What it costs, and what moves it
Reference prices by format and size, set against the most demanding work we make — so a typical design lands at or below them. Then the six things that move a real quote.
Reference prices run from US$6 per piece for a 5 × 7 cm fridge magnet to US$927 for a 60 × 80 cm framed wall piece, with frame and packaging. They are set against our most demanding work — relief with gold-tone accents, in full colour — so a simpler design costs the same or less. Artwork development on the ODM route is charged and quoted per project.
Reference prices, by format and size
Per piece. Set against relief with gold-tone accents, in full colour, framed.
| Format | Size | Frame | Packaging | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fridge magnet | 5 × 7 cm | Polystyrene (PS) frame | Floating display box | US$6 |
| Small desktop piece, walnut | 8.5 × 11.5 cm | Walnut frame | Card gift box | US$30 |
| Small desktop piece | 9 × 12 cm | Polystyrene (PS) frame | Card gift box | US$22 |
| Desktop piece | 17 × 22 cm | Walnut-colour solid wood frame | Card gift box | US$60 |
| Wall piece | 30 × 40 cm | Ash wood frame | Protective transit packing | US$98 |
| Large wall piece | 60 × 80 cm | Ash wood frame | Protective transit packing | US$927 |
Read it as an upper guide
A design with large plain grounds, less relief or no gold-tone work usually comes in at or below the figure for its size.
What is included
Per piece, with the frame and packaging listed. Sampling, freight and duties are quoted separately — and so is artwork development on the ODM route.
The frame alone
At almost the same size — 8.5 × 11.5 cm against 9 × 12 cm — a walnut frame puts the reference 36% above a polystyrene one.
Size is not linear
Doubling each side of a wall piece, from 30 × 40 cm to 60 × 80 cm, quadruples the area but multiplies the reference by about 9.
A reference, not a quote
Converted from Chinese yuan, so it moves with the exchange rate. A real figure needs the design, the quantity and the destination.
Six things that move the number
Each one is a production variable rather than a sales category.
- Artwork development — ODM only
- Planning is not charged, including preparing a supplied design for production — the laser cut file and the print file. Artwork development on the ODM route is charged and quoted per project; how much depends on how developed the brief already is.
- Format and size
- A magnet and a framed piece from the same design are different products with different material, handling and packing. Size compounds it: area drives material, machine time and the risk carried in each piece.
- How much surface is worked
- An image worked across its whole area takes more machine time than one with large plain grounds. This is about worked area, not about which named effect is used — two pieces using the same effect can differ substantially.
- Framing and backing
- Frame material and profile, whether a rear support frame is fitted, backing and fixings. Each is configured and quoted as its own line rather than folded into a panel price.
- Packing
- Retail packaging is a different cost from transit packaging, and a merchandise programme usually needs both. Say at enquiry whether pieces need to arrive shelf-ready.
- Quantity
- Custom orders start at 100 pieces of one design. Your quantity is priced on the quote. No volume discount is published, and there is no mould cost to spread across the run.
No tooling changes the whole shape
At a factory carrying mould costs, small quantities are punished — the tooling has to be amortised across the run, so a short order looks absurd on a unit basis. That is the economics most buyers have internalised, and it is why so many programmes get scoped to a quantity nobody actually wanted.
Nothing here is tooled. The film is laser cut for the design, and the blasting and printing run per piece. So there is no mould cost to recover before the first piece, and moving a design across formats does not restart anything. Each design still starts at 100 pieces of one design.
How a quote is laid out
Each line stated rather than folded into a single figure, so you can see what to change if the total is wrong.
- Artwork and sampling
- Artwork development on the ODM route, and the physical sample before the run
- Materials and processing
- Tile, film and laser cutting, blasting, printing
- Framing and rear support
- If specified — each configured separately
- Packing
- Retail packaging and transit packing, quoted separately
- Freight
- By route and volume, with any agreed duties
Cost questions
Are the reference prices what I will pay?
Treat them as a guide for a comparable piece, not a quote. They are set against demanding work, so most briefs land at or below the figure for their size — but your number depends on the design, quantity, packaging and destination, and is confirmed on the quote.
Why set the references against complex work?
So they mislead in the safe direction. A reference built on a simple design would understate most projects and make the real quote feel like a surprise. One built on full-colour relief with gold-tone accents and a frame means a typical brief comes in at or under it.
Does a more complex design cost more?
Usually, but not because of which effect it is. What costs time is how much of the surface is worked and how fine the detail runs. Two pieces described by the same effect name can differ substantially, which is why we do not publish a multiplier per effect — it would be a guess presented as a rate.
Does ordering more bring the price down?
We do not publish a volume discount. Custom orders start at 100 pieces of one design, and the price for your quantity is set on the quote for your numbers. What does not apply here is a mould cost to spread across the run, because nothing is tooled.
What does ODM add to the cost?
The artwork development. Artwork development on the ODM route is charged and quoted per project. How much depends on how developed the brief already is — a museum arriving with a collection image and a clear direction is a different piece of work from a theme with nothing drawn yet. Planning is not charged on either route.
What do you need to give me a figure?
The design or the brief, the format and size, roughly how many, whether it needs retail packaging, and where it is going. That is enough for a real number rather than a reference.
Are payment terms published?
No — terms, deposits and incoterms are agreed per order rather than stated as a blanket policy. Raise anything your procurement process requires early so it can be built into the quote instead of renegotiated after it.
Send the brief. We'll send a real number.
Design or theme, format, quantity, packaging and destination — that is enough to quote properly rather than from a reference.