How to quote Supacolor (and competitors)
Industry patterns distilled for EZ-INK — what other shops do, and how this tool models it.
1. What actually drives transfer COGS
Across Supacolor, Transfer Express, and generic DTF suppliers, wholesale cost almost always stacks like this:
- Size / square inches — largest lever. Supacolor sells fixed templates (XS 1.5×1.5 → A3 11.7×16.5). Transfer Express often bills full-color DTF by rounded sq in.
- Quantity tiers — same logo, higher qty → lower unit COGS (20 / 50 / 100 / 250 / 500+). Supacolor wholesale MOQ is commonly ~20 pcs.
- Transfer chemistry — Wearable vs SupaDTF vs Blocker vs LoMelt vs Neon/Reflective. Blocker costs more (opacity on darks).
- Shipping — flat ship (often ~$15 2-day) amortized or treated as job COGS.
Colors: On screen-printed transfers, ink count is a big price driver. On Supacolor / DTF full-color, colors usually do not multiply cost — coverage and specialty film do. That’s why this quote tool uses “artwork / substrate” factors instead of “# of colors.”
2. Competitor quote UX (what good tools show)
- Transfer Express — public calculators: type → size → qty → unit + next tier “order more & save.” Extra: rush, art proof, cut charge, blocker layer.
- Supacolor portal — pricelist by product code + size + qty; decorator Excel:
transfer × markup + press charge. - Inktavo / Printavo + Supacolor — free DTF/heat-transfer pricing spreadsheets: overhead, press time, garment cost, margin targets.
- Coldesi / DTF sheet blogs — cost per print = film + ink + powder + labor + waste %; sell = cost / (1 − margin) or cost × markup.
3. Recommended EZ-INK sell formula
Aligned with Supacolor’s decorator guidance:
transfer_sell = unit_cogs × type_mult × color_mult × markuppress_sell = base_press × placement_complexity(sleeve/hat higher)order = Σ(transfer_sell + press_sell) × qty + blanks + setup + art + rush%- Default markup 1.5 (~33% margin on transfer) · press charge $1.40–1.50 (labor COGS ~$0.50–0.65 at ~30 pcs/hr)
- Setup $15–35 under ~50 pcs; rush +20–50%
Target overall margin 30–45% for decorated garments; pure press-only (customer blanks) can sit a bit lower if volume is high.
4. Placement guidance (size picks)
| Placement | Typical size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Left chest | LC | Most common corporate / team logo · press ×1.0 |
| Full front | A4 | Center chest large · press ×1.05 |
| Full back | A4 | Extra positioning time · press ×1.1 |
| Nape / upper back | SM | Collar area — careful placement · press ×1.15 |
| Sleeve (each) | SM | Cylindrical press / sleeve attachment · press ×1.25 |
| Hat / headwear | SM | Cap press; use headwear transfer type · press ×1.5 |
| Custom placement | A4 | Manual size selection · press ×1.2 |
5. Loading your real COGS
- Log into Supacolor wholesale → Pricelist / download price book.
- Map each template size + qty break into
data/cogs_supacolor.jsonsizes[].tiers[].unit_cogs. - Set type multipliers if Blocker/Neon differ from Wearable.
- Adjust defaults: markup, press_charge, setup_fee, shipping_flat_cogs.
- Restart the service (or just reload — file is read each request).
Until then, every quote shows a SAMPLE COGS warning — don’t send external customers numbers until tiers are real.
6. Other factors worth quoting (later modules)
- Blank garments (S&S / SanMar via apparel-mcp) + size runs
- Multi-location packages (front + back bundle discount)
- Gang sheets vs single-image (cutting labor $0.15–0.30)
- Embroidery / screen for hybrid jobs
- Customer PDF export + e-sign acceptance