Screen print vs DTG
The question is never which method is best. It is which method is cheapest at the quantity you are actually ordering, at a quality your customer will not return.
Screen printing charges you once per colour to burn a screen, then almost nothing per shirt. DTG charges nothing to set up and a lot per shirt. The lines cross, and where they cross decides your order.
Rule of thumb
Under 30 pieces, DTG almost always wins. Over 80 pieces in two colours or fewer, screen print wins and keeps winning.
The crossover, in numbers
| Qty | Screen | DTG | Winner |
|---|
| 25 | $8.60 | $6.10 | DTG |
| 50 | $5.40 | $6.10 | Screen |
| 100 | $3.70 | $5.80 | Screen |
| 250 | $2.65 | $5.60 | Screen |
Per piece, two colours, front only. Setup amortised across the run. Your factory's numbers will differ, the shape of the curve will not.
What a tee really costs
Founders price off the blank and the print. Those are the two smallest numbers on the sheet.
- Blank$4.20
- Print, two colours$3.70
- Labels and tags$0.60
- Polymailer and insert$0.75
- Inbound freight, per unit$0.90
- Outbound shipping$4.50
- Payment fees$1.15
- Returns reserve, 6%$2.10
Landed cost: $17.90
Sell at $29 and you keep $11.10, before a single ad. Sell at $24 because a competitor does, and you are working for $6.
When to stop packing yourself
Packing your own orders is not a badge of honour, it is a cost you are hiding from yourself by not paying wages.
Price your own hour honestly, then measure how long a parcel actually takes: pick, fold, bag, label, log, hand over. Most founders land between four and seven minutes.
The flip point
At six minutes a parcel and 200 orders a month, you are spending 20 hours on fulfilment. That is when a 3PL stops being an expense and starts being a raise.
