A UK-focused guide to pricing custom print products correctly, so you cover your costs and still make a fair profit.
Quick answer: Use cost-plus pricing: add up your material cost, machine time, labour, and overheads, then apply a markup. Most UK print sellers aim for a 50 to 70 percent margin on retail products such as mugs, T-shirts, and stickers. For the full launch process, see our guide on how to start a printing business in the UK, and check our equipment checklist before you calculate your costs.
Why underpricing is the most common mistake
New printers routinely price their work too low, usually because they only count the material cost and forget their time, equipment wear, and overheads. This works fine for the first few orders, then becomes exhausting once volume increases and the true cost of each job becomes clear.
Pricing correctly from day one protects your margins as you grow and avoids the awkward situation of raising prices sharply once loyal customers are used to a lower rate.
The cost-plus pricing formula
Work through these five elements for every product line before setting a price.
Material cost: the blank item, ink or transfer material, and packaging used for a single unit.
Machine time: a share of your equipment’s purchase price and maintenance cost, spread across its expected lifetime output.
Your labour: pay yourself a real hourly rate for design, production, and packing time, rather than treating your own time as free.
Overheads: platform fees, shipping contribution, packaging materials, and a share of your workspace costs.
Profit margin: add your target markup on top of the total cost, once the above four are covered.
A simple worked example for a custom mug: blank mug and sublimation transfer cost around £1.20, machine and labour time adds roughly £1.50, packaging and platform fees add £1.30, giving a true cost of around £4.00. At a typical UK retail price of £9 to £15, that gives a healthy margin once you have accounted for every cost properly.
Typical UK margins by niche
Stickers and labels: among the highest-margin products, since material cost per unit is a few pence and small businesses reorder frequently.
Mugs and personalised gifts: strong margins with predictable seasonal spikes around Christmas and Father’s Day.
Custom apparel: margins vary by method. DTF and heat-press transfers carry lower per-unit costs than DTG for small runs, though DTG suits higher volumes better.
Business stationery: typically the tightest margins per item, but repeat local business clients make up for this with order frequency.
Researching your local market
Check what three or four competitors charge for a comparable product before you finalise your own price list. Look at both marketplace sellers (Etsy) and local print shops if you are targeting business clients.
Do not simply match the lowest price you find. Buyers choosing custom, personalised products are usually looking for quality and a fast turnaround rather than the cheapest listing on the page, so a well-presented product with clear branding can support a higher price than a generic competitor.
Quoting and payment terms
For one-off retail orders (mugs, T-shirts, stickers), payment upfront through your online shop or marketplace is standard practice.
For larger business orders, such as bulk business cards or event stationery, consider a deposit before you start production, with the balance due on completion or collection. This protects you from buying materials for a job that gets cancelled partway through.
Once you build repeat business clients, invoicing on short payment terms becomes reasonable, provided you have a clear written agreement covering late payment.
Reviewing your prices over time
Revisit your price list every few months. Material costs shift, your production speed usually improves with practice, and demand for certain products changes seasonally, so a price that worked at launch may no longer reflect your actual costs a year later.
Frequently asked questions
What margin should I aim for on custom-printed products?
Most UK home printers aim for 50 to 70 percent margin on retail items such as mugs, stickers, and apparel, once material cost, machine time, and overheads are fully accounted for.
Should I charge a design fee separately?
Yes, if you are creating custom artwork from scratch rather than using a customer’s own design. Design is a skilled, time-consuming task and deserves its own line item rather than being folded into the print price.
How do I know if my prices are too low?
If you are consistently busy but not building any savings or reinvestment budget after covering your material and time costs, your prices are almost certainly too low for the volume you are producing.