Whether you are a label manufacturer or are printing labels in-house, it is important to calculate your total price-per-label costs. Expenses from printing can add up to a significant amount of a company’s total revenue. Sadly, most companies fail to track the total costs of their printing. This accounts for a huge amount of savings that many organizations are completely missing out on. There are several things you need to account for and assess to get an accurate calculation of your full printing costs. Learn how to determine price-per-label costs.
Evaluate Printer Manufacturer and Model Number
Printers from different manufacturers always vary. No company’s printer will be the same as another company. To get a good estimate, you’ll need to divide the ink cartridge price by the yield. However, those costs will be heavily dependent on the printer manufacturer you chose or already own, as well as the model number. Every printer works with a specific cartridge series, so you never want to just wing it when looking for the right printer cartridge. The best way to start is to look at the front of your printer. The manufacturer name should be clear on the front of the machine. Some printers place the model name on the corners, and some will have it on the front-facing cover. If on the front of the machine, it’ll usually be next to the control panel. The model number can be located on the top of the machine, either in the corners or the center. Another good way to check what printer you are using is by looking at the sticker located on the back, towards the bottom of the printer, and locating the serial number.
Calculate Your Yield-Per-Cartridge
Once you have figured out the manufacturer and model of printer you’re working with, you can examine the cartridge it uses and determine its yield. The cartridge yield refers to the estimated amount of items that can be printed from one cartridge. You can usually find yield figures through the manufacturer’s website, or even on the ink cartridge packaging. It’s important to remember that there are different yield figures for color printing and black and white. For calculating black and white label yields, manufacturers will print a text document that uses tone to cover five percent of a page. This is done continuously until the cartridge runs out of ink. To figure out the yield for color printing, text and graphics are combined on a document, and then use toner to cover 20 percent. The document is printed until the cartridge runs out.
Determine Each Ink Cartridge Cost
A key to figuring out the full cost of each label you print is identifying the cost of the cartridges you need. There are a couple ways to get the information. One method is assistance from accounting or purchasing. The other way you could find this information is by simply using the average retail prices for the toner or ink cartridge you’ll be using. Be sure to check our website for both cartridge pricing as well as the “Specifications” section of each product page on our website for the ink volume per cartridge. Some ink cartridges will vary significantly in price. You will find some ink cartridges that run as low as $18, and then there are ones that are priced well over $100 or even $200. Different manufacturers have their individual reasons for their particular price, but its mostly due to the volume of ink that’s included in each cartridge. Often, this has to do with technology and development costs too. The vast cost differences are very common. These massive variations really come down to what printer you own. If you do not already own one, this is a good reason to do your research on printers and label printer accessories before deciding on the model you want.
Final Calculations for Cost-Per-Print
Once you have collected the information you need regarding the yield and the cost-per-ink cartridge, you can calculate how much you are going to be spending on labels. The calculation method behind it is simple to understand. You will want to calculate the cost for colored printing. A colored label printer generally uses several ink cartridges to print labels in color. So, to get the cost of each label, you’ll have to calculate cost-per-label of each color cartridge. It’s important to note that not all printers have these tools for end users. Here at Texas Label Printers, we can help you by performing an ink-cost-analysis.
Additional Impacting Factors
This is a major detail to look at when trying to figure out how to determine price-per-label costs. It might seem like once the previous calculations are all done, then you have your cost. Unfortunately, that is only a very rough estimate, as it does not include several other impacting factors. The most accurate print costs also need to account for contributing costs, like employee burden rates and the lifecycle of your equipment. It’s important to make sure you have assessed each expense that will make up the full printing cost. Equipment is the first one. You’ll have to factor in the amount of money spent on the printer itself. This also includes any additional equipment that goes with the printer. Your supplies will be added next. The ink or toner, label material, paper, and other print media make up the supplies. Another significant cost is the service and maintenance that’s done on your equipment. This might include monthly service agreements and on-time maintenance charges. Employee burden rates includes the cost of paying employees, as well as the company time that is taken up by issues like paper jams, toner replacements, and connectivity problems. Lifecycle of your equipment generally centers around its depreciation on top of new and better technology that you’ll likely have to upgrade to. None of these should be missed.
Contact Us
Let the professionals at Texas Label Printers calculate your ink cost and provide you with an ink cost breakdown. Use our label sample request form to get started. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns that arise.
