How much does corporate swag printing cost?
Short version: budget around $5,000 all-in for a typical staffed local event, with staffing at $250/hr and a flat $900 travel fee outside the OC–LA–San Diego triangle. Here's what's inside those numbers and what moves them.
What the base number includes
The ~$5,000 local anchor isn't equipment rental — it's a produced service: presses and backup gear, trained operators, your approved blank garments in a full size run, press-ready artwork conversion with proofs, load-in before doors, and teardown after. One number, one vendor, no day-of surprises.
The three dials on your quote
- Hours and headcount. Staffing bills at $250/hr for the full on-site window. A three-hour party with a one-hour load-in and teardown on each side is roughly a five-hour crew window — visible on the quote before you sign, not after.
- Product tier. A Bella+Canvas 3001 tee, a heavyweight hoodie, and a Richardson 112 cap with a leather patch sit at very different blank costs. Most events blend a volume item with a premium tier.
- Geography. Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Diego events carry no travel charge. Las Vegas and beyond add the flat $900; multi-city programs get quoted as a tour.
The comparison planners actually care about
Price the alternative honestly. A 500-piece pre-printed order at $14–18 per decorated garment lands at $7,000–9,000 — before freight, before storage, and before the realistic percentage that never leaves the box. The live station's spend converts at essentially 100%: every piece produced was requested by a person standing in front of it. When you calculate cost per item actually kept and worn, on-demand usually wins even when the invoice totals look similar.
Two more budget notes worth knowing: recurring programs (monthly onboarding cohorts, multi-office tours) price better per date than one-offs, and adding a second product tier costs far less than adding a second event. Full anchors live on the pricing page; format-specific advice is under event types.