How much does it cost to print a custom t-shirt in Canada?

For a small order, most people land somewhere between $18 and $35 per finished shirt including the garment. The spread is driven by quantity, method, colour count and the blank you choose — quantity being the biggest factor by a wide margin.

Why do quotes vary so much between shops?

Mostly because of setup costs. Screen printing carries a per-colour setup that has to be spread across your order, so the same job can be double the per-unit price at 12 pieces and half of it at 300. Ask what the setup charge is and how it is amortised.

What is the cheapest way to print t-shirts?

At high volume with a simple design, screen printing. At low volume, with colour, or with mixed garments, DTF transfers — because there is no setup cost to spread. The crossover usually sits somewhere in the low hundreds for a simple design.

How much do the blanks cost?

Blanks are frequently the largest single line in a finished shirt. A basic tee is a few dollars; a premium ringspun or a fashion-fit garment can be several times that. Two quotes can differ almost entirely on garment choice.

Is it cheaper to press shirts myself?

Per shirt, usually yes, if you own a heat press. You buy transfers and blanks and supply the labour. Whether that is worth it depends on how you value your time and how many shirts you are doing.

Do prices change by city?

Local labour and overhead differ, so shop quotes do vary between Toronto and a smaller market. Transfer pricing does not — our per-square-inch rate is the same everywhere in Canada, and shipping is a flat rate.

Guide · Business

How Much Does Custom T-Shirt Printing Cost in Canada?

Most small orders land between $18 and $35 per finished shirt including the garment — a spread wide enough to be almost useless until you know what drives it. This page breaks the cost into its actual parts so you can work out your own number rather than collecting quotes and guessing why they differ.

See transfer pricing →Price your design

The breakdown

Four things make up the price.

Every quote you get is these four numbers added together, whether or not the shop shows them separately.

What makes up the cost of a custom printed t-shirt
Component	Typical share	What moves it
The blank garment	Often the largest line	Basic vs premium vs fashion-fit. Can vary several times over.
The printing	Varies hugely by method	Method, colour count, print size and — critically — quantity.
Setup / origination	$0 to hundreds	Screen printing charges per colour. DTF and DTG do not.
Labour and handling	Usually built in	Higher in expensive markets. Higher for mixed sizes and garments.

The most common reason two quotes differ by twelve dollars a shirt is not that one shop is gouging you — it is that they quoted different blanks. Always ask which garment the price is based on.

By method

What each process costs, and where it wins.

Printing cost only, excluding the blank, at a small order of about 25 pieces. The ranking inverts almost completely at 300 pieces — screen printing becomes the cheapest by a wide margin.

Our own figure there is exact rather than illustrative: a 10" × 12" full-colour front print is 120 square inches at $0.0249 per square inch, which is $2.99 — the same at one piece or five hundred, with no setup fee. The others are ranges because they vary by shop, and screen printing in particular varies enormously with quantity.

The biggest factor

Quantity changes everything.

If you take one thing from this page: the method that is cheapest at 12 shirts is rarely the method that is cheapest at 300. Setup cost is the reason.

Cheapest printing method by order size
Order size	Usually cheapest	Why
1–12 shirts	DTF transfers	No setup to spread. Screen printing is uneconomic here and many shops decline it.
12–50 shirts	DTF transfers	Setup still dominates a screen quote, especially with more than one colour.
50–150 shirts	Depends on colours	One-colour designs start favouring screens; full-colour still favours DTF.
150–300 shirts	Screen printing (simple art)	Setup is becoming rounding. Per-unit ink cost is very low.
300+ shirts	Screen printing	Clear winner on a simple design. Not close.
Any size, photographic art	DTF or DTG	Colour count does not affect DTF price at all.
Any size, mixed designs	DTF transfers	Each different design is another setup for screens.

Full DTF vs screen printing comparison, with the crossover maths →

End to end

What a finished shirt actually costs you.

If you are pressing yourself, the sum is straightforward. Here is a realistic worked example for an adult full-front print — substitute your own blank price, because that is the line that varies most.

Transfer and cutting figures are exact. Blank cost is illustrative and is usually the biggest variable in the whole calculation.

What that chart deliberately leaves out is your time — roughly a minute per garment once you have a rhythm, plus handling and packing. How to price properly, including labour →

Reducing it

Five things that genuinely lower the cost.

1. Print smaller. With per-square-inch pricing, a 4" left chest logo is $0.40 against $2.99 for a full front. If a small print works for the job, it is a seven-fold difference.

2. Gang your designs. Packing many small designs onto one sheet removes the wasted film around each one. Gang sheets →

3. Choose the blank deliberately. The largest line in most quotes. A basic tee and a fashion-fit tee can differ by more than the printing costs.

4. Press it yourself. If you own a press, buying transfers and blanks separately removes the decorating margin entirely.

5. Clear the free-shipping threshold. Or combine orders placed the same day rather than paying twice.

Which route

Buy finished shirts, or buy transfers?

No equipment

Buy finished printed shirts

No press, no labour, no learning curve.
One supplier, one invoice, garments arrive done.
Higher per-unit cost — you pay the decorating margin.
Usually a minimum order.
You pick from their blank list, not yours.

Lower unit cost

Buy transfers and press them

Lowest per-unit cost of any small-run route.
No minimum — one transfer is a normal order.
You choose any blank from any supplier.
Requires a heat press and about a minute per garment.
Transfers store flat, so you can print ahead.

There is no universally right answer. The question is whether you own a press and what your time is worth.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to print a custom t-shirt in Canada?: For a small order, most people land somewhere between $18 and $35 per finished shirt including the garment. The spread is driven by quantity, method, colour count and the blank you choose — quantity being the biggest factor by a wide margin.
Why do quotes vary so much between shops?: Mostly because of setup costs. Screen printing carries a per-colour setup that has to be spread across your order, so the same job can be double the per-unit price at 12 pieces and half of it at 300. Ask what the setup charge is and how it is amortised.
What is the cheapest way to print t-shirts?: At high volume with a simple design, screen printing. At low volume, with colour, or with mixed garments, DTF transfers — because there is no setup cost to spread. The crossover usually sits somewhere in the low hundreds for a simple design.
How much do the blanks cost?: Blanks are frequently the largest single line in a finished shirt. A basic tee is a few dollars; a premium ringspun or a fashion-fit garment can be several times that. Two quotes can differ almost entirely on garment choice.
Is it cheaper to press shirts myself?: Per shirt, usually yes, if you own a heat press. You buy transfers and blanks and supply the labour. Whether that is worth it depends on how you value your time and how many shirts you are doing.
Do prices change by city?: Local labour and overhead differ, so shop quotes do vary between Toronto and a smaller market. Transfer pricing does not — our per-square-inch rate is the same everywhere in Canada, and shipping is a flat rate.

Keep reading

What direct-to-film actually is, how the process works step by step, what it prints well on, and what it costs in Canada.

How to Press DTF Transfers (Settings That Actually Work)

Exact temperatures, times and pressures by fabric, why the second press is not optional, and the four mistakes behind most failed prints.

Best File Format for DTF Printing: PNG, PDF or JPG

Why PNG is the safe default, when a PDF is genuinely better, and the reason a JPG prints a white box on a black shirt.

DTF Artwork Requirements — The Complete Checklist

Resolution, transparency, edges, colour mode and sizing, with the pixel maths and a pre-flight checklist you can run in a minute.

Work out your own number.

Upload your design, set the size and the total appears immediately — no quote form and no waiting. Then add your blank cost and you have the real figure.

Price your design →Full pricing

$0.0249 / sq in · No setup fees · No minimums