How to Start a Screen Printing Business

Part 1 - How to start a Screen Printing business - Background

A screen printing business specializes in printing images on t-shirts or other items of clothing. There is flexibility to operate such a business completely online or via a traditional store. The store may also offer pre-set options for images and phrases as well as allowing customers to submit their own designs. The ability of such a store to create t-shirts for schools and businesses also provides a great way to build community spirit.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start a Screenprinting business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a screen printing business?

It is relatively cheap to open a screen printing business. The specialized printer you need can typically costs $10,000 or less; the supplies you need to start, including many shirts to print on, can typically be obtained for less than $5,000. Such a business can be operated from your home, so there is no need to lease a separate space. Instead, you can spend about $500 to design a professional website, and about $5,000 on traditional advertising, including radio ads, newspaper ads, and a combination of fliers, business cards, and direct mail.

What are the ongoing expenses for a screen printing business?

The ongoing expenses for this business are variable because you may have to order more materials in some months and fewer materials in other months. Generally, you will spend about two dollars per t-shirt, and about $1.50 per silk screen you create. If you buy pre-made silk screens, they cost about $25 a piece, and ink costs amount to about five cents per shirt. Beyond this—and the need to pay a hundred dollars or less per year to host your website—you don’t really have any ongoing expenses, as extra costs such as shipping are billed to the customer directly.

Who is the target market?

While people of all demographics buy screen printed t-shirts, your target market is typically males between the ages of 15 and 25. Such a demographic is more social and enjoys using custom t-shirts to express aspects of their interests and identity to new people that they meet.

How does a screen printing business make money?

A screen printing business makes money by selling individuals t-shirts and other items of clothing with preset or customized designs on them.

How much can you charge customers?

How much you charge customers varies based on many factors such as t-shirt colors, amount of shirts, and how quickly the customer needs them. For instance, you might charge nine dollars for printing a design on a single color shirt, but if the same customer orders a hundred or more, you may charge them as little as five or six dollars. For someone ordering a shirt with six colors, you’d likely charge between twelve and fourteen dollars for the shirt or as low as eight dollars if they are buying in bulk.

How much profit can a screen printing business make?

The amount of profit you can make is completely dependent on how many customers and orders you get per year. Some successful screen printers make $100,000 a year or more by amassing large numbers of clients that need to regularly order shirts in bulk. Realistically, your profits will be smaller to start with, although the ability to do this business from home means that you can start it as a second job and build your brand and reputation before making this your sole form of income.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Most of your customers will order from you online, so consider investing in some form of software to help you monitor customer data and email them about your latest products and deals. Try to offer a large variety of clothing options—while every screenprinter sells t-shirts, you may be able to sell things like hoodies and tank tops that the competition simply doesn’t have. Finally, keep detailed records of what is selling well and what is not, and use each quarter to refocus your business on giving your customers more of what they want.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a screen printing business?

The daily activities of a screen printing business are pretty straightforward: much of your time is spent communicating with existing customers, advertising to prospective customers, and finalizing designs for shirts. Beyond this, your time is spent buying and receiving raw materials, printing designs on shirts, and delivering them to your customers.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful screen printing business?

Skills in Photoshop and other image manipulation software will be invaluable in starting your business. Similarly, previous experience printing your own t-shirt designs for friends and family is a major help before doing so professionally. Photography experience can also be useful because there are some parallel skills, including working in specialized dark rooms.

What is the growth potential for a screen printing business?

The growth potential for such a business is modest, with the industry growing nearly two percent between 2011 and 2016. It is worth noting that the increasing popularity of buying custom products online through sites such as Etsy gives you more venues to find customers.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a screen printing business?

Try to quickly identify a target market and create a specialty product for that market. Be sure to give yourself ample time to learn how to operate the machinery and develop shirts in short amounts before doing it full time. Finally, don’t forget to attach tags to the shirts you sell—this serves as an additional way to build your brand and advertise your products.

How and when to build a team

Because many screen printing businesses are run from people’s homes, it is unlikely you will need a team such as a formal retail team. However, you may want to partner with gifted artists in order to offer a greater diversity of designs for your products. If you do so, you should wait until after the first year (at minimum) to ensure there is enough demand to warrant expanding your team and splitting your profits.

Part 2 - Is a Screen Printing business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your Screen Printing business in 90 days