What are setup charges?

There is a lot of labor that goes in to printing promotional products. Most of the labor is up front in the screen building process and prior to the actual machine printing the product(s). That is why some call it a screen charge or plate charge. A more generic term for the whole process is 'setup charge'.

This leaves the savvy shopper asking... How do some companies offer a free setup charge?

Some companies will offer free setup charges and simply absorb the cost into the cost of the product per piece. For example, if a product is $0.50 each and normally a setup of $25 with a minimum order quantity of 100, then the $25 is divided by 100 equaling $0.25. That amount is then added to the piece price totaling $0.75 per piece. Then the company offers 'free setup'. Sometimes this same formula is ran by the supplier and they sell to us (distributors) with a free setup. Hence, we make the setup free to our customers. Full color digital printing is a whole another process where screens do not have to be made and the product runs through a machine that can be thought of much like a common household color printer. The fact is, nothing is really free. The labor is still there anyway you slice it. The bottom line is we will beat any competitor's total order cost.

For more clarification on the work that goes in to the entire printing process, including the screen setup, check out the diagram below:





Watch pen printing in action! (The video is not our actual factory or suppliers)