Printing Cost Calculation: Screen, Rubber, Sublimation, Pigment
Lesson Contents Overview
Learning Objectives
Comprehensive Technical GuidanceTextbook & Training SOP
Printing Cost Calculation: Screen, Rubber, Sublimation, Pigment
1. Why Printing Cost Needs Its Own Sheet
Printing is the value-addition step most often misquoted in garment costing. The reason is simple: a print has two different kinds of cost behaving in opposite ways. Setup charges are fixed. They are paid once whether the order is 1,000 pieces or 100,000 pieces. Run charges are variable. They are paid on every single piece. Any costing method that blends the two into one per-piece figure works at exactly one quantity and fails at every other quantity.
The natural search phrase for this skill is printing cost calculation, and the question a buyer or auditor asks is always the same: show me the setup, show me the run charge, and show me what happens if the quantity changes. This lesson builds that sheet for the four print methods a garment costing team meets most: screen, rubber, sublimation, and pigment.
2. The Printing Cost Formula
The method has four steps, applied in order:
Step 1: Total setup equals screens plus films plus strike-off approval. Each colour needs its own screen in screen printing, so a 3-colour design needs 3 screens, and a 6-colour design needs 6. Films follow the same count. Strike-off approval is the sample print made for buyer approval before bulk printing starts.
Step 2: Setup per piece equals total setup divided by the confirmed order quantity. Use the confirmed quantity, not the enquiry quantity. A buyer who enquires at 10,000 and confirms at 5,000 has doubled the setup per piece, and a sheet built on the enquiry quantity is wrong from the day of confirmation.
Step 3: Run charge per piece equals ink plus print labour plus curing energy plus quality checking. If the print house quotes a single run rate, ask what it includes. A run rate that excludes curing or checking is not cheaper; it is incomplete.
Step 4: Total print cost per piece equals (setup per piece plus run charge per piece) times (1 + rejection percent / 100). The rejection allowance covers misprints, shading variation, and reprints. It is applied to the full subtotal, because a rejected piece wastes its share of setup as well as its run charge.
3. Worked Example: 3-Colour Screen Print on 10,000 T-Shirts
All figures in this example are illustrative. The method is standard; the prices are example values for a Dhaka print house.
Setup lines: 3 screens at BDT 1,600 each is BDT 4,800. Films: 3 at BDT 400 each is BDT 1,200. Strike-off approval: BDT 1,000. Total setup is 4,800 plus 1,200 plus 1,000, which is BDT 7,000. Setup per piece is 7,000 divided by 10,000, which is BDT 0.70.
Run charge per piece: ink BDT 2.60, print labour BDT 1.60, curing BDT 0.60. The run charge is 2.60 plus 1.60 plus 0.60, which is BDT 4.80.
Subtotal before rejection is 0.70 plus 4.80, which is BDT 5.50. A 2 percent rejection allowance gives 5.50 times 1.02, which is BDT 5.61 per piece. For 10,000 pieces the order total is 5.61 times 10,000, which is BDT 56,100.
Note what the sheet reveals. Ink, the line most people quote first, is BDT 2.60 of a BDT 5.61 total. Less than half. A quotation built on ink alone would understate this print by more than half, and the missing lines would be paid out of the factory margin.
4. The Small-Order Trap
Now repeat the same sheet for a 1,000-piece repeat order. Setup is unchanged at BDT 7,000, because the screens, films, and strike-off must be made again. Setup per piece becomes 7,000 divided by 1,000, which is BDT 7.00. The run charge is unchanged at BDT 4.80. The subtotal becomes 7.00 plus 4.80, which is BDT 11.80. With the 2 percent rejection allowance, the total is 11.80 times 1.02, which is BDT 12.04 per piece.
The same print, the same artwork, the same print house: BDT 5.61 at 10,000 pieces, BDT 12.04 at 1,000 pieces. More than double. This is not a pricing trick; it is the arithmetic of fixed setup spread over fewer pieces. The factory in the example at the end of this lesson lost BDT 6,430 on one small repeat order by quoting the bulk rate. The rule that prevents it is simple: never quote a small repeat from a bulk-order per-piece print rate. Rebuild the sheet at the actual quantity, which takes two minutes and saves the margin.
5. Sublimation: No Screens, But Not No Setup
Sublimation printing transfers dye from printed paper onto polyester fabric with heat and pressure. It has no screens, which makes it attractive for all-over designs and multi-colour artwork that would need many screens. But it is a mistake to treat sublimation as a zero-setup method. Design preparation, paper, and press setup time are its setup lines, and they must be collected the same way.
Worked example, all figures illustrative: 5,000 polyester jerseys with an all-over sublimation print. Paper and ink per piece: BDT 18.00. Heat-press and energy per piece: BDT 4.00. Labour per piece: BDT 3.00. The subtotal is 18.00 plus 4.00 plus 3.00, which is BDT 25.00. Sublimation carries a higher rejection rate than screen printing because of ghosting and shading variation, so a 3 percent allowance is used: 25.00 times 1.03 is BDT 25.75 per piece. For 5,000 pieces the order total is 25.75 times 5,000, which is BDT 128,750.
Compare this with screen printing at the same quantity and the choice becomes clear. Sublimation wins where the design has many colours or covers the whole garment, because screen setup would explode with the colour count. Screen printing wins on large, simple, few-colour orders, because its run charge is far lower once setup is spread thin. The sheet, not the ink price, decides.
6. Rubber Print Against Pigment Print
Rubber print and pigment print both use screens, so their setup behaviour is identical. The difference sits in the run charge, and it comes from the ink layer. Rubber print lays a thick, opaque layer that covers dark fabrics well. Pigment print lays a thinner layer with a softer hand feel, suited to light fabrics.
Worked comparison, all figures illustrative, run charge only: rubber print ink BDT 3.20 plus labour BDT 1.40 plus curing BDT 0.80 is BDT 5.40 per piece. Pigment print ink BDT 1.90 plus labour BDT 1.40 plus curing BDT 0.50 is BDT 3.80 per piece. The difference is 5.40 minus 3.80, which is BDT 1.60 per piece. On a 20,000-piece order the difference is 1.60 times 20,000, which is BDT 32,000.
The lesson here is that method choice is a fabric decision first and a cost decision second. Rubber print on a light fabric wastes BDT 32,000 for opacity nobody needs. Pigment print on a dark fabric fails outright, because the thin ink layer cannot cover the ground colour, and the whole order becomes a claim. Cost the method that works on the actual fabric, then compare totals.
7. Print Cost SOP Checklist
A print cost sheet is complete only when every line below is filled and sourced:
One: artwork, colour count, print size, and placement confirmed with the buyer, because colour count drives screen count. Two: setup lines collected separately from the print house, with screens, films, and strike-off each priced. Three: setup divided by the confirmed order quantity, not the enquiry quantity. Four: run charge built from ink, labour, curing, and checking, with any missing line added rather than assumed free. Five: rejection percent set from the method and the fabric history, and applied to the full subtotal. Six: the sheet repeated for each candidate method at the same quantity, and the decision taken on the total, not on the ink price.
8. Summary
Printing cost per piece is setup divided by quantity, plus run charge, plus a rejection allowance. Setup is fixed, so quantity is the dominant cost driver, and small orders punish any method with heavy setup. Sublimation removes screens but adds paper and press time. Rubber and pigment differ in ink layer, not in setup. Build the sheet at the actual quantity, keep setup and run charges on separate lines, and the print line on every quotation becomes a number the factory can defend.
1. Screen Print Cost Sheet: 10,000 T-Shirts, 3 Colours (Illustrative Figures)
| Cost Line | Calculation | Amount (BDT) |
|---|---|---|
| Screens, 3 at BDT 1,600 | 3 times 1,600 | 4,800 |
| Films, 3 at BDT 400 | 3 times 400 | 1,200 |
| Strike-off approval | Fixed | 1,000 |
| Total setup | 4,800 plus 1,200 plus 1,000 | 7,000 |
| Setup per piece | 7,000 divided by 10,000 | 0.70 |
| Run charge per piece | 2.60 ink plus 1.60 labour plus 0.60 curing | 4.80 |
| Subtotal per piece | 0.70 plus 4.80 | 5.50 |
| Total per piece with 2 percent rejection | 5.50 times 1.02 | 5.61 |
| Order total, 10,000 pieces | 5.61 times 10,000 | 56,100 |
2. Print Method Comparison at the Same Quantity (Illustrative Figures)
| Method | Setup Behaviour | Run Charge Driver | Best At |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen print | High: one screen per colour | Ink plus labour plus curing | Large orders, dark fabrics |
| Rubber print | Same screens as screen print | Thicker ink layer, higher ink cost | Raised, opaque prints on dark fabric |
| Sublimation | Low: no screens, paper and press time instead | Paper plus ink plus heat-press time | Light polyester, all-over designs |
| Pigment print | Same screens as screen print | Lower ink cost, softer hand feel | Light fabrics, soft-hand requirements |
Practical Commercial Flow
Setup: 3 screens at BDT 1,600 each is BDT 4,800; films 3 at BDT 400 each is BDT 1,200; strike-off approval BDT 1,000; total setup BDT 7,000, which is BDT 0.70 per piece on 10,000 pieces. Run charge per piece: ink BDT 2.60 plus print labour BDT 1.60 plus curing BDT 0.60, which is BDT 4.80. Subtotal before rejection is 0.70 plus 4.80, which is BDT 5.50. A 2 percent rejection allowance gives 5.50 times 1.02, which is BDT 5.61 per piece. For 10,000 pieces the order total is 5.61 times 10,000, which is BDT 56,100. All prices are illustrative example values.
Factory Real-Life Scenario
Scenario: A Gazipur T-shirt factory quoted a 1,000-piece repeat order using the per-piece print cost from its 10,000-piece bulk order, BDT 5.61 per piece. The print house invoice came in far higher, because the BDT 7,000 setup was spread over only 1,000 pieces instead of 10,000.
Solution: The costing team rebuilt the sheet with setup and run charges separated: setup per piece became 7,000 divided by 1,000, which is BDT 7.00; the subtotal became 7.00 plus 4.80, which is BDT 11.80; with the 2 percent rejection allowance the true cost was 11.80 times 1.02, which is BDT 12.04 per piece. The team added a rule that no repeat order under 3,000 pieces may be quoted from a bulk-order print rate.
Impact: The correction was worth 12.04 minus 5.61, which is BDT 6.43 per piece on 1,000 pieces, which is BDT 6,430 on the order. The factory absorbed the loss on the confirmed order but stopped quoting small repeats from bulk rates, and print under-quotation has not recurred.
Commercial Officer Best Practice
Keep one print cost sheet per style with columns for setup lines, run lines, rejection percent, and order quantity. When the buyer changes the quantity, only the setup-per-piece line moves, and the whole sheet re-prices cleanly.
Top Beginner Mistakes to Avoid
- Quoting a small repeat order from a bulk-order per-piece print rate, which ignores the setup spread and understates the cost badly.
- Costing a print from the ink price alone and leaving out screens, films, strike-offs, labour, curing, and rejection.
- Applying the rejection allowance to the ink only instead of to the full print subtotal, which understates the allowance.
- Comparing print methods on run charge alone, which favours screen printing on small orders where its setup dominates.
- Using the enquiry quantity for the setup division and never updating it when the buyer confirms a smaller quantity.
Important Commercial & Trade Terminology (5 Terms)
One-time charges for preparing a print job: screens, films, and strike-off approval. They do not change with quantity, so their per-piece share falls as quantity rises.
💡 Note: Always quote setup and run charges as separate lines.The per-piece charge for actually printing: ink, print labour, curing energy, and quality checking.
💡 Note: This is the only part of print cost that scales with quantity.A sample print produced for buyer approval before bulk printing starts. Its cost sits in setup, not in the run charge.
💡 Note: Two or three strike-offs are common on multi-colour work.A percentage added to the print subtotal to cover misprints, shading variation, and reprints.
💡 Note: Sublimation usually needs a higher allowance than screen printing because of ghosting.Heating the printed garment so the ink bonds to the fabric and survives washing. Curing energy is a real run-charge line, not an overhead to ignore.
💡 Note: Under-cured prints crack and wash out, which is why curing must be costed and controlled.Interview Preparation Questions & Answers (4 Questions)
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Add up the setup charges (screens, films, strike-off), divide by the order quantity to get setup per piece, add the per-piece run charge (ink, labour, curing), then multiply by (1 + rejection percent / 100). For example: BDT 7,000 setup on 10,000 pieces is BDT 0.70, plus BDT 4.80 run charge is BDT 5.50, times 1.02 for 2 percent rejection is BDT 5.61 per piece.
Frequently Asked Questions (4 FAQs)
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Key Takeaways & Summary Points
Executive Lesson Summary
Printing cost per piece is setup charges divided by order quantity, plus the per-piece run charge, plus a rejection allowance. Setup is fixed, so quantity is the most powerful cost driver in printing: the same print more than doubles in per-piece cost when the order falls from 10,000 to 1,000 pieces. Cost each method at the actual quantity, keep setup and run charges on separate lines, and the print line on a quotation becomes defensible.