A reader, James McCready, left a comment on our Hard-Won Wisdom post that deserves more than a reply in a comment box. He wrote: “If we’re being honest, pricing in our space is becoming a race to the bottom, and it’s hurting everyone.”

He’s right. Custom screen printing in the U.S. is a $12.8 billion industry with over 15,000 businesses. The pie is bigger than ever. The question how do you manage screen printing pricing.

The Problem

Tom Davenport wrote on the Ink Kitchen in 2015 that “market price is determined by the stupidest bidder.” That hasn’t changed. The barrier to entry has dropped with DTF and print-on-demand, and more operators price on feel rather than math. Industry surveys find that nearly 60% of small business failures tie back to pricing and cash flow. Not bad products. Bad math.

The tariff chaos has made this worse. The country-specific IEEPA tariffs that spiked garment costs in 2025 were struck down by the Supreme Court on February 20, but the administration replaced them within hourswith a 10–15% global tariff under Section 122. Rates are roughly similar, the uncertainty continues, and garment costs haven’t come back down. If your screen printing pricing didn’t adjust through all of this, you’re absorbing someone else’s cost increase with your own margin.

Your pricing has to cover equipment, rent, utilities, insurance, consumables, garments, setup, press time, livable wages, benefits, training, QC, misprints, artwork, customer service, shipping, taxes, and profit. That last one isn’t greed. It’s what buys a new dryer when yours dies.

But pricing wisdom cuts both ways. Rick Roth wrote that “pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered” advising a customer down from 1,000 shirts to 125 because he knew they’d get stuck with inventory. He made money that day and the next time they called. Don’t undercharge. Don’t gouge. Charge fairly, advise honestly, build relationships that outlast any single order.

Compete on Value, Not Price

James said the industry should stop competing to be cheapest and start competing on value. That means educating customers, most don’t know the difference between a $2 shirt and a $5 shirt works out to about two pennies per wear. It means knowing your real costs and upcharging for work that takes longer. It means holding the line on professionalism, because as Screen Printing Magazine reported, 2026 is the year shops that invested in quality and systems pull away from those that didn’t.

When one shop races to the bottom, it drags the local market with it. When one holds the line, it lifts everyone.

This is the conversation we need. Review your pricing twice a year. Know your costs. Educate your customers. Charge what your work is worth. If we don’t talk about it, nothing changes.

What’s your hard-won pricing wisdom? Leave it in the comments.