Price Excl. or Incl. VAT: How to Read a Print Quote Correctly

Atta Print and most Latvian print service providers show prices excluding VAT in their quotes — the quote for businesses is prepared without value-added tax, and 21% is added on the invoice. This means a quote of 225.00 EUR excl. VAT will appear as 272.25 EUR on the invoice. When comparing two quotes, first make sure both are in the same "language" — either both excl. VAT or both incl. VAT.

Why B2B quotes show prices excl. VAT

For a VAT-registered company, the tax isn't a cost — input VAT is deducted. That's why the real print price in a company's accounting is the one shown excl. VAT, and quotes put that figure front and centre.

It's different for those who can't deduct VAT: private individuals, some associations, certain schools and municipal institutions that aren't VAT payers. In that case, only the final amount incl. VAT matters, since that's the actual amount payable. If you're in this group, please let us know upfront — we'll prepare the quote showing both amounts clearly.

What to look for

• A line reading "Total excl. VAT" or "Amount excl. 21% VAT" — the price is net.
• "Total payable" or "Amount incl. VAT" — this is the gross amount.
• If the quote shows only one figure with no explanation, ask for clarification. A 21% difference is too significant to leave unclear.

Examples: the same quote shown two ways

Below are indicative calculations based on our price list. Prices are approximate and excl. VAT; the exact amount depends on quantity, material and print complexity.

As you can see, adding VAT changes the amount considerably: 165 EUR becomes 199.65 EUR. That's why, when planning a budget — especially for municipal and school orders — it's important to fix which figure is the approved limit.

Three places where quotes most often differ

1. Setup (screen/die/digitising) fee

Some print providers include setup in the unit price, others show it separately. For us it's a separate line item and only applies to certain products: catalogues at around 15.00 EUR per job, screen printing at 35.00 EUR per colour and position, embroidery at 25.00 EUR for design digitising. Stickers, posters, business cards and DTF printing have no setup fee.

In practice: for 20 T-shirts with screen printing, setup makes up a large share of the price, so for small runs DTF is more cost-effective (around 6.00 EUR/pc up to A4 size, from 20 pcs — 5.00 EUR). For larger volumes, screen printing wins: from 250 pcs the price is from 1.50 EUR/pc.

2. Quantity tiers

If a quote shows a single price per piece, ask from what quantity it applies. Our indicative tiers, for example:

• Stickers: 24.00 EUR/m², from 5 m² — 22.00 EUR/m², from 20 m² — 19.00 EUR/m².
• Catalogue A4, 8 pages: 3.50 EUR/pc, from 50 pcs — 2.90, from 100 — 2.40, from 250 — 1.90.
• Poster A1: 9.00 EUR/pc, from 10 pcs — 7.00, from 50 — 5.50.
• Embroidery up to 10,000 stitches: 5.50 EUR/pc, from 20 — 4.50, from 50 — 4.00.

We also work with single pieces, but then the unit price is at the highest tier.

3. What's not included in the price

Check whether the quote includes materials (T-shirts, mugs, bottles), delivery, a sample before the full run, and artwork preparation from your sketch. For promotional products — for example, a 330 ml ceramic mug for sublimation printing, a 500 ml recycled stainless steel bottle, or a 500 ml vacuum thermal bottle — the price always consists of two parts: the item from our catalogue plus the printing. The same applies to A5 and A4 spiral notebooks (4-colour lithography) and recycled sticky notes with a 15 cm or 30 cm ruler (2 colours). For details, see the promotional products section.

What our quote looks like in practice

A standard quote includes: product description with size and material, quantity, unit price excl. VAT, setup fee, subtotal excl. VAT, 21% VAT, and the amount payable. We also state the production lead time separately — for stickers, banners and posters it's usually 2–5 business days, for promotional products with printing 5–10 business days from artwork approval. Urgent jobs are handled by arrangement.

The lead time starts not from the order date, but from the approved file. Vector graphics (.ai, .eps, .pdf) in CMYK colour space allow production to start without extra preparation; a JPG from a presentation usually means an extra day for redrawing the artwork.

Quick checklist before approving

• Is the price excl. or incl. VAT — and are the quotes you're comparing in the same format?
• Does it include a setup fee, and how many positions/colours does the print cover?
• From what quantity does the stated unit price apply?
• Does it include delivery and a sample?
• What's the lead time, and from what point is it calculated?

More on product groups: sticker printing, large-format printing, garment printing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What VAT rate applies to print products in Latvia?

The standard rate of 21%. Reduced rates don't apply to stickers, business cards, catalogues, posters, garment printing or promotional products. Books and some press publications may have a different rate, but these aren't our standard products.

Why does the quote show a price excl. VAT, but the invoice amount is higher?

Because the quote is prepared for businesses that deduct VAT as input tax. We add 21% on the invoice: for example, 225.00 EUR excl. VAT becomes 272.25 EUR payable.

Is the price different for private individuals?

The price excl. VAT is the same, but for you the actual amount payable is the one incl. VAT, since you can't deduct the tax. In such cases, we highlight the final amount in the quote right away.

Does every order have a setup fee?

No. Stickers, posters, business cards and DTF printing don't have one. For catalogues it's around 15.00 EUR, for screen printing 35.00 EUR, for embroidery 25.00 EUR — and for a repeat order with the same artwork, we usually waive it.

How long is a quote valid?

The standard validity is 14 days. For promotional products from our catalogue, the price depends on stock availability, so for larger volumes we recommend confirming sooner.

If you'd like to compare two quotes or understand where the difference comes from, send them to info@attaprint.lv or call +371 25776699 (also WhatsApp) — project manager Madara will take a look. We prepare quotes with clearly stated amounts excl. and incl. VAT within one business day.