Updated November 2, 2026
Quick answer: Beyond the printer itself, ongoing DTG costs come mainly from ink (especially the white underbase layer on dark garments), pretreatment solution, and platens or maintenance parts. Most small shops land somewhere around $1-$4 in consumables per garment, not counting the blank shirt, depending on garment color and how much ink coverage the design needs. Dark shirts sit at the top of that range because they need white ink and pretreatment; white and light shirts sit at the bottom.
Haven't picked out equipment yet? Start with our DTG printer buying guide to find the right tier for your volume first. New to the process entirely? DTG Printing Explained covers how it works.
Upfront Equipment Cost
Printer hardware is a one-time or financed cost that ranges from roughly $3,500 for a converted entry-level machine up to $25,000 or more for a factory-built industrial system. As a reference point, the Epson SureColor F2270 (a hybrid DTG/DTF machine) was listed at about $12,000 at a major U.S. dealer as of November 2026, with shipping and training included. Like most equipment-heavy businesses, this sticker price is usually a smaller share of your total year-one spend than the ink, pretreatment, and consumables you'll go through printing regularly. Don't forget the supporting gear: a heat press or curing unit, a pretreatment sprayer or machine, and a RIP or print software license if one isn't bundled.
Ink Costs
DTG ink is sold by the liter or in bulk cartridges and includes CMYK colors plus a white underbase ink. White ink gets used far more heavily on dark and colored garments, since it has to fully cover the fabric before the CMYK layer goes on top, while white and light garments need little to no white ink at all. This is why the same design can cost noticeably more to print on a black shirt than on a white one.
As of November 2026, typical pricing looks like this:
- OEM Epson UltraChrome DG ink: about $207-$220 per 600 mL cartridge at U.S. dealers, which works out to roughly $345-$370 per liter.
- Aftermarket DTG ink for open-system printers: roughly $150-$240 per liter, with white usually priced higher than CMYK.
Your printer's warranty terms and print profiles usually decide which ink you can run, so check before switching brands to save money.
Pretreatment Solution
Pretreatment solution is applied to dark and colored garments before printing, either by hand with a sprayer or with an automated pretreatment machine on higher-volume setups. It's priced by the gallon or liter, and usage scales with garment size and how many dark-garment orders you run, since white garments typically skip this step entirely. As of November 2026, common dark-garment pretreatments run about $50-$80 per gallon. At typical application weights of roughly 20-30 grams on an adult shirt, that usually works out to well under a dollar per dark garment, often in the 25-60 cent range.
Platens, Parts and Maintenance
Printheads are the most expensive replacement part on a DTG printer and are also the component most affected by poor maintenance habits, particularly ink clogs from infrequent use. Budgeting for cleaning solution, maintenance cartridges, spare platens for different garment sizes, and eventual printhead replacement is part of true ownership cost that's easy to underestimate when comparing sticker prices alone. Ink spent on cleaning cycles is a real cost too: a printer that sits idle and needs repeated cleanings can burn through a surprising amount of white ink. Our DTG maintenance guide covers the routine that keeps these costs down.
Calculating Your Cost Per Garment
To price your own products accurately, add up ink, pretreatment, and curing costs for a single garment, factoring in whether it's a light or dark base color, then compare that number against what competitors and print-on-demand marketplaces charge. Shops that track cost per garment by color, rather than using one blended average, tend to price more accurately and protect margin on their most ink-heavy designs. Most RIP software can estimate ink usage per job; check those estimates against your actual ink purchases every month or two.
How much does it cost to print one DTG shirt?
Expect roughly $0.75-$2 in consumables for a light shirt and $2-$4.50 for a dark shirt, plus the cost of the blank. These are typical ranges, not guarantees; large full-front designs and heavy white coverage push you to the top.
| Cost item | Light/white shirt | Dark shirt |
|---|---|---|
| CMYK ink | Low to moderate | Low to moderate |
| White ink | Little or none | Highest single consumable cost |
| Pretreatment | Usually none | Roughly $0.25-$0.60 |
| Cleaning and waste ink | Small, spread across all jobs | Small, spread across all jobs |
| Blank garment | Varies by brand and size | Varies by brand and size |
What are the hidden costs of DTG printing?
The costs most new shops miss are misprints, ink lost to cleaning cycles, and downtime. None of them show up on the printer's spec sheet.
- Misprints and test shirts: budget a few percent of blanks for spoilage, especially while you dial in pretreatment.
- Ink shelf life: DTG ink, white in particular, has a limited shelf life once opened. Buying more than you can use in a few months can waste money.
- Environment: a humidifier or climate control is often needed to keep heads from drying out.
- Service plans and parts: dampers, wipers, capping parts and eventually a printhead.
- Electricity: heat presses and dryers draw significant power during long runs.
Is a DTG printer worth it for a small business?
It's worth it when you have steady, repeat demand for small runs of full-color designs, enough to keep the printer busy several days a week. If you print occasionally, outsourcing or DTF is usually cheaper.
DTG machines punish irregular use: idle printers clog, and clogs cost ink and time. Run the math on your expected weekly volume, your cost per garment from the table above, and your financing payment. If the payment plus consumables beats what a print-on-demand supplier charges at your volume, in-house DTG starts to make sense. Our guide on pricing custom prints for profit walks through setting retail prices once you know your costs.
DTG vs. Outsourcing to a Print-on-Demand Supplier
If your order volume doesn't yet justify the equipment and consumable investment, a print-on-demand supplier can print and ship DTG garments on your behalf for a per-unit fee, with no equipment cost at all. It typically costs more per garment than printing in-house at volume, but it removes the upfront investment while you validate demand. See our DTG vs. DTF comparison if you're also weighing which printing method to commit to first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does DTG cost more on black shirts?
Dark shirts need pretreatment and a full white underbase before the color layer goes down. White ink is the most expensive and most heavily used ink in DTG, so dark garments can cost two to three times as much in consumables as white ones.
How much does DTG ink cost per liter?
As of November 2026, OEM Epson DG ink works out to roughly $345-$370 per liter, while aftermarket DTG inks run roughly $150-$240 per liter, with white at the higher end.
How much pretreatment does one shirt use?
Commonly around 20-30 grams for an adult dark shirt, which costs well under a dollar at typical gallon prices. Weigh garments before and after spraying to keep it consistent.
Is DTG cheaper than DTF?
For one-off prints on light cotton shirts, DTG can be cheaper because it skips film and powder. For dark garments, mixed fabrics and batch production, DTF is often cheaper per piece.
What is the most expensive part to replace on a DTG printer?
The printhead. Daily nozzle checks, regular white ink agitation and keeping the room humid are the best ways to extend its life.
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