How to Price Screen Printing and Embroidery Jobs for Real Margin
Most decoration shops undercharge by 12–18% because they price off garment cost instead of true production cost. Here's the job-costing model that fixes it.
George Fassett, Jr. · July 7, 2026
If your decoration shop is busier than ever but the bank balance isn't growing, you don't have a sales problem — you have a job-costing problem. This is the model we walk decoration owners through when we're trying to unlock margin without raising prices on every customer.
The four hidden costs killing decoration margin
Every quote should carry these four costs, not just garment + ink:
- True labor minutes per piece — setup, screen burn or digitizing, catcher, folder, bagger. Most shops count the press operator and nothing else.
- Machine amortization — your automatic press is a $120k asset with a lifespan. Every impression owes it a nickel.
- Rework reserve — 3–6% of every job goes to misprints, wrong sizes, and reruns. If you don't reserve for it, it eats net income.
- Art and setup subsidy — you either charge for it, or you eat it. Free art is a marketing decision, not a pricing decision.
The pricing formula
Sell price = (Garment + Decoration Materials + True Labor + Machine + Rework Reserve) x Target Margin Multiplier
For contract decoration, target multiplier is 1.65. For retail and custom, target 2.2–2.6. Anything below 1.5 is charity work.
The production-scheduling connection
Pricing and scheduling are the same problem. A job priced correctly but run out of sequence loses the margin at the press. Batch by color count and garment type, not by promised date, and hold your CSRs to a 10-day standard turn.
What to change this week
- Rebuild one active quote using the formula above and compare it to what you actually charged.
- Add a "rework reserve" line item to your quoting tool.
- Set a floor: no job under 24 pieces without a $45 setup fee.
The Production Scheduling & Margin Calculator gives you the spreadsheet we use with decoration clients so you can plug in your numbers directly.