How to Estimate and Reduce DTF Printing Cost

Direct-to-Film (DTF) printing has been considered suitable for small printing business with its easier setup, faster turnaround and unparalleled color representation. However, upfront investment and printing cost are also two significant factors in deciding whether it is optimal to your business or not. 
In this passage, we’ll take a closer look into related consumption and costs of DTF printing and explore more ways to minimize them.

Written by Procolored - Published on Sept 13, 2024

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8 minutes read

8 minutes read

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Written by Procolored - Published on Sept 13, 2024

PASSAGE SUMMARY

1.  How to Estimate DTF Printing Cost
1.1  DTF Printing Cost Breakdown
1.2  Cost Calculation
2.  Ways to Reduce DTF Printing Cost
2.1  Choose the Cost-Efficient Products
2.2  Reduce Waste

Title

1.  How to Estimate DTF Printing Cost

1.1  DTF Printing Cost Breakdown

First of all, again let’s review the DTF printing process:

Confirm graphic design 

on computer

Use an oven to 

cure the powder

Apply DTF printer to 

print out the graphic

Heat press the graphic 

onto fabrics

Spread adhesive 

powder on graphic 

Peel off the 

graphic film

Confirm graphic design 

on computer

Apply DTF printer to

print out the graphic

Spread adhesive

powder on graphic 

Use an oven to

cure the powder

Heat press the graphic

onto fabrics

Peel off the 

graphic film

Through the printing process, it’s not hard to sort out all the related cost of finishing a DTF printing. Generally it can be summarized as breakdown as below:

Printing cost: Including costs caused by the consumption of inks, films and adhesive powder.

Equipment cost: This cost encompasses two parts - product purchase & machine maintenance, including machines like DTF printer, oven, heat press and sometimes air purifier.

Fabric cost: Cost spent on the blank commodities, can be t-shirts, hoodies, caps and so on.

Other cost: Including costs of waste printing, power consumption or human labor during the printing operation.

1.2  Cost Calculation 

To better understand how to estimate DTF printing cost, let’s put in some real values.

Printing cost = $0.25 + $0.7 + $0.15 = $1.1
Ink cost: Here we assume the graphic printing size to be A4 letter size. Generally speaking, an 1000ml ink valued $100 can support 400 prints in average. That’s to say, in this case each print cost 2.5ml ink valued $0.25.
Film cost: Here we assume the printer to be a sheet-fed version. 100 pieces of printing film cost $70, equivalent to $0.7 per sheet. 
Powder cost: An A4 letter size print normally requires 1.5g adhesive powder. 1000g powder cost $100, that’s to say the powder cost of each print will be $0.15

Equipment cost = $1.15 + $0.25 = $1.4
Product purchase: Conservatively estimated, an A4 DTF printer, plus an oven and a heat press, all together cost about $3,000. 
Product cost can be greatly affected by machine lifespan and one's printing plan. Assume all the machines work in good condition for a year, that would be 52 weeks in total. Meanwhile, assume that we print about 50 t-shirts (an A4 letter sized print on each) a week. That’s to say, the product cost of each shirt equals to $1.15=$3,000/52 weeks/50 t-shirts.
Maintenance cost: We previously assume that all the machines would support a year of smooth performance, yet this ideal situation can only occur when there’s regular maintenance performed, especially for a digital printer. Considering the possibility of clogged or damaged printhead, we now suppose a printer needs printhead replacement twice a year, and each costs $320. Therefore, the maintenance cost of each shirt equals to $0.25=$640/52 weeks/50 t-shirts.

Fabric cost = $3
Here we take T-shirt as example. T-shirt price varies greatly from the fabric substrate and design. On Alibaba wholesale websites, a shirt that meets quality requirements costs around $3.

Other cost: 20%
This cost includes expense caused by printing waste, human labor and power, etc. Here we add a 20% cost rate for them to further calculate our total printing cost.

To sum up, conservatively estimated, the cost of per custom shirt would be $6.6 = ($1.1+$1.4+$3)*120%
True that this breakdown and calculation somehow is too ideal or perfect, since in actual operation there will be variants incurred by diverse printing habits. Still, it can be used to roughly estimate a printing cost for your personal reference or business pricing.

2.  Ways to Reduce DTF Printing Cost

2.1   Choose the Cost-Efficient Products

Choosing some cost-efficient products to the greatest extent helps us save cost in product maintenance, particularly in the following details:

More reliable and stable performance: Consider the printer as an example. Most printers on the current market apply squeezing(peristaltic) circulation system to support ink supply, which unfortunately accelerates the aging of ink pipelines, leading to clogging issues more frequently. Instead, choosing new printers with advanced ink circulation can greatly improve printer lifespan thus reducing equipment cost of DTF printing.

Higher efficiency: Incorporating automatic machines into your DTF printing workflow can also help you reduce the printing cost. Automatic machines like powder shaker or smart heat press will free you from manual operations and shorten the printing turnaround.

Attentive customer service and tech support: Improper (dis)assembly, operation or repairs might cause unexpected damage to machines. An attentive customer service and tech support will provide timely and informative help to effectively solve problems thus reduce maintenance cost.

2.2   Reduce Waste

Choose small graphic for color test: Some printer users prefer printing out a color test before starting their everyday printing plan, which inevitably will consume ink and film. Choosing smaller graphics to do color test can help you save printing consumables while still ensuring an effective color reference.

Perform regular maintenance and calibration: Daily or regular cleaning on machine components like printhead, waste ink collector or capping station helps us avoid interrupted prints caused by nozzle clogging; daily or regular calibration on printer color space, working temperature or humidity helps us alleviate color deviation in the printing outcome, lowering printing deficiency rate.

Apply genuine consumables only: Most DTF printer brands provide purchase for compatible consumables like ink, film or adhesive powder, which are developed and designed to fit with each other. For example, specified ink drying time to comply with the printer’s printing speed; specified ink viscosity to conform to the film surface. Applying genuine and compatible consumables can guarantee higher reproduction, especially for intricate graphics.

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About the Author - Joyce

Joyce has worked with Procolored since the first day she joined inkjet printing career. Through continual  training courses and years of working experiences, Joyce has formed a comprehensive understanding over Procolored products and a thorough knowledge of printing technologies.

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