BUYING
The True Cost of Cheap Glitter HTV: Returns, Rework and Lost Customers
A roll that costs 20 percent less and fails on 5 percent of garments is not cheaper. A way to put numbers on it before you switch—or before you stay.
Where the money actually goes
Decorators price a job on film per square metre. The film is rarely the largest cost. Labour on the press, the blank garment, shipping to the customer and the customer relationship are all larger—and all of them are lost when a transfer fails.
A simple model
Take the film cost per garment for the cheap roll and for a premium roll.
Estimate the failure rate of each—from your own returns, or from a 20-wash test on the sample kit.
Multiply the failure rate by the full cost of a failed garment: blank, press time, reprint, shipping and a credit.
Add the cost of weeding time: loose-flake glitter slows weeding and leaves dust on the next job.
On most jobs the film price difference disappears at a failure-rate gap of a few percent. On kidswear and team uniforms, where a failed batch means a recall from parents or a mat full of mismatched shirts, it disappears faster.
What premium buys
Encapsulated glitter that stays on the garment—rated 100+ washes at 60 °C in our lab
Colour held batch to batch, with retained samples
Documents that let you sell into kidswear and regulated markets
A factory that has run retail programs for an industry leader—Cricut® glitter iron-on until 2022
Put it to the test
Request the sample kit, run the 20-wash test on your fabric, and price the difference with your own numbers. If the cheap roll wins, keep it. In our experience it rarely does.
