Run Charge

A run charge is the per-unit decoration cost applied when a promotional product is imprinted in more than one color or on more than one location. It is separate from the setup fee - which is charged once to create the screen, plate, or file for each color - and accumulates on every unit produced. Many supplier price lists state that the unit price "includes a one color, one location imprint," meaning the first run charge is built into the unit price. A setup fee is still charged on top, and any additional color or location triggers an additional run charge per unit.

How Run Charges Stack Up

Run charges multiply across colors and sides. A product printed in two colors on one side carries one additional run charge per unit for the second color. Printing the same design on the reverse adds further run charges - one per color per side. At a $0.20 run charge on a 500-unit order, moving from a one-color single-sided imprint to a two-color double-sided imprint adds $300 in run charges before setup fees.

Embroidery typically works differently. Stitch count determines the run charge rather than thread color count, since colors are changed within a single embroidery pass rather than requiring separate production runs.

Run charges are a core reason why higher volumes reduce the effective cost per unit. Setup fees spread across more pieces, and some suppliers offer reduced or zero run charges at volume thresholds - making it worth confirming the full decoration cost structure before finalizing any quote.