Screen Fee
A per-color screen-printing setup charge — pays for burning the screen for one ink color.
Screen fees are charged per color in the design, not per shirt. A 4-color screen-printed design has 4 screen fees on top of the per-shirt rate. Typical pricing is $20–$30 per screen at most shops, sometimes less for repeat customers using the same artwork.
Screens can be reclaimed and reused, so once a screen has been burned for your design, future reorders typically waive the screen fee — the shop already has the screens ready to go.
For 1–2 color designs, screen fees are a minor part of the cost. For 6+ color designs, they add up fast — a $200 screen-fee burden is real. That is why 6+ color art is often quoted with simulated process or 4-color process to reduce the screen count.
Related terms
Setup Fee
A one-time charge that covers the labor of preparing the press, screens, or digitization for a job.
Screen Printing
Pushing ink through a stenciled mesh screen onto fabric — the classic high-volume t-shirt method.
Spot Color
A pre-mixed solid ink color, used instead of building the color from CMYK halftones.