Pricing Mix Orders: How to Quote Blends Without Losing Profit
Pricing Mix Orders: How to Quote Blends Without Losing Profit
A client walks in with a request: 50 black t-shirts, 30 navy hoodies, 20 athletic gray performance tees—all the same design, but different ink bases, cure times, and setup complexity. Your gut says it's profitable, but when you sit down to quote it, the variables multiply. How do you price the setup once across three garment types? Do you charge the same per-piece rate? What if the navy needs twice the flash time?
This is the mix order pricing problem, and it's costing shops thousands annually—either through underpriced quotes or lost sales to competitors who quote faster.
Let's fix it.
Why Mix Orders Break Your Pricing
Most shops use one of two flawed approaches:
Approach 1: Simple Per-Piece Pricing You quote $5 per shirt, $8 per hoodie, $6 per performance tee. The problem? You're not accounting for the real cost difference. Dark navy actually requires different ink (higher pigment load), longer flash, and different squeegee pressure than black. The performance fabric needs a tackier ink base and lower temperature cure. You're treating them as the same job when they're not.
Approach 2: Charging Setup Multiple Times You charge a $75 setup fee for each garment type (3 × $75 = $225). Now your customer's effective price per shirt balloons, and they shop around. The competitor who treats it as one logical order—different screens, yes, but one campaign—quotes $100 setup and wins.
The real issue: You're not segmenting costs correctly. Mix orders have shared costs (design time, color separation, customer communication) and unique costs (per-garment setup, ink, cure). Pricing one without the other kills profitability or loses orders.
The Three Cost Buckets for Mix Orders
Before you quote, segment the job into three distinct cost categories:
1. Shared Campaign Costs
These happen once, regardless of how many garment types you have:
- Design prep & color separation: $30–$75 per design (this is ONE job, not three)
- Customer communication & proofing: Estimated at $0.50–$1.00 per order
- Administrative overhead: File management, invoice creation, tracking
For a mix order with one design across three garment types, don't multiply the color separation cost. It's already done.
2. Per-Garment-Type Setup & Production
Each unique garment base (black shirt vs. navy hoodie) requires separate screens, inks, and process tuning:
- Screen preparation: $15–$25 per color per screen
- Ink mixing & testing: $10–$20 per garment type (to ensure correct base and flow)
- First-piece approval & micro-adjustments: $5–$10 per garment type
- Setup time on press: 10–20 minutes per station change (factor labor)
Key insight: You're not charging setup three times. You're charging it once per production run, and that's fair.
3. Per-Piece Production & Materials
This is straightforward, but the variables matter:
- Ink cost per impression: Measure actual ink weight. Dark navy uses ~15% more ink than black on cotton. ($0.20–$0.50 per piece)
- Labor per piece: Include flash time, cure time, fold/pack. A performance tee with extended cure might take 2 minutes; a basic black shirt takes 1.5. ($0.50–$1.50 per piece)
- Garment cost: Already quoted by your supplier (you're not the variable here)
Practical Pricing Formula for Mix Orders
Here's the structure to use:
Total Quote = Shared Costs + (Setup × Garment Types) + (Per-Piece × Quantity × Garment Type)
Example:
- 50 black t-shirts
- 30 navy hoodies
- 20 athletic gray performance tees
- Same 1-color front design
Calculation:
| Cost Bucket | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Campaign Costs | Color sep + design proof | $50 |
| Setup (Black T-Shirts) | Screen + ink mix + press setup | $30 |
| Setup (Navy Hoodies) | Screen + ink mix + press setup + tacky base | $40 |
| Setup (Gray Performance) | Screen + ink mix + press setup + special cure | $45 |
| Production (Black T-Shirts) | 50 × ($0.35 ink + $0.75 labor + $0.10 overhead) | $55 |
| Production (Navy Hoodies) | 30 × ($0.40 ink + $0.90 labor + $0.15 overhead) | $47.50 |
| Production (Gray Performance) | 20 × ($0.38 ink + $1.00 labor + $0.20 overhead) | $31.60 |
| TOTAL | $299.10 |
Per-piece breakdown:
- Black t-shirts: $299.10 ÷ 100 total pieces = $2.99/piece (client's garment cost ~$1.50, so mark-up ~2×)
- Average across mix: $3.00–$3.50/piece depending on your mix
How to Quote This Without Overcomplicating
Your customer doesn't want to see all three buckets. Use a tiered, simple quote structure:
Quote Summary
One-Color Front Print | Same Design Across Three Garment Types
- Setup & Design: $150 (includes all prep, color sep, proofing)
- Printing (50 Black Tees @ $3.00 each): $150
- Printing (30 Navy Hoodies @ $3.50 each): $105
- Printing (20 Gray Performance @ $3.50 each): $70
Total: $475 | Effective per-piece: $3.18
Notice: You've bundled shared costs into a single Setup & Design line. This looks fair to the customer and doesn't trigger sticker shock from multiple setup fees.
Pro Tips to Lock In Profitability
Use a job costing sheet or calculator. Don't eyeball it. Tools like Kontraktr's pricing calculator let you input garment type, ink base, cure settings, and labor rates once—then apply them consistently across similar mix orders. Over time, you'll build confidence in your numbers and quote faster.
Segment ink costs by garment type. Navy and black aren't the same. Weigh a sample print on each and log the actual ink usage. Update your rates quarterly.
Communicate the value clearly. Tell your customer: "We're bundling your design setup so you're not paying three separate fees. The per-piece rate is higher for hoodies and performance wear because they require longer cure and special ink bases—but your total cost is lower than ordering separately." Transparency builds trust.
Offer a volume discount—carefully. For mix orders over 150 total pieces, consider dropping 5–10% off the per-piece rate (but not the setup). It's a win-win: they feel heard, you're still profitable because total volume increases.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Not accounting for different ink bases: Dark navy and athletic gray both need custom ink formulas. This isn't free.
- Underestimating cure time variance: Performance fabric cures slower. Your labor cost per piece is higher. Don't ignore it.
- Charging full setup for each garment type when quantities are small: If the customer wants 5 hoodies, don't charge them like it's a 50-piece run. Adjust setup cost proportionally.
- Forgetting about first-piece waste: Each garment type will have 1–3 test pieces. Budget ~$10–$20 per type for this.
Next Steps
1. Audit your last 10 mix orders. What did you actually charge vs. what the formula says? You'll spot your pricing gaps immediately.
2. Create a simple quote template for your top three garment-type combinations (t-shirt + hoodie, t-shirt + performance tee, etc.). Pre-fill the shared and per-type costs. This cuts quoting time from 20 minutes to 5.
3. Track actual production times on the next three mix orders. Log labor time per garment type, ink usage, and waste. Use this data to refine your rates.
Mix orders aren't more complicated—they just need a clearer structure. Once you segment costs properly, you'll quote with confidence, win more sales, and stop leaving money on the table.
Start tracking your costs accurately today—your margin will thank you.