get, anywhere

Ask for the setup fee and the per-piece cost as two separate numbers. If a shop won't separate them, or the total suddenly jumps for a small order with no explanation, that's usually a hidden minimum-order penalty folded into the price rather than an honest reflection of setup cost.

Quick Questions

Why does a reorder cost less than the first order?

Because the fixed setup cost (screen or digitizing file) only happens once — a shop that keeps your file on record skips that cost entirely on every reorder after the first, at any quantity.

Is DTG always cheaper than screen printing for small orders?

Usually, but not always — it depends on design size and color count. Get both prices for anything under about 6 pieces before assuming.