Pricing Questions

[kimkimkim]

Hello,
I am just trying to get a small printshop off the ground and I have some pricing questions.
I was wondering how much one should charge for a 3 color run of 550 paper cd cases.
I would also be exposing the screen. and using a 4 color table top press.

also do you have any idea about pricing printing on 100 yards of fabric, one color.

Thanks
-k

[danstiles]

I would check what other printers are charging to get a baseline. However, when running a business you need to charge enough to make a profit. Meaning that you need to take your expenses into consideration. You can't just use someone else's prices, you might want up working at a loss.

[crosshair]

Yes, as Stiles says, there's no easy answer.

You have to consider what your potential competitors are charging for a similar product...
But you also must consider the your costs in terms of materials and time. There's no point operating at a loss, just so you can undercut someone else - who may very well be automated, and benefits from economies of scale you don't have. Many fall into the trap of undercharging to 'get a foot in the door' and end up regretting it, and failing.

That being the case, you have to figure out what it is you uniquely can offer, so that potential clients have something else to consider other than your prices vis-a-vis your competitors. This is the challenge that every new entrant into a competitive marketplace faces. Some succeed, some fail.

[andydiesel]

i'd bid the job out at $23.50 for it all.

[crosshair]

Any advice from me or Andy or anyone else on here should be taken with a grain of salt...
Because we ARE your competitors.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYRC4H64EFk]YouTube - Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle[/ame]

[KingKong]

overhead + materials= cost
cost ÷ job quantity = $ to break even
$ to break even X 2 = profit

[squeegeethree]

I might add that when running a business like this the time it takes to order supplies, unpack them, talk to customers on the phone (sometimes repeatedly about the same subject), and pack up your product MUST be considered. You will go broke fast if you don't get paid for all the incidental stuff.

[fantasygoat]

It sounds like you're using one of those crappy ebay 4-color lazy susan t-shirt presses to print on. That is no way to start a business, I assure you.

[kylewbaker]

^
True that

Are you aware of and/or have you searched for a cooperative print shop that you could use, at least to get started? Could be a great way to enter the market while keeping costs lower -- productivity for one thing will make a big difference (this assuming you've got a pretty amateur set up of your own).

Again I don't know what your situation is, but if you've already invested in some equipment, don't let that be a disqualifier -- for one thing, if you do find a co-op shop type situation they may very well have use for your gear (i.e. you might barter).

Here's a halfway reasonable ballpark (but like others have noted, you have to do your own math and figure out what really works):
If you're talking approx 5.5" x 5" for the art, and not a digipak etc., you could probably print 6-up with a carousel press (if that's what you mean). So that's ~92 pulls per color, totaling 276. You might charge $0.75 per pull plus $20 per color setup, which comes to $267. Considering that doesn't include the CDs themselves, this seems like a poor solution for a relatively small CD run.

If you were using a more appropriate press (them carousels are really for apparel, it's a disadvantage for paper) you could do this job much more efficiently (with an 18" x 24" print area you could do about 15-up for example).

Tell me you're not planning on printing each cover one at a time...??

[steve w]

if it's a pre-made cover, you need to print them one at a time.
the 15-up idea is idiotic, at best
kyle is a girly-man