Two suppliers quote “a printed mug with your logo”. One is 40% cheaper. Usually neither is wrong — they just priced different things. Understanding what moves the unit price lets you compare quotes properly, and lets you cut cost without cutting the thing that matters.
1. Why does quantity change the price so much?
Every custom run carries fixed setup work that costs the same whether you make 50 or 5,000: screens or plates, machine calibration, colour mixing, a first-article check and the line setup itself. Spread across 5 units that setup dominates the price; across 5,000 it disappears.
That is why almost every product on our site is priced in tiers. Unit price steps down as you cross each quantity band. The practical consequence: if you need 120 units and the next tier starts at 150, the 150-unit total is sometimes very close to the 120-unit total. Always price both.
2. Does the decoration method change the price?
Yes — it is usually the single biggest variable after quantity. Roughly, from least to most expensive:
- Screen printing — one screen per colour per position. Cheap at volume, but each additional colour adds a screen and a pass.
- Heat transfer — no screens, so short runs and full-colour artwork are economical. Cost scales per item rather than per colour.
- Embroidery — priced by stitch count. A dense, large logo costs more than a small one, and 3D puff embroidery costs more than flat.
- Engraving, etching and RF welding — tooling or machine time based. Often viable from very low quantities because there is no per-colour screen.
3. How much do extra print positions and colours add?
Each print position (front, back, sleeve, both sides of a bottle) means another setup and another pass, so it is priced almost like a second small job. Each extra screen-print colour adds one screen. A common mistake is designing a four-colour logo for a 200-piece run when a one-colour version would look cleaner and cost materially less.
Ask for the price both ways. We routinely return a two-colour and a full-colour option side by side so you can see what the difference actually buys.
4. Does the blank product matter as much as the printing?
On drinkware and apparel, often more. A 304 stainless mug and a 316 stainless mug are not the same product — 316 has better corrosion resistance and is the usual choice for premium drinkware. On apparel, fabric weight (measured in GSM) and construction change both the feel and how well a print sits on the surface. A heavier, better-made blank raises the unit cost but is the difference between a gift that gets kept and one that gets left in a drawer.
5. What costs do buyers forget to budget for?
- Sample fees — a physical pre-production sample costs a fee. On our orders that fee is credited back against the bulk order.
- Tooling — custom moulds, dies or embossing plates for packaging and metal items are one-off charges.
- Artwork rework — supplying a low-resolution file means someone has to redraw it. Sending vector artwork avoids this entirely.
- Expedite fees — compressing a 15-day schedule into 7 days means overtime and resequencing.
- Freight and duties — see the shipping terms question below. On heavy items like drinkware, freight can rival the unit cost.
6. How do I get an accurate number without waiting for an email?
Use the live estimator on each product page. Choose the quantity, colour, decoration method and print positions, and the estimated total updates as you change them. It reads the same tiered price table our quotes are built from, so the number you see is the number we will quote — not a ballpark.
For anything unusual — mixed sizes across a style, a gift set with four components, a packaging run matched to a product launch — the estimator will not cover every case. Send the brief and we will return a tiered quote, MOQ and lead time within one business day.
7. What about payment terms?
Standard terms are a 50% deposit to start production and the balance before shipment. We accept bank transfer (T/T), major cards and PayPal. Sample fees are credited to the bulk order, so the sample is effectively free once you proceed.
Need a real number for your quantity? Open any product and configure it, or send us the brief. Full commercial terms are in the Terms & Conditions, and the FAQ covers the rest.
