The RushDTF Team · Updated 2026-09-11 · 9 min read
Most new decorators undercharge because they only count the blank and the transfer. Here is the full cost stack and the pricing math we would use.
We talk to Canadian decorators every day, and the single most common problem is not printing — it is pricing. People quote a printed tee at $18 because that is what the shop down the street charges, without ever working out what the shirt costs them by the time it is folded in a bag. Here is how to do the math properly.
Note the division. If your total cost is $12 and you want a 50% gross margin, the price is $12 ÷ 0.5 = $24 — not $12 + 50% = $18. Marking up by your margin percentage is the most common arithmetic error in this industry.
| Cost line | Typical range (CAD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Blank tee (mid-weight) | $4.50–$8.00 | Depends on brand, colour and quantity break |
| Blank hoodie | $18.00–$32.00 | Fleece weight drives most of the spread |
| DTF transfer | $0.35–$2.50 | By print area — see the next section |
| Press labour | $0.50–$1.50 | 30–60 seconds of a person's time per garment |
| Weeding / cutting | $0.10–$0.40 | Cutting gang sheets apart is real time |
| Packaging & handling | $0.25–$1.00 | Poly bags, tags, folding, order pick |
| Overhead allocation | $1.00–$3.00 | Rent, press, power, software, insurance |
| Payment processing | ~2.9% + $0.30 | Comes off the top of your revenue, not your cost |
Because gang sheets are billed by film area, your transfer cost is a function of how much of the sheet a design consumes, not how many designs you order. On a 22 inch wide sheet at our pricing, a full 22" × 12" section runs about $8.25 and drops toward $6.95 with volume. Divide that by how many prints you nest into it.
| Print size | Prints per 12" of sheet | Approx. cost each |
|---|---|---|
| 11" × 12" full front | 2 | ~$4.13 |
| 8" × 9" youth front | 2–4 | ~$2.06–$4.13 |
| 4" × 4" left chest | 15 | ~$0.55 |
| 3" × 3" pocket | 28 | ~$0.30 |
That table is the whole argument for ganging. A left chest logo costs you well under a dollar in film. If you are quoting $12 for a one-colour chest print, your material cost is not what is limiting you — your labour and your minimum order policy are.
Pay yourself a wage in the cost line, before profit. If you value your time at $30 an hour and a shirt takes 90 seconds of total handling — pick, position, press, peel, second press, fold — that is $0.75 per garment. Do not skip this because you are a one-person shop. A business that only makes money by not paying its owner is a hobby with paperwork.
With DTF there is no screen setup to amortize, so your cost barely falls with quantity — the blank price and your film tier are the only things that move. That means steep quantity discounts are unfunded. A sane ladder looks like this:
| Quantity | Discount off your 1–11 price | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1–11 | 0% | Add a small-order fee instead of refusing the job |
| 12–23 | 5% | Blank price break plus one press setup |
| 24–47 | 10% | Better film tier, single production run |
| 48–99 | 15% | Bulk blanks, one continuous press session |
| 100+ | 18–20% | Quote individually; don't publish below this |
Build your sheet, see the exact film cost before you quote, and order any quantity — including one.
45–55% gross margin on decorated garments is a healthy target in Canada. Below 35% you cannot absorb a reprint, a shipping surprise, or a slow month.
It depends on area, not count. A 4 inch chest logo nested on a gang sheet costs roughly $0.55 in film; a full 11 by 12 inch front is closer to $4.
Yes, rather than refusing small jobs. A $15–$25 minimum covers your setup time and turns one-off requests into repeat customers.
Add 20–30% for anything that jumps the queue. It compensates for the jobs you push back and it self-regulates how many rushes you take.
The transfer costs the same at the same size, but the blank, the handling and the risk are all higher, so your dollar margin should be higher too.