Screen-Printing Quote Checklist: Costs and Scope

A useful quote starts with a defined job. Confirm the garment mix, artwork, print locations, and delivery scope before choosing a price. Then allocate each cost once.

Published by Screenprintcalc · Updated September 22, 2026

1. Define exactly what will be delivered

Record the finished quantity, garment style, sizes, and garment colors. Separate the finished quantity from blanks purchased for testing or allowance. Note whether garments are supplied by the shop or customer. If costs differ by size or style, price the groups separately or document a weighted average.

List every print location, artwork version, and planned color. Confirm whether preparation includes an underbase or special processing rather than assuming a color count describes the entire job. Keep artwork approval and revisions in the scope you give to the customer.

2. Build a cost sheet with clear boundaries

3. Check materials against the planned run

Use the blank allowance calculator to distinguish extra stock from expected rejects. Allocate extras to the sizes and colors where you can use them. Check ink consumption by color and print location, using a comparable measured rate. If screens need coating, estimate the batch with the emulsion calculator.

Recovered material and unused blanks may remain inventory rather than being consumed by the job. State whether your estimate budgets purchases, prepared materials, or actual expected consumption. A consistent convention makes the next estimate easier to compare with the completed job.

4. Price the order and label exclusions

Run the complete inputs through the job pricing calculator. Check the suggested unit price, total quote, and job profit. The default estimate excludes tax and shipping; determine and show those separately where applicable. Do not present the generated job sheet as an invoice or a tax calculation.

Write down the delivery scope, packing or folding requirements, quote validity period, payment arrangement, and what happens if artwork or quantities change. Those are business decisions to make for your own shop; this checklist does not supply contract terms.

A scope change that should trigger a new estimate

Imagine a 100-shirt front-print quote. The customer then adds a back print. The garment quantity may stay at 100, but setup, print impressions, production time, and consumables can all change. Reusing the old quote and adding only ink cost would omit the other work. Recalculate the changed inputs rather than assuming a universal per-color surcharge.

5. Compare the estimate with the completed job

Keep the printed job sheet, then record actual labor hours, blanks used, rejected prints, and material consumption. Note why any value changed: a new setup, a size mix, a revision, or a one-off incident. Use those observations to improve the next comparable estimate. The site does not save job history, so keep these records in your own shop system.

This checklist is a planning aid, not a supplier specification or industry pricing survey. See our methods and limitations for the assumptions behind the calculators.

For a complete numerical walkthrough, use the 100-shirt cost and quote example.

Resolve the details that change the estimate

For different blank prices, build a weighted garment-cost estimate. When another location is requested, update preparation, impressions, and handling together. For supplied garments, use the print-only costing boundary rather than subtracting an old selling price.

AI-assisted educational content. Examples are illustrative; arithmetic is checked against the stated methods. This is not a field-tested production specification. Read our editorial policy.