Print workflow

Print Shop Costing & Quotes

Calculate production cost, margin, waste, labor, setup and target selling price for print jobs.

24 working tools9 supporting guides
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Choose the outcome you need

Begin with one of the strongest workflows. The complete specialist library is still available when you need it.

Decision path

Build a quote from cost outward

1
Establish real sheet yield

Use finished size, bleed, gutters, press margins and spoilage before costing paper.

2
Build the loaded job cost

Separate substrate, print/click cost, setup, machine time, labor, finishing, packaging and overhead.

3
Apply target gross margin

Price from loaded cost using margin math rather than adding a markup that produces a different margin.

4
Review unit economics

Compare price per good piece, gross profit and the effect of quantity/yield before sending the quote.

Margin and markup are not interchangeable

If loaded cost is 60 and the target gross margin is 40%, the selling price is 60 ÷ 0.60 = 100. Adding a 40% markup would produce 84, which is only a 28.6% gross margin. The quote workspace keeps those two concepts separate.

Learn the decision

Common questions and production problems