How to Price Your Custom T-Shirts When Using Plastisol Transfers
How to price custom t-shirts with plastisol transfers is one of the most important skills you can learn if you run a small print shop or side business from home. Get pricing wrong and you work long hours for very little money. Get it right and every order helps you build a stable income and lets you order more transfers with confidence.
In this guide, we will walk through how to price custom t-shirts step by step, using real numbers and simple formulas. The goal is to make t-shirt pricing with transfers clear enough that you can open a spreadsheet today, plug in your costs, and know exactly what you should charge.
Why T-Shirt Pricing With Transfers Is Different
When you use plastisol transfers, you are splitting production into two pieces: buying the printed transfers and pressing them onto blank garments. That model gives you more flexibility than traditional screen printing, but it also means you must think carefully about every single cost that affects your profit margin heat transfer shirts depend on.
Unlike print-on-demand services, you control the blanks, the press time, and the final finish. That is good news, because when you learn how to price custom t-shirts correctly, you keep the profit that those services would normally take. The tradeoff is that you must track your numbers.
You can review the main options and pricing for screen printed plastisol heat transfers at this page: Screen Printed Transfers » Advanced Transfers
Step 1: Know Your True Cost Per Shirt
Before you decide how to price custom t-shirts, you need to know what a finished shirt really costs you. Most new shop owners only count blanks and transfers, then wonder why there is no money left over.
At a minimum, your cost per shirt should include:
- Blank garment cost
- Transfer cost
- Shipping on blanks and transfers
- Your labor or press time
- Packaging (bags, labels, boxes)
- Spoilage or misprints
- A share of overhead (rent, electricity, software, equipment payments)
For each design, you can make a simple formula:
Total cost for the job ÷ number of good shirts = true cost per shirt
Once you know that number, you can start making smart decisions about t-shirt pricing with transfers instead of guessing.
Example Cost Breakdown for Heat Transfer Shirts
Here is a simple example to make this concrete.
Imagine a 48-piece order of cotton shirts with one front plastisol transfer:
- Blank shirts: 48 shirts at 3.00 each = 144.00
- Transfers: 48 impressions at 1.50 each = 72.00
- Shipping on blanks and transfers: 25.00
- Spoilage buffer: 2 extra shirts and transfers (around 10.00)
- Packaging and supplies: 15.00
- Your press time: 2 hours, valued at 25.00 per hour = 50.00
Total job cost = 144.00 + 72.00 + 25.00 + 10.00 + 15.00 + 50.00 = 316.00
True cost per shirt = 316.00 ÷ 48 = about 6.60 per shirt
Until you run this kind of math, it is easy to undercharge. Knowing your real cost puts you in a position to protect your profit margin heat transfer shirts need to be worth your time.
Step 2: Set a Target Profit Margin for Heat Transfer Shirts
Once you know your cost, the next part of how to price custom t-shirts is choosing a margin. A margin is the percentage of the selling price that is profit after covering direct costs.
A simple explanation of profit margin is available here:
Profit Margin: Definition, Types, Uses in Business and Investing
For small custom shops using plastisol transfers, it is common to aim for gross margins in the 40 to 60 percent range on most orders. Very small rush jobs or extremely simple one-color prints might fall a bit lower, while complex jobs or orders with lots of add-ons might push higher. The point is to decide on a target instead of just adding a random markup.
To find the price that matches your chosen margin, you can use this formula:
Price per shirt = cost per shirt ÷ (1 − target margin)
If your cost per shirt is 6.60 and you want a 50 percent margin, the price would be 6.60 ÷ 0.5 = 13.20 per shirt.
Step 3: Choose a Pricing Method That Fits Your Shop
There is more than one way to approach t-shirt pricing with transfers. The method you pick should match the type of clients you serve and how you like to work.
Here are three simple approaches:
- Cost-plus pricing
- You calculate your true cost per shirt.
- You apply a fixed margin, such as 50 percent.
- Every job follows the same structure.
This is the easiest way to start, and it keeps your pricing predictable.
- Market-based pricing
- You research what other shops charge in your area.
- You compare those prices to your costs and decide where you want to sit.
- You may charge a bit more if you offer faster service or better quality.
This method works well if you have strong local competition and need to stay in a familiar range.
- Tiered volume pricing
- You set price breaks at certain quantities, like 12, 24, 48, 72, and 100.
- As quantities go up, your cost per shirt usually drops.
- You pass some of that savings to the customer while keeping your margin healthy.
This model is perfect for bulk orders where you expect repeat business.
However you decide to handle t-shirt pricing with transfers, make sure you write your structure down and apply it consistently.
Step 4: How to Price Custom T-Shirts at Different Order Sizes
How to price custom t-shirts for a single shirt is different from pricing 100 shirts for a fundraiser. Your cost per shirt, your labor, and your spoilage risk all change with volume.
For very small orders, your cost per shirt is high because setup time and admin work are spread over only a few pieces. Do not be afraid to set a higher price per shirt or a minimum order total for these jobs. It is common for one-off custom shirts with plastisol transfers to be priced more like premium gifts than bulk uniforms.
At mid-range quantities, such as 24 to 72 pieces, you can often bring the per-shirt price down while still protecting your margin. This is where many small shops do most of their business. For large runs of 100 or more shirts, your main focus is keeping production efficient so that even a lower per-shirt price still produces a strong profit margin heat transfer shirts can deliver at scale.
Step 5: Use Add-Ons to Boost Profit Instead of Cutting Prices
Discounts are easy to understand, but they eat into your profit. A better approach is to learn how to price custom t-shirts in a way that keeps your base price healthy and uses add-ons to increase the average order value.
Common add-ons include:
- Custom neck labels for a retail feel
- Sleeve prints or back prints
- Specialty ink finishes, such as metallic or glitter
- Rush fees for tight deadlines
- Individual bagging and size labels
Custom neck label heat transfers are a great example. They use very little extra press time but let you charge more because the finished shirt looks like a real brand item. You can see neck label options here: Neck Labels » Advanced Transfers
Instead of dropping your main price just to win a job, keep your core pricing steady and offer add-ons that reward customers who want more premium touches.
Step 6: Factor In Shipping and Turnaround From Your Supplier
Plastisol transfers are a big part of your cost structure, so you need to consider how shipping and turnaround affect your pricing. Rush shipping and last-minute orders can turn a decent profit into a break-even job if you are not careful.
It helps to know your supplier’s standard shipping policies and timelines so you can plan ahead and bake realistic dates into your quotes. You can review shipping details and typical transfer turnaround times at this page: Shipping & Turnaround » Advanced Transfers
When you understand your own lead times, you can charge rush fees fairly and protect your margin on urgent jobs. That is a key part of smart t-shirt pricing with transfers.
Step 7: Track Your Numbers and Adjust Regularly
Your first pricing chart is a starting point, not the final version. Costs change. Blanks go up. Transfer formulas evolve. As you learn how to price custom t-shirts more confidently, plan to review your numbers at least a few times per year.
A simple way to stay on top of this is to keep a basic income and expense record and a list of your recent jobs. The U.S. Small Business Administration has a good overview of managing small business finances here: Manage your finances | U.S. Small Business Administration
Every month or quarter, look at your jobs and ask:
- Which types of orders were the most profitable?
- Where did you feel rushed or underpaid?
- Did you have to absorb any extra costs that you forgot to include?
Use the answers to adjust your pricing chart. Over time, this habit makes profit margin heat transfer shirts more predictable and keeps your business healthy.
Step 8: Common Pricing Mistakes to Avoid
Even experienced shop owners make mistakes when figuring out how to price custom t-shirts. Being aware of the common traps will help you dodge them.
Look out for these issues:
- Only counting blanks and transfer costs, and forgetting overhead
- Underestimating your own labor time, especially for small orders
- Not charging rush fees when customers need shirts immediately
- Offering deep discounts to win jobs, then regretting it later
- Never reviewing your price chart as costs change
The more you rely on plastisol transfers, the more important it becomes to treat your time and your press as valuable assets. T-shirt pricing with transfers works best when every cost is visible, not hidden.
Step 9: Turn Better Pricing Into More Transfer Orders
When you know how to price custom t-shirts realistically, you stop fearing larger jobs and repeat orders. You can look at a request for 24 or 144 shirts and know exactly how many transfers and blanks you need, what it will cost, and how much profit you will make.
That confidence makes it easier to say yes to good customers and politely decline jobs that do not make sense. It also means you can place smarter orders for your plastisol transfers, grouping designs on gang sheets and timing your purchases around busy seasons.
Better pricing does not just protect your profit margin heat transfer shirts already give you. It also helps you grow your shop in a way that feels sustainable. Each smart quote you send leads to more press time, more happy customers, and more transfer orders that support your business long term.
