Every decoration method prices a design against a dimension and a set of tiers. Getting these right is what makes quotes and checkout totals accurate. This article explains the four pricing dimensions and how to set up their tiers on the method's detail page.
The four pricing dimensions
A method prices along one of these:
- Area (square inches) — used by DTF, DTG, Heat Transfer and Sublimation. Larger prints cost more.
- Colors — the dimension screen printing ships with.
- Stitches (stitch count) — used by embroidery. Denser designs cost more.
- Flat — a single flat price per placement plus an optional setup fee, no matrix.
The dimension is set when the method is created and cannot be changed afterwards from the method's detail page.
the Colors dimension does not work. The Design Studio never counts the colors in a design, so the measured value is always zero, no color tier matches, and the decoration is priced at nothing. If you use screen printing, either switch it to a flat price or recreate it on the area dimension.
Set up tiers (area, colors, or stitches)
Non-flat methods are priced from a two-dimensional matrix: tiers down one axis and order quantity breaks across the other. A price is set in each cell.
- Open the method under Settings → Decoration Methods and go to its pricing matrix.
- Review the tier rows. Each has a label, a minimum and a maximum value in the method's dimension — for example area tiers measured in square inches.
- Review the quantity break columns. Each has a minimum and maximum piece count for the whole line, for example 12-23, 24-47, 48-71, and an open-ended top band.
- Set a price in every cell you expect to use.
- Save.
A design is priced by finding the tier its measured value falls into and the quantity break the line's total piece count falls into, then reading the cell where they meet.
if either lookup fails, the decoration costs nothing — Drip Merch does not fall back to a nearby cell. Screen printing's default quantity breaks start at 12 pieces, so an order of 1 to 11 pieces on those defaults gets zero decoration charge. Add a low-quantity break, or a tier that covers small values, if you take small orders.
Set up flat pricing
For a Flat method:
- Enter the Flat Price (per placement). It is charged once per placement per garment, so a front and back print on 20 shirts is charged 40 times.
- Optionally enter a setup fee.
- Save. Flat methods skip the matrix entirely.
How pricing is applied
- In the Design Studio, each placement is measured in square inches for area methods, or by estimated stitch count for stitch methods, and priced against the matching cell.
- Color-count methods are not measured at all and contribute nothing.
- The same structure validates the total at checkout, so the designer price and the order price agree — including agreeing on a zero.
Tips
- Choose area or flat. Avoid the color-count dimension until color measurement ships.
- Cover your full realistic range with tiers and with quantity breaks, including the smallest order you will accept, so nothing falls through at zero.
- Use setup fees on flat methods to recover one-time costs like screen or file prep.
- After changing a matrix, put a small test order through the Design Studio and check the decoration line is not zero.