In-house printing seduces with "control," but hidden costs consume 3-5x quoted budgets within 18 months. Custom printing outsourcing via Fioprints.com delivers t shirt custom printing at $1.85/unit vs $4.72 true internal cost. Corporate printing solutions finance teams discover print on demand saves 68% vs owned equipment. This breakdown reveals the full eco friendly promotional products math.
Purchase price lies—Year 2 reality kills:
|
Printer Type |
Upfront |
Annual Depreciation |
5-Year Total |
|
T shirt custom printing DTG |
$28K |
$7,250 |
$36K |
|
Corporate sticker printing Wide Format |
$15K |
$3,800 |
$19K |
|
Corporate folders printing Production Color |
$85K |
$21,750 |
$108K |
|
Print on demand Alternative |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Resale value: 8-12% Year 3. Custom printing eliminates.
Ink/toner eats profits hourly:
DTG Pretreatment: $0.45/shirt x 2K/mo = $900/mo
Color Toner (CMY+K): $285/set x 4/mo = $1,140/mo
Vinyl/Transfer Film: $0.22/in² x 15K in² = $3,300/mo
Maintenance Kits: $1,850/quarter
Total consumables: $6,190/month. Print on demand company bundles at $0.72/unit.
Operator salaries + downtime = disaster:
|
Role |
Hourly |
Daily Output |
Annual Cost |
|
T shirt custom printing Tech |
$28/hr |
75 shirts |
$78K |
|
Corporate sticker printing Operator |
$22/hr |
1,200 stickers |
$52K |
|
Corporate folders printing Manager |
$38/hr |
Oversight |
$112K |
|
Print on demand Coordination |
$12/hr |
Ordering |
$18K |
Training: $8K/operator annually. Custom printing on shirts frees 1.2 FTEs.
Downtime costs $450/hour:
Preventative Maintenance: $4,200/year
Break/Fix Service Calls: $285/call x 18/year = $5,130
Parts (Printheads, Rollers): $3,800/year
Extended Warranty: $2,850/year
TOTAL ANNUAL: $16K
Custom printing service level agreements: $0.
Footprint reality:
Equipment: 450 sq ft @ $18/sq ft = $8,100/year
Electrical Upgrades: $12K one-time
HVAC Increase: $2,400/year
Waste Disposal: $1,850/year (ink cartridges)
TOTAL: $24K Year 1
Branded corporate merchandise eliminates facility expansion.
1,000/month production reality:
|
Cost Category |
In-House Printing |
Fioprints.com Custom Printing |
Annual Savings |
|
Equipment |
$32,800 |
$0 |
$32,800 |
|
Consumables |
$74,280 |
$8,640 (print on demand tshirt) |
$65,640 |
|
Labor |
$78K |
$18K |
$60K |
|
Maintenance |
$16K |
$0 |
$16K |
|
Space/Utilities |
$24K |
$0 |
$24K |
|
TOTAL |
$225K |
$26.6K |
$198K (88%) |
Corporate printing solutions scale without capex.
1 hour downtime = $450 lost production:
Printhead failure → 4hr delay → 300 shirts late
Rush custom printing alternative → $1,350
Customer goodwill loss → 8% repeat business
TOTAL IMPACT: $4,825 per incident
Print on demand company guarantees 99.8% uptime.
Capital trapped in equipment:
$125K printers → 0% ROI if utilization <60%
Freed capital → 18% return reinvested marketing
Marketing lift → 3.2x revenue vs printing savings
Eco friendly promotional products campaigns outperform equipment.
Corporate sticker printing long view:
In-House Cumulative: Year1 $225K → Year5 $1.47M
Outsourced Cumulative: Year1 $26.6K → Year5 $174K
5-Year Savings: $1.3M (89%)
Branded merchandise scales infinitely outsourced.
Sell equipment + custom printing transition:
Month 1: Liquidate ($18K recovery)
Month 2: Print on demand ramp-up ($26K spend)
Month 3: Labor reallocation ($15K savings)
Month 6: 88% cost normalization
ROI: Immediate (Month 1)
T shirt custom printing proves instantly.
1. Hidden costs of in-house printing biggest surprise?
Labor (22%) + downtime ($450/hr)—custom printing eliminates both.
2. T shirt custom printing DTG true monthly cost?
$12,450 (equipment+consumables+labor) vs $1,850 outsourced.
3. Corporate printing solutions equipment resale value?
8-12% Year 3—print on demand company frees 100% capital.
4. Eco friendly promotional products in-house viable?
No—custom printing on shirts specialty substrates obsolete equipment yearly.
5. Break corporate folders printing even outsourced vs owned?
Immediate—no capex, 68% lower variable costs (print on demand tshirt).
