How to build a profitable pricing strategy for your print shop

Pricing Is the foundation of a profitable print shop

Pricing your products is one of the most stressful parts of running a print business. You don’t want to scare off potential customers with prices that feel too high… but you also don’t want to work hard and barely break even.

That tension is real, and it’s something almost every print shop owner faces. But here’s the good news: once you learn how to break pricing down into a few simple parts, it stops being guesswork and starts being strategy.

A strong pricing strategy helps you:

• Cover all your real costs (not just materials)
• Build in healthy profit margins
• Stay competitive without undercutting yourself
• Scale easily as your business grows

Too many print shops fall into the same traps:

• Copying competitor prices without understanding their own numbers
• Ignoring hidden costs like packaging, time, or shipping
• Offering deep discounts to stay busy — but losing money on every order

This blog post will help you fix that. We’ll walk you through each step to build a pricing strategy that’s actually profitable, including:

• How to calculate your true cost per item
• How to set smart margins that leave room for growth
• How to use tools (like Joto’s profit calculator) to test pricing scenarios
• How to avoid price wars, and win by delivering more value
• And how to create flexible pricing tiers that grow with your shop

Let’s dive in, and make sure your prices actually work for you, not against you.

Step 1: Identify all your costs (not just the obvious ones)

Before you can set any kind of price, you need to know exactly how much it costs you to produce each item. This goes way beyond just the blank t-shirt or mug, and skipping this step is one of the most common mistakes in the industry.

Think of your cost per unit as the total amount it takes to make, prepare, and deliver one finished product. If you don’t calculate this correctly, your margins will be off, and you could be undercharging without realizing it.

Here's what to include in your cost calculation:

• Blank product cost: This includes the t-shirt, mug, tote bag, photo panel, or whatever item you’re printing on.
• Consumables: Think sublimation paper, DTF film, vinyl, ink, adhesive powder, tape, and packaging materials.
• Shipping on supplies: Don’t forget to divide shipping costs from your supplier across your inventory.
• Labor or time value: Even if you’re the one doing the work, your time has value. Estimate how long it takes you to make one item and assign a dollar value to that time.
• Machine wear and tear: Heat presses, printers, and cutters don’t last forever. You can amortize their cost over time by estimating how many units you expect to produce before replacing them.
• Utilities and overhead: Electricity, workspace rent, software subscriptions, if it helps you run your shop, it should factor in.
• Packaging and handling: Boxes, labels, tissue paper, thank-you cards, it adds up.

☕️ Example of cost breakdown for a Mug

Once you have this number, you can use it as the base for building your price, and making sure every sale is profitable.

Pro tip: If your production process varies by product type, repeat this step for each category (e.g., shirts, mugs, DTF transfers, aluminum panels).

Step 2: Know your market and benchmark competitor pricing

Once you know your real costs, the next step is to understand your market landscape. In other words:

• What are other print shops charging, and how does your offer compare?

This step isn’t about copying your competitors. It’s about gathering intel so you can position your pricing strategically. Knowing what others charge helps you avoid two major mistakes:

1. Charging way too low, thinking it will attract more customers, but bleeding profit in the process.
2. Charging too high, without offering enough value to justify it.

How to benchmark competitor prices

Here’s how to do it without overcomplicating things:

• Search on Etsy, Amazon, or Instagram Shops for products similar to yours (e.g., “custom sublimated mugs,” “personalized tote bags”)
• Look at print-on-demand platforms like Printful, Printify, or Teespring, they have public base and retail prices
• Check local competitors or fellow creators in your niche/region
• Note prices by category: shirts, mugs, hoodies, bundles, etc.

Create a quick spreadsheet or list like this:

What to look for

• Are they charging more because they offer extras (like custom names, premium packaging, faster shipping)?
• Are they selling cheap but cutting corners (generic blanks, poor quality prints, slow turnaround)?
• What’s the value proposition they’re leading with? (e.g., handmade, small batch, fast delivery, eco-friendly)

⚠️ Warning: don’t race to the bottom

Just because someone is selling $12 shirts doesn’t mean you should too. You have no idea:

• What their costs are
• How much profit they’re actually making (if any)
• Whether they’re running a long-term business or just clearing inventory

Instead of competing on price alone, compete on:

• Speed: Same-day or 48-hour production
• Customization: Offer names, designs, or bundles
• Presentation: Packaging, branding, unboxing experience
• Customer service: Real communication, tracking, follow-up

Takeaway: Know what the market charges, not to copy, but to understand where you fit in, and how you can price for value and profit.

Step 3: Set profit margins that make sense

Now that you’ve identified your costs and benchmarked competitor prices, it’s time to do the part that actually grows your business: setting profit margins that support your goals.

Too many print shop owners pick a price that "feels fair", but that guesswork leaves money on the table. Let’s do it right.

💰 What is a profit margin?

Your profit margin is the difference between what it costs you to make a product and what you charge your customer.

Basic formula:

• Selling Price – Total Cost = Profit
• Profit ÷ Total Cost × 100 = Profit Margin (%)

Let’s say it costs you $8.00 to make a custom mug (like we calculated earlier), and you sell it for $18:

• Profit = $18 – $8 = $10
• Margin = $10 ÷ $8 × 100 = 125%

That’s a healthy margin, and it gives you flexibility to offer discounts or bundle deals without sacrificing profitability.

📊 How much margin should you aim for?

Here’s a general guide for the print industry:

Tip: Add more margin when:

• You offer customization
• You provide premium packaging
• You include rush production or fast shipping

🛑 Don’t just “double your cost”

That old rule of thumb, “just multiply your cost by 2”, might sometimes work, but it’s not reliable. Why?

• It ignores your market positioning
• It doesn’t factor in labor or scale
• It might work for mugs but fail for shirts or bundles

Instead, set your margins intentionally, based on:

• Product type
• Order volume
• Market value perception
• Long-term growth targets

Takeaway: Pricing is not about being the cheapest. It’s about setting a price that reflects your value, covers your costs, and funds your future growth.

Step 4: Use a profit calculator to test scenarios

Once you've estimated your costs and set a profit margin, the next smart move is to validate your pricing using real scenarios. This is where a profit calculator becomes your best friend, especially if you're offering multiple product types, sizes, or customizations.

Instead of guessing if your price is right, a calculator helps you see the numbers clearly before you commit.

🧮 What Is a profit  calculator?

A profit calculator is a simple tool that lets you plug in:

• Unit cost (including materials, time, shipping, packaging, etc.)
• Desired markup or margin
• Selling price
• Order quantity

And then it instantly shows you:

• Your total cost
• Profit per unit
• Total profit per order
• Whether your price supports your goals

💡 Why use one?

Here’s what a calculator can help you catch before you price too low:

• Are you undercharging for small custom orders?
• Can you offer bulk discounts and still make money?
• Does increasing your price by just $1 or $2 improve your margins significantly?

🔧 Using Joto’s profit calculator

Let’s say you’re selling a custom tote bag. You enter:

• Cost per unit: $7.20
• Desired profit margin: 120%
• Suggested retail price: $15.85
• Quantity: 20

The calculator will show:

• Total cost: $144
• Total revenue: $317
• Total profit: $173
• Profit per unit: $8.65

With this insight, you can easily adjust your pricing or discounts depending on the order size or production batch.

Pro tip: Build a pricing table based on volume

Using a calculator also helps you pre-build volume-based pricing tiers, like:

Step 5: Avoid the race to the bottom, Compete on value, NOT price

It’s tempting to lower your prices when you see competitors offering similar products for less. But here’s the truth:

• Trying to be the cheapest almost always backfires.

When you compete on price alone, it leads to thinner margins, burned-out workflows, and the kind of customer who disappears the moment someone else is $1 cheaper. That’s not sustainable, especially for small or growing print shops.

Instead, compete on value. Give people a reason to pay a little more, and be happy they did.

⚠️ Why undercutting hurts you

• You train customers to expect discounts
• You end up working harder for less
• It becomes harder to invest in quality, packaging, or customer service
• Your business can’t scale because there’s no profit to reinvest

✅ Ways to compete on value (instead of price)

Here’s what you can offer to stand out, without lowering your price:

• Better turnaround time: Deliver faster and reliably
• More customization options: Names, dates, design tweaks, premium placements
• Branded packaging: Elevate the unboxing experience
• Higher-quality blanks: Customers notice and pay for softness, durability, or premium materials
• Real customer service: Fast replies, proactive communication, clear expectations
• Social proof: Reviews, testimonials, or photos from past buyers

Example

Let’s say your competitor is selling custom mugs for $12.

You charge $18, but your version comes:

• In a premium gift box
• With custom name personalization
• Delivered in 48 hours
• With a thank-you note and care instructions

Guess what? Most customers will pay the extra $6, because it feels worth it.

📣 Price = Perception

The truth is, your price says something about your business. A product that’s priced too low can signal:

• Poor quality
• Inexperience
• Low confidence
• “Too good to be true” vibes

Instead, price with confidence and show the customer that what you’re offering is worth every cent.

Takeaway: Competing on value, not price, lets you build a brand, grow sustainably, and attract loyal, repeat customers.

Step 6: Build scalable pricing tiers

One of the smartest things you can do for your print business is set up pricing tiers that grow with your customers. Instead of offering one flat price for every order, you create a system that:

• Rewards bigger orders
• Makes bulk pricing predictable
• Helps you scale without losing control of your margins

Think of it like this: you’re not just pricing for today, you’re pricing for the business you want to become.

📦 Why tiered pricing works

• Increases average order value by encouraging bigger purchases
• Saves time by avoiding one-off quotes for every custom order
• Builds loyalty with return customers or resellers
• Protects your margins across different order sizes

🧱 How to build your pricing tiers

Start by defining three to four quantity ranges:

Then, for each product type (shirts, mugs, tote bags, etc.), use your cost and margin data to set floor pricing — the absolute minimum you can charge while staying profitable.

💡 Segment by use case

You can also create tiers based on customer type or use case, like:

• Retail pricing: For customers ordering 1–5 pieces
• Event pricing: For weddings, schools, or small businesses ordering 10–50 units
• Wholesale pricing: For resellers or stores ordering 100+ units per month

📎 Make it easy for customers

• List your pricing tiers clearly on your product page or quote form
• Add a “Need more than 100 units?” prompt to invite custom quotes
• Automate volume-based pricing in your ecommerce store if possible (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.)

Conclusion: your pricing = your power

Pricing doesn’t have to be stressful or mysterious. Once you understand your costs, set your margins intentionally, and use tools to validate your numbers, you’re no longer guessing, you’re running a business with a strategy.

Let’s recap the key steps:

• Identify all your costs, including labor, overhead, and materials
• Research your market — but don’t just copy prices blindly
• Set margins that make sense for your goals and business model
• Use a profit calculator to test your pricing with real numbers
• Avoid price wars by offering more value, not less money
• Build scalable pricing tiers to handle growth smoothly

With the right structure, you’ll stop racing to the bottom and start charging what your work is truly worth. And more importantly, your print shop will be built on a solid, profitable foundation.

Need help figuring out where to start?

Contact the Joto Imaging Supplies team, we’re here to support your growth with the tools, blanks, and guidance you need to succeed.