Two quotes for the same job can differ purely in how they present the same costs. One folds everything into the unit price; the other itemizes. Neither is dishonest, and only one is comparable.
Here is what every line actually means.
One-time charges
Setup fee / screen charge. Preparing the press for your job. In screen printing this is burning a physical screen for each color in each location. A three-color front and one-color back is four screens. It is charged per screen, and the figure appears on your quote before you approve anything.
Digitizing. Converting your logo into an embroidery stitch file. Skilled work — the digitizer decides stitch direction, density and underlay, which is why the same logo digitized well and badly look different on the garment. It is quoted as a one-time charge and shown as its own line on your quote.
Art / vectorization charge. Redrawing a low-resolution logo as vector. Whether it applies depends on the artwork you send, and we tell you before any work starts.
Die or mold charge. For coins, custom molds, embossing plates. Sometimes substantial, always one-time, and it belongs to your job.
The important question on all of these: are they waived on reorders? A supplier who keeps your screens and stitch file saves you real money the second time. We keep your screens, stitch files and full job specifications for two years, so a reorder inside that window runs from the original files rather than being rebuilt from scratch.
Whether that earns you a discount depends on the job, and we would rather explain the variables than quote a number we cannot honor. Four things move it: whether the artwork is genuinely unchanged, whether the original screens are still serviceable, how long it has been since the first run, and the quantity you are reordering. A same-artwork repeat at similar volume a few months on is the best case. A reorder eighteen months later with a tweaked logo is effectively a new job, and pricing it as one is honest rather than opportunistic.
Ask when you reorder. It is worth a conversation rather than an assumption in either direction.
Quoting your project
Tell us the item, the quantity, how many colors and locations the artwork needs, and your in-hands date, and we will send back a quote with each of these charges shown as its own line rather than folded into the unit price. Every quote includes a free virtual proof, and nothing goes to production until you approve it in writing.
Reply within 24 business hours · every item has a minimum of at least 12 pieces · setup charge waived above $500 in product · artwork kept on file two years, so an exact reorder carries no new setup charge
Get an itemized quote call 1.888.452.0027, Mon–Fri 9–6 ET
Per-unit charges
Run charge. A per-piece cost for each additional color or location beyond the first. This is the one that quietly doubles a price — a four-color design carries three run charges on every unit.
PMS match charge. Mixing ink to a specific Pantone rather than using stock. Usually per color, sometimes per run.
Oversize imprint. Prints beyond standard dimensions cost more — more ink, more press time, sometimes a different press entirely.
Specialty ink. Metallic, glow, puff, discharge. Each behaves differently and prices differently.
Individual naming. Variable data — a different name on each unit — is priced per piece because each one is effectively its own job.
Order-level charges
Freight. Rarely included. Ask for it landed.
Split shipping. Per additional address. Twelve offices is twelve shipments plus twelve handling fees.
Individual polybagging. Each unit bagged and labeled, usually for distribution. Per piece.
Kitting. Assembling multiple items into one package. Priced by complexity.
Less-than-minimum fee. A surcharge for going under the per-item minimum, which some suppliers prefer to a hard refusal.
What is actually negotiable
Setup fees have some flex at volume, and are frequently waived on repeat orders. Run charges rarely move — they are real per-unit cost. Freight is what it is, though consolidating shipments helps. The blank itself is the most negotiable thing on the whole quote, because switching to a comparable garment can move the unit price more than any fee discussion.
How to compare two quotes properly
Ask both suppliers for the same three numbers: total landed cost, cost per unit including everything, and the exact blank — brand and style number.
Get the landed total, the all-in unit price and the exact blank — brand and style number — from everyone you ask. Without those three the cheaper quote is usually just the one with more left out of it.
Derek Capo, owner, CustomMark
Ready to price it? Send us the item, the quantity, your color count and imprint locations, your in-hands date and your artwork file, and we’ll come back with real pricing itemized line by line. Start a quote or call 1.888.452.0027.