Screen Charge Explained: What Screen Printers Charge Per Screen, Why, and When DTF Skips It

A screen charge is the setup fee a screen printer bills for each screen it has to make, and screen printing needs one screen for every ink colour in every print location. A two-colour front and a one-colour back is three screens, so three screen charges, whatever the number of shirts. The fee pays for the film positive, coating and exposing the mesh, registering it on the press and cleaning it afterwards. DTF transfers print every colour in one pass from a digital file, so DTF suppliers do not charge screen fees.

What does a screen charge cover?

Screen printing pushes ink through a fine mesh stencil, one colour at a time. Before the first shirt is printed, each colour needs its own stencil:

• Film positive. The artwork for that colour is printed as an opaque film. Some shops bill film separately from the screen.
• Screen burning. A mesh screen is coated with light-sensitive emulsion and exposed through the film, leaving open mesh only where that colour prints.
• Press setup. Each screen is mounted and lined up with the others so the colours register.
• Reclaiming. After the job the emulsion is stripped so the mesh can be reused.

That labour is the same for 12 shirts or 1,200, which is why screen charges matter most on small orders and fade into the price on large ones.

What screen printers charge per screen

These are fees the shops publish on their own pricing pages, checked in October 2026. Prices change, so confirm on the shop's site before ordering.

The three shops price screens differently. One splits screen and film, one tiers by quantity and one charges a sliding fee per job, so compare the total setup line on a quote, not the headline per-screen number.

How screen charges change the price per shirt

Spread the setup over the order. Using Branded Screen Printing's published fee, a two-colour front costs $45 in screens. On 12 shirts that adds $3.75 a shirt before the printing itself; on 144 shirts it adds about 31 cents. Add a second location and the screens add up again. Two ways to cut them: reduce the number of colours, and reorder within the window a shop keeps screens, where it offers a reduced reorder rate.

Do screen printed transfers have screen charges?

Screen printed (plastisol) transfers are made with screens too, so their price reflects the number of colours. Transfer Express does not list a separate setup fee for its screen printed transfers; instead the price per sheet rises with each added colour and falls with quantity, with a 6-sheet minimum and published add-ons for colour matching ($40 per colour) and colour changes ($20 per colour). The screen print transfers buying guide and the best screen print transfer companies list compare suppliers.

Why DTF has no screen charge

DTF prints the full design, including a white underbase, straight from a digital file onto film. There are no screens to make, so the price is set by the size of the print or the gang sheet, not the number of colours. DTF Dallas, for example, states on its FAQ that there are no screens or setup fees and no minimum order for its transfers. That is why a full-colour design costs the same as a one-colour design in DTF, and why DTF is usually the cheaper route for short runs and many-colour artwork. For large runs of one- or two-colour designs, screen printing can still be cheaper per shirt once the screens are paid for. The DTF vs screen printing comparison works through the break-even point, and the bulk custom t-shirt cost guide covers cost per shirt by quantity.

Frequently asked questions

What is a screen charge?

A one-time setup fee for each screen a screen printer makes. Every ink colour in every print location needs its own screen.

How much is a screen charge?

The shops in this guide publish between $12 and $50 per screen, with some billing film on top. Branded Screen Printing charges $35 for a one-colour job and adds $10 for each extra colour.

Do you pay screen charges again on a reorder?

It depends on the shop. Raygun Printing charges $15 per screen on reorders within 3 months; US Colorworks keeps files for up to 2 years before new films are needed. Ask whether the shop keeps screens and for how long.

Does DTF printing have a setup fee?

DTF suppliers generally do not charge screen or setup fees because DTF needs no screens. The price is set by transfer size or gang sheet size.

How do you avoid screen charges?

Use fewer ink colours, combine designs into one print location, reorder while the shop still holds the screens, or switch to DTF transfers for short runs and full-colour artwork.