Ordering Promotional Products in January: When It Pays to Stock Up for the Year
How to plan your yearly promotional products order in January: quantity price breaks, one-off setup fees, and 6–10 business day turnaround. With price examples and tables.
Ordering promotional products in January usually costs less than the same order placed in October or November — not because of January discounts, but because at the start of the season you can combine your entire year's quantity into one order and pay the setup fee only once. A practical example: 200 T-shirts with screen printing in a single order cost around 415 EUR excl. VAT (2.08 EUR/pc), while the same 200 shirts split into four orders of 50 pcs each come to around 640 EUR (3.20 EUR/pc). That's a difference of 225 EUR, or 35% — and you get the goods faster, since in early January production facilities aren't yet at full capacity.
Why January is different from autumn
In the second half of the year, especially from mid-October to December, demand for printed promotional products in Latvia is at its highest — everyone is ordering client gifts, conference materials and New Year gift sets. This doesn't affect price directly, but it does affect it indirectly: popular items run out of stock, you have to look for pricier alternatives, and rush jobs are handled on a case-by-case basis.
In January and February, the situation is the opposite. Stock levels are replenished, the full range of colours and sizes is available, and the standard turnaround for printed promotional products — 6–10 business days (production 4–7 business days + delivery 2–3 days) — is actually met.
Another point: catalogue prices are usually updated at the start of the year. If you lock in your yearly quantity in January with a single order, you work with one price for the whole volume, rather than three different prices across three quarters.
How quantity changes the price: concrete calculations
The main savings come from two things — price breaks and the setup fee, which is paid once regardless of the print run. Below are our actual prices, excl. VAT.
| Service | Price per piece at small quantity | Price at larger quantity | Setup fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen printing, 1 colour, 1 position | 3.50 EUR (up to 50 pcs) | 2.50 EUR from 50 / 1.90 EUR from 100 / 1.50 EUR from 250 | 35.00 EUR |
| DTF transfer up to A4 | 6.00 EUR | 5.00 EUR from 20 / 4.20 EUR from 50 | 0 EUR |
| Embroidery up to 10,000 stitches | 5.50 EUR | 4.50 EUR from 20 / 3.80 EUR from 50 | 25.00 EUR |
| Catalogue A4, 8 pages, 170 g | 3.50 EUR | 2.90 EUR from 50 / 2.40 EUR from 100 / 1.90 EUR from 250 | 15.00 EUR |
| Catalogue A5, 8 pages, 170 g | 2.20 EUR | 1.80 EUR from 50 / 1.50 EUR from 100 / 1.20 EUR from 250 | 15.00 EUR |
| Poster A2, 200 g | 6.00 EUR | 4.50 EUR from 10 / 3.20 EUR from 50 | 0 EUR |
| Poster A1, 200 g | 9.00 EUR | 7.00 EUR from 10 / 5.50 EUR from 50 | 0 EUR |
What this means for your yearly budget
| Scenario | Split into 4 orders | One yearly order |
|---|---|---|
| 200 T-shirts, 1-colour screen printing | 4 × (50 × 2.50 + 35) = 640 EUR | 200 × 1.90 + 35 = 415 EUR |
| 80 polo shirts with embroidery | 4 × (20 × 4.50 + 25) = 460 EUR | 80 × 3.80 + 25 = 329 EUR |
| 200 A4 catalogues, 8 pages | 4 × (50 × 2.90 + 15) = 640 EUR | 200 × 2.40 + 15 = 495 EUR |
The savings are 25–35%, with the biggest share coming from technologies that involve a setup fee — screen printing and embroidery. DTF transfer has no setup fee, so the quantity effect there is smaller, and smaller batches throughout the year are a reasonable option.
What's worth pre-ordering — and what isn't
You can safely pre-order items without dates or variable information: T-shirts, hoodies and polo shirts with your company logo, pens, notebooks, tote bags, thermal mugs, keyrings, lanyards, socks with woven-in logos (from 100 pairs). These items don't go out of date and are used throughout the whole year.
Be careful with anything containing dates or variable content: event posters, calendars for a specific year, price lists, catalogues with a current product range. In these cases it's cheaper to print smaller batches more often — our digital printing works from 1 piece, and business cards, flyers or posters are ready in 1–3 business days.
For stickers, the price is based on area, not pieces: standard printing without cutting 17.60 EUR/m², printing with contour cutting and transfer film 24.00 EUR/m², laminated 24.00 EUR/m², transparent 48.00 EUR/m². There's no setup fee, but one large sheet is always more cost-effective than several small orders — less cutting waste. More on materials in the stickers section.
Turnaround times in January and a planning schedule
| Product | Standard turnaround | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Stickers, business cards, posters, banners | 1–3 business days | Our own production facility on Kandavas iela 29A |
| Clothing printing (screen printing, DTF, embroidery) | 3–7 business days | Depends on quantity and number of positions |
| Printed promotional products from the catalogue | 6–10 business days | Production 4–7 business days + delivery 2–3 business days |
A practical schedule for your yearly stock: send your request in the first week of January, approve the artwork in the second week, and by early February the goods are already in stock. Then there's no need to rush orders for spring events, the sports season, or summer activities.
Delivery with a partner courier in Riga — 16.00 EUR per trip. One order per year also means one delivery, not four.
How to prepare a request
Add items to your request in our catalogue (more than 2,000 items — pens, bags, bottles, thermal mugs, umbrellas, tech gifts, clothing), or simply tell us how many you need and what for. Within one business day we send you an online quote and a PDF with product images, prices, print area, setup fee and turnaround time for each item. On request, we also prepare a 3D preview with your logo.
Files need to be vector graphics (.ai, .eps, .pdf, .svg), CMYK; raster images at 300 dpi. Artwork is approved by email before production begins.
Budgeting tip
If you don't yet know your yearly quantity, order the printable product with a 15–20% buffer — logo setup is already paid for, and a repeat order six months later will again start with a setup fee and a new price bracket. The promotional products section shows prices by quantity and colour.
FAQ
Are there January discounts on promotional products?
We don't run a separate January discount. The lower price comes from quantity price breaks and from paying the setup fee only once for the whole yearly volume. The seasonal effect mainly shows up in product availability and turnaround times.
What's the minimum order size?
We work with orders of just 1 piece too — mug printing, business cards and stickers are available from a single unit. For socks with woven-in logos, the minimum is 100 pairs. The price per piece drops at larger quantities.
Can I order products in January but have them printed later?
Yes, but this usually isn't cost-effective, as printing setup is charged separately each time. If the logo doesn't change, it's cheaper to print everything at once.
How long does delivery take?
Our own printing — 1–3 business days. Printed promotional products — 6–10 business days: production 4–7 business days depending on quantity, plus delivery 2–3 days. Rush jobs by arrangement.
Are the prices in the tables with or without VAT?
All prices listed are excl. VAT and indicative. The exact price depends on quantity, number of print colours, number of positions, and the chosen product.
What if my logo is only available in JPG format?
Send us whatever you have — a logo can often be redrawn in vector format (.ai, .eps, .pdf, .svg). If redrawing is needed, we assess it separately and agree on it before starting the job.
