Some suppliers charge setup fees on custom license plate frames and some charge none — Frontline Frames does not. Published examples span the whole range: Car Dealer Depot lists a $200 setup fee on its chrome-plated plastic frames, Park Place Printing lists $40 for a first sketch plus a $45 screen charge, while Sid Savage and The Dealership Store both advertise no setup fee on their screen-printed plastic frames. Always ask before you compare per-frame prices, because a setup fee can add more than the frames themselves cost on a small order.
Are there setup, tooling or plate fees for custom frames?
Often, yes - but they are not universal, and they are not the same fee under different names. A setup or screen charge covers preparing your artwork for the printing process. A tooling or die charge covers making a physical mold for raised lettering. A sketch or art fee covers a designer redrawing your logo to production specification.
| Fee | What it pays for | When it applies | Published example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup fee | Preparing a job for production | Varies widely by supplier | $200 at Car Dealer Depot on chrome-plated plastic frames |
| Screen charge | Making the screen for silkscreen printing | Per color, per artwork | $45 at Park Place Printing |
| Sketch / art fee | Redrawing or preparing logo files | When artwork is not production-ready | $40 for a first sketch at Park Place Printing |
| Tooling / die charge | Cutting a mold for raised lettering | Raised or recessed frames only | Quoted per job; rarely published |
| No setup fee | Nothing to pay; cost is in the unit price | Common on standard printed plastic | Frontline Frames; also advertised by Sid Savage and The Dealership Store |
Why do some suppliers charge setup and others do not?
Because the work still happens either way - the only question is whether it is billed separately or built into the per-frame price. A supplier advertising no setup fee has usually priced it into the unit cost, which is fine as long as you compare on landed cost per frame rather than on either number alone.
The difference matters most on small orders. A $200 setup fee across 250 frames adds $0.80 per unit, which can more than double the cost of a $1.34 frame. The same $200 across 2,500 frames adds $0.08 and is nearly irrelevant.
This is the single most common way two quotes that look different end up identical, and the most common way a quote that looks cheap turns out not to be.
How much do setup fees add per frame?
Divide the fee by your quantity. It is the whole calculation, and it explains why setup-fee suppliers get less competitive as your order gets smaller.
| Setup fee | At 250 frames | At 500 frames | At 1,000 frames | At 2,500 frames |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $45 | $0.18/frame | $0.09/frame | $0.045/frame | $0.018/frame |
| $85 | $0.34/frame | $0.17/frame | $0.085/frame | $0.034/frame |
| $200 | $0.80/frame | $0.40/frame | $0.20/frame | $0.08/frame |
Read that table alongside a per-frame quote before deciding anything. A $1.50 frame with a $200 setup on a 250-piece order is a $2.30 frame.
Do setup fees repeat when you reorder?
It depends on the supplier and on whether your artwork changed. Many suppliers waive or reduce the charge on an exact repeat because the screen or die already exists. Change a phone number, a color, or the logo, and the fee usually comes back in full.
Ask three specific questions before your first order:
- Is the setup fee one-time or per order? This is the question that determines your five-year cost, not your first-order cost.
- How long do you keep my screens or tooling on file? Some suppliers retire unused tooling after a period.
- What counts as an artwork change? A new URL may or may not trigger a full re-charge.
If you expect to reorder annually, a supplier with a modest repeating fee can cost more over five years than one with a larger one-time fee. Do the arithmetic across your actual reorder cadence.
Does adding a second imprint color cost extra?
Almost always. Silkscreen printing uses one screen per color, so a second color means a second screen charge and a second pass through the press. It also sometimes carries a different minimum order quantity - Sid Savage, for instance, publishes a 125-piece minimum on its 2-color premium plastic frames.
The cost of the second color is usually justified when your logo genuinely requires it. It is rarely justified when the second color is decorative. Before you approve it, look at the frame at the distance a person actually reads a plate from - about a car length - and ask whether the second color is doing anything.
What fees does Frontline Frames charge?
None. Frontline Frames charges no setup fee, no screen charge and no art or sketch fee. The price the builder shows for your configuration and quantity is the price you pay, and nothing is added at checkout. There is no sales call required to get that number.
Against the published competitor fees above, that difference is largest exactly where dealerships feel it most. A $200 setup fee spread across a 250-frame order adds $0.80 to every frame; across 2,500 frames it adds $0.08. A supplier that charges none is most valuable on the small and mid-size orders that make up most dealership buying.
Logo upload is part of the builder rather than a separate process. We accept PNG, JPG and SVG files, and you see a live preview of the finished frame before you order. Lead time is 2-3 weeks from order confirmation.
Is a "plate fee" the same as a setup fee?
No, and the overlapping vocabulary causes real confusion. In frame manufacturing, a plate or die charge refers to the physical tooling used to form or stamp a part. In dealership language, a "plate fee" often means something else entirely - the state registration plate charge on a vehicle sale, which has nothing to do with your frame supplier.
When a frame quote lists a plate charge, ask which one it means. If it is tooling, ask whether it is one-time or repeats, and whether the tooling stays on file for reorders. If it is a printing screen, the same questions apply but the amounts are smaller.
| Term | Meaning in a frame quote | Repeats on reorder? |
|---|---|---|
| Screen charge | Making a silkscreen for one color of your artwork | Usually not, if artwork is unchanged |
| Plate or die charge | Tooling used to form or stamp the part | Usually not, while the tooling is retained |
| Setup fee | Getting the job onto the machine | Varies by supplier - ask directly |
| Art or sketch fee | Redrawing your logo to production spec | Only when artwork changes |
Can setup fees be negotiated away?
Sometimes, and the leverage is almost always order size or reorder commitment. Suppliers waive setup more readily on larger runs because the fee is a smaller share of the job, and on repeat business because the screen or tooling is already made.
The more useful move is often to remove the fee's cause rather than argue about the fee. Supply production-ready vector artwork and the art fee has nothing to bill for. Drop to a single imprint color and one screen charge disappears. Choose silkscreen over raised lettering and the tooling charge does not exist at all.
And check whether the fee is real or definitional. A supplier advertising no setup fee has priced that work into the unit cost. Neither structure is dishonest; only the landed cost per frame tells you which one is cheaper for your quantity.
How do you compare quotes when the fee structures differ?
Normalize everything to landed cost per frame at your real quantity, then compare. Two quotes are only comparable when they cover the same material, the same decoration method, the same number of imprint colors and the same all-in total.
- Write down the quantity you will actually order.
- For each quote: (unit price x quantity) + setup + screen charges + art fees + freight.
- Divide by quantity.
- Ask each supplier whether the fees repeat on reorder, and repeat the math for a five-year horizon.
Do that and most of the confusion in this category evaporates. The supplier with the lowest advertised per-frame price frequently loses once setup and freight are in the total, and occasionally the one with a visible $200 setup fee wins because its unit price is genuinely lower at volume. See how ordering works or price your configuration directly in the builder.