In general, how much does your printer cost you besides ink?

[Scooby Doo]

Hello! I got some very helpful advice here about a printer for my business. I'm probably going to get one of the Canon Image Prografs. I print 100-200 11x17 color posters a week. I'm trying to get a feel for costs besides ink and the initial purchase price. Basically maintenance, parts, repairs and then the intangibles of dealing with keeping it running, especially if it's my only printer and down time costs me in loss of business. Some printers look better built than others, but they all have reviews that mention repair issues. If I have my posters printed for me, I can get them for $6 a poster (Canva). Ink costs look like around $2-$4. Am I going to really save that ~$3 per poster, or am I going to lose it in terms of running costs? Basically, this is a what-would-you-do question. Thanks for any advice you can give.

 

[Pauly]

To factor in print pricing you need to calculate the ink usage per square meter / foot depending what system of measurements you use.
Power consumption, consumables (usually per x amount of printed area)
And obviously how much your paper stock costs you.

But if you're selling your own artwork, you're not relying on the print alone.

In short - It's not going to cost you $6 to make a 11x17" poster.

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

The iPF printers require very little attention apart from consumables. You'll pay for paper, inks, a waste ink container (usually 1 per year) and electricity... that's about it.
We've run iPF machines since 2008. You'll eventually need a head every few years. I think we've replaced two of them in 13 years, so they're not frequent.

I have 3 years of print data from our PRO6000 on file. We print fine art on a range of media. Virtually all are full coverage and close to zero white space.
A quick analysis shows that a 24" x 36" print uses between 2.5mL (light coverage) and 4mL (heavy saturation) of ink. You can work out your costs based on this using your local pricing. Don't forget to add paper costs.
Typically a poster print this size costs us approx. USD$2.20 for ink + paper. An 11"x17" is going to be considerably cheaper than this.

 

[KeithMan]

You also must consider the square footage cost of the building it is kept in, which includes any rent, maintenance, taxes and climate control. All overhead has to be accounted for.

 

[AGCharlotte]

You also must consider the square footage cost of the building it is kept in, which includes any rent, maintenance, taxes and climate control. All overhead has to be accounted for.

sort of... that's already an existing cost so applying it to equipment acquisition isn't a direct cost, he's already paying for it (unless, of course, he needs to rent more space to add this machine).

Back to the OP, $3/print seems to have a calculation issue as that seems way high for an 11x17 (unless you're running one a time and having excessive paper waste). I ran an old prograf about 10-15 years ago and it required very little maintenance.

 

[KeithMan]

sort of... that's already an existing cost so applying it to equipment acquisition isn't a direct cost, he's already paying for it (unless, of course, he needs to rent more space to add this machine).

Back to the OP, $3/print seems to have a calculation issue as that seems way high for an 11x17 (unless you're running one a time and having excessive paper waste). I ran an old prograf about 10-15 years ago and it required very little maintenance.

We always struggled with the cost of offset presses since they would still be perfectly usable 20 years later, but we always figured on equipment to charge enough to pay the purchase price off in 5 years.

 

[unclebun]

In reality you need to approach from the standpoint of, "If this machine makes me so successful that my business grows and I have to contemplate buying another and hire someone to keep up, will I have enough money saved to buy it without borrowing?" If the answer is no, you aren't accounting for enough of the machine costs.

The corollary of that is, "This machine will be obsolete in 5 years and near end of life in 8. Will I have enough money saved to replace it?"

 

[netsol]

In reality you need to approach from the standpoint of, "If this machine makes me so successful that my business grows and I have to contemplate buying another and hire someone to keep up, will I have enough money saved to buy it without borrowing?" If the answer is no, you aren't accounting for enough of the machine costs.

The corollary of that is, "This machine will be obsolete in 5 years and near end of life in 8. Will I have enough money saved to replace it?"

isnt that what an operating lease is for?

 

[Gino]

The OP is paying wa-a-a-ay too much for 11" x 17" posters.

You guys are arguing about how much for this, that and whatever, when the real question is..... what are YOU charging for these 100-200 posters a week ??

According to the profile, the OP has no experience and is only selling one kind of poster. How long can that last ?? How long has he/she been selling these and at that quantity ??

Needs to find a better wholesaler is the real answer. The machine for what he needs only costs around a grand. What can the consumables really be at such a low quantity ??

 

[ColorCrest]

I'm probably going to get one of the Canon Image Prografs. I print 100-200 11x17 color posters a week.

If you're seriously contemplating an ongoing and viable business for those quantities and sizes for posters, you should know about a professional option newly available from Epson...

The Epson literature for this machine does mention Canva.
Also, fully understand the function of RIP software and an Adobe Print Engine, their costs, etc.

 

[Z SIGNS]

I really don't care what a piece of equipment costs. The only thing important is if it is making you money.