A Small Print Shop Tour | Sliding Screen Printing Pricing

Open since 2010, A Small Print Shop is part of Denver’s tight-knit screen printing community. “It’s a fun area to be a part of. There’s a handful of great print shops." As Denver has grown at historic levels, A Small Print Shop has grown alongside it.

Read more about A Small Print Shop here: https://www.printavo.com/blog/a-small...

Like Columbus, OH’s Tonic Studios, A Small Print Shop has moved away from the traditional garment markup pricing model toward a pure print cost pricing model. They charge a flat percentage markup on t-shirts (10%) and a slightly higher markup on fleece (20%). “We price for what we are actually doing, which is printing shirts. We’re not in the business of selling shirts, we’re in the business of printing shirts.”

Watch our tour with Tonic Studios here: https://www.printavo.com/blog/shop-to...

As wholesalers and distributors move toward a business model that allows the public to purchase garments at lower wholesale prices, screen printers would be wise to insulate their pricing models against cost fluctuations because of unpredictable garment prices.

They’ve crafted a simple custom formula that covers their costs. By calculating setup times, shipping costs, how long it will take to do screens and manage inks, A Small Print Shop knows their exact print cost. They don’t use price breaks like most shops do (where you get a progressively larger discount at 12, 24, 48, and so on) – instead, they use a breakless system that will calculate a slightly lower cost for 51 shirts versus 50 shirts.

If you’d like to get started with developing your own cost-based pricing system, check out our article about how to build a screen printing pricing matrix: https://www.printavo.com/blog/how-to-...

A Small Print Shop has dialed in its shop’s organization and cleanliness. They even keep a “clean side” of the shop and an “ink side” of the shop. That’s why their space seems so open – everything has its place. A Small Print Shop’s clean computer-to-screen setup lets them print 60+ screens a day, with their screen technician joking that Pride Month is the busiest time in the screen room (since rainbow prints require so many screens).

They’re also meticulous about color testing and Pantone matching, and it’s taken nearly 4 years to get their ink station perfected. Todd, their ink and production manager, explains their thinking: “The more we test, the less downtime we have on the press.” Their super sharp wall of inks isn’t just beautiful – it’s practical and useful.

Breweries, tech companies, restaurants, and dispensaries comprise most of A Small Print Shop’s business. The boon in local commerce in Denver has allowed them to take a more communal approach to their sales and marketing – they’ve enjoyed mostly organic growth without a big focus on outside sales. “The community aspect helps [...] we’re not fighting over business and being super cutthroat and competitive.”

A Small Print Shop also has some very cool boxes. While we’ve sung the praises of custom printed boxes before, A Small Print Shop has taken the idea to a new level. Their boxes are funny (labeled “A Box of Shirts” so they’re on-brand) and give them an organic marketing boost at events.

Visit A Small Print Shop on the web: https://www.asmallprintshop.net

And be sure to follow them on Instagram for updates and awesome pics:   / asmallprintshop  

We’re super thankful to have been part of A Small Print Shop’s rapid growth. They use Printavo to help them keep track of orders, schedule their jobs, check for quality, capture important details, collect payments and much more. We’re really looking forward to their next chapter – there’s sure to be more growth to come in the Denver area and the Colorado screen printing community.

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