TL;DR
- Variable costs scale with each garment; fixed costs exist whether you print or not.
- Contribution margin = price − variable cost; it pays fixed cost first, profit second.
- Full-cost pricing on marginal orders makes shops reject profitable work.
Applying a full-cost rate to every quote hides which jobs actually carry the shop. Two jobs with identical full cost can differ by 40% in contribution.
CM = Price − Variable_cost | Break-even_units = Fixed_costs / CM
| Cost | Type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Garment | Variable | One per piece |
| Ink, powder, film | Variable | Consumed per piece |
| Direct print labour | Variable (mostly) | Scales with output if staffing flexes |
| Rent, insurance | Fixed | Paid regardless of output |
| Machine depreciation | Fixed | Time-based, not output-based |
| Setup labour | Fixed per job | Independent of run length |
Marginal order decision
- Price
- €5.90 / garment
- Variable cost
- €4.10
- Contribution
- €1.80 → accept if capacity is free
- Full cost with overhead
- €6.20 → would have rejected the job
Rejecting this job removes €1.80 per garment of overhead coverage and improves nothing.
Interactive example
Investment, monthly benefit — payback, ROI and NPV
- Payback
- 11.8 months
- ROI over 36 months
- 206 %
- NPV
- € 171.250
Same calculation kernel as the full calculators. For a decision-grade result, open the matching calculator.
Run the numbers in a calculator
Turn your own numbers into a bank-ready PDF report.
Create a reportRelated reading
Why free capacity is not revenue
Capacity becomes money at the moment an invoice exists — and only at contribution margin.
7 min11/07/2026
Facility costs explained — allocation is not saving
Rent, floor space and overhead must be allocated, but they rarely change with a machine.
9 min05/07/2026
What is ROI — and what it is not
Return on investment compares net gain to capital employed over a defined horizon.
6 min08/07/2026
When is DTG more profitable than DTF?
Two digital processes with completely different cost structures and bottlenecks.
10 min09/07/2026