If you run a print or signage shop on Shopify, you’ve probably hit the same wall: your prices depend on size, material, quantity, and artwork, and native Shopify variants can’t handle any of it. Two apps come up when you go looking for a fix. Custom Print Price Engine and Apippa Custom Price Calculator.
Here’s the short answer. Custom Print Price Engine is a focused tool built specifically for print jobs, with artwork upload and volume tiers, priced per order on top of a monthly fee. Apippa Custom Price Calculator is one flat price and handles print pricing plus every other custom product you sell, using formulas, lookup tables, and conditional logic. If print is the only thing you’ll ever sell, either can work. If you also sell blinds, flooring, fabric, or anything else priced by size, Apippa is the single-app answer.
The problem both apps solve
Print and signage pricing is messy. A banner isn’t one price. It’s width times height times a material rate, plus a finishing charge, minus a volume discount, sometimes with a setup fee for the artwork. Shopify’s built-in product system can’t do that. You’d need a separate variant for every possible size, which is impossible when a customer can order any dimension.
Both Custom Print Price Engine and Apippa fix this by adding a live calculator to your product page. The customer enters their specs, the price updates in real time, and they add to cart with an accurate total. Both also let customers upload artwork files, which matters for any print job.
So the core function overlaps. The real difference is scope, pricing model, and how far the formulas go.
Where Custom Print Price Engine fits
Custom Print Price Engine is built narrowly for print. It does that job well: width-by-height pricing, artwork upload, volume discount tiers, and a brandable calculator. If you run a pure print shop and never plan to sell anything else, it’s a legitimate option.
The catch is the pricing model. Custom Print Price Engine typically charges a monthly fee plus a per-order fee. That per-order charge is fine when volume is low, but it scales with your success. The more orders you take, the more you pay on top of the base subscription. For a growing shop, that’s a cost that climbs exactly when you don’t want it to.
It’s also print-only by design. The moment your catalog expands, say you add signage, then banners, then some custom framing, you either stretch a print-specific tool past its comfort zone or bolt on a second app.
Where Apippa pulls ahead
Apippa Custom Price Calculator handles print pricing and everything adjacent to it, on one flat monthly price with no per-order fees. Here’s what that means for a print shop specifically:
Any-product formulas. Apippa prices by size, area, length, weight, quantity, and custom options, and it combines them in a single formula. Width times height times material rate, plus edge finishing per linear foot, plus a quantity multiplier: Apippa runs the whole thing.
Data lookup tables. Print pricing usually lives in a table, size ranges down one side, materials or finishes across the top. Apippa reads that table and returns the exact price for the cell the customer lands on. This is how print shops actually price, and it’s the hardest thing for a simple tool to replicate.
Conditional logic. Add a rush fee for fast turnaround. Charge more for premium vinyl than standard. Apply a minimum order value. Apippa handles the “if this, then that” rules that print quotes are full of.
Artwork upload and options. File upload for the customer’s design, dropdowns for finish, checkboxes for add-ons, each feeding into the calculated price.
One flat price. No per-order fee. Whether you take 10 orders or 1,000 this month, the cost is the same.
Because Apippa isn’t locked to print, the same app also prices blinds, flooring, fabric, cabinetry, and signage. If your shop does more than one thing, or ever will, that’s one app instead of several.
The honest comparison
| Factor | Custom Print Price Engine | Apippa Custom Price Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Width x height pricing | Yes | Yes |
| Artwork / file upload | Yes | Yes |
| Volume discount tiers | Yes | Yes |
| Data lookup tables | Limited | Yes |
| Conditional pricing rules | Limited | Yes |
| Works beyond print (blinds, fabric, flooring) | No | Yes |
| Pricing model | Monthly + per order | Flat monthly, no per-order fee |
| Rating | 5.0 stars | 4.9 stars (206 reviews) |
| Free to install | Trial-based | Yes, free to install |
Custom Print Price Engine is a clean pick if you are certain print is your whole business and you’re comfortable with per-order fees. Apippa is the pick if you want predictable pricing and room to grow into other product types without switching apps.
When print shops choose Apippa
Merchants tend to land on Apippa over a print-only tool when one of these is true:
- They sell more than just prints, or plan to expand their catalog
- Their pricing depends on a table, not a single formula
- They want one flat monthly cost instead of paying per order
- They need conditional rules (rush fees, minimums, material surcharges)
- They want the depth of 206 real merchant reviews behind the app they build their store on
Apippa Custom Price Calculator is free to install, so you can build your full print pricing logic, artwork upload and all, before you commit to anything.
How to set up print pricing in Apippa
Getting a print calculator live takes minutes:
- Install Apippa Custom Price Calculator from the Shopify App Store
- Open the product you want to price by size (banner, sign, poster)
- Add your input fields: width, height, quantity, material, finish
- Enter your formula or pricing table, including any volume tiers or rush rules
- Add a file upload field so customers can attach their artwork
- Preview the live price on the product page and publish
If your pricing table has edge cases, the Apippa team offers free one-on-one setup help to get the formula exactly right, which saves hours of trial and error on complex print quotes.
The bottom line
Custom Print Price Engine is a focused, print-only calculator with per-order pricing. Apippa Custom Price Calculator handles the same print jobs, artwork upload and volume tiers included, on one flat price, and also prices every other custom product you might sell. For a pure print shop watching per-order fees, that’s a real difference. For a shop that does more than print, Apippa is the single-app answer.
Ready to set up dynamic pricing on your store?
Free to install · No coding required · Works with any Shopify theme
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Custom Print Price Engine and Apippa? Custom Print Price Engine is built specifically for print jobs and charges a monthly fee plus a per-order fee. Apippa Custom Price Calculator handles print pricing plus any other size-based product on one flat monthly price, with formulas, lookup tables, and conditional logic.
Can Apippa handle artwork upload for print orders? Yes. Apippa Custom Price Calculator includes file upload fields, so customers can attach their design while the calculator prices the job by size, material, quantity, and finish.
Does Apippa charge per order like some print calculators? No. Apippa is a flat monthly price with no per-order fees, so your cost stays the same whether you take 10 orders or 1,000 in a month.
Is Apippa only for print shops? No. Apippa Custom Price Calculator works for signage, large-format printing, blinds, wallpaper, cabinetry, fabric, flooring, and any product priced by size, weight, or quantity. It’s one app for your whole catalog.
Do I need to code to build a print pricing calculator? No. You set up formulas, tables, and input fields in Apippa’s interface, and free one-on-one setup help is available for complex print pricing.