Bulk Discount
Lower per-piece pricing kicks in at higher quantities — usually at 24, 48, 100, 250, and 500 piece breaks.
Per-piece price drops significantly as quantity goes up because setup costs spread across more units. Common screen printing breaks: 24, 48, 72, 100, 250, 500, 1000. Each break can drop the per-piece price 15–30%.
For example: a 1-color print on a basic tee might run $12 each at 12 pieces, $7 each at 48, $5.50 at 100, and $3.80 at 500. The actual numbers vary by shop and garment cost, but the curve is consistent.
When you are close to the next break, it almost always pays to bump up: ordering 96 instead of 72 to hit the 100-piece break can pay for itself in the per-piece savings on the 96 you wanted.