print Cost estimator

[theNewerGuy]

Hello everyone, I'm new to large format printing and have a question for those print vetrans out there. I have spoken with a couple of different print shops and they tell me they use a cost estimator they use in excel. The formula I was told works like this:
Length Times Width Divided By 144 x $cost per squareinch = $job estimate

The problem I'm having is finding my $cost per square inch. When I contacted HP I was told that it is impossible to do this and that these types of formulas are just guesstimates and not very accurate at all.

So if this is true how have these shops stayed open for all these years?, and furthermore how do I estimate my work?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have spent thousands of dollars buying very expensive hp large format printers just to be told by their support rep that there is no accurate way of estimating my work for my clients.

Had I known this before buying HP products I may have not purchased from them to begin with.

[SHThompson]

Unfortunately to determine your cost per square inch you need to know your coverage per square inch and that varies greatly between print jobs.

I don't know if any vendor will be able to give you a formula that will work a hundred percent of the time unless you always plan on the high end of the usage Spectrum.

In other words it probably means that in many cases the shops charge more from for the work than they would if they were just making a markup based on the actual cost.

[theNewerGuy]

So if I understand you correctly I cannot even get an average cost say if i'm printing a photo at 300dpi and I'm printing on an 8.5 x 11. The ink coverage will be different every time I print that same photo? Even though nothing else changes?

[theNewerGuy]

Also does'nt the ISO have a standard for "COIPP" or cost of ink per page"?  ISO/IEC 29102:2015. Why cant this type of standard be used to derive a cost of ink value or formula for large format printers as well?

[SHThompson]

Each time you print the same photo the ink usage will be the same, but if you print five different photos each one will use a different amount of ink.

If you print a photo where it happens to have a lot of white it will use a lot less ink than a photo where all the background has color in it.

[SHThompson]

A note on cost per page, HP tends to spec that at 5% coverage with a disclaimer that if you print at a higher coverage it will cost more.

[theNewerGuy]

I'm very unimpressed with the HP support people. As a new printing business I have found the entry into this indistry very disheartening. I'm sadened by a company like HP with it's years of experience in Printing and having no idea of it's own cost of coverage on it's printers.

If you are printing a single black page at 300dpi or 150dpi and the size of the page is 4x3 or 8.5x11 then you will incure a cost of coverage per square inch and this is the same with Magenta, Cyan, Green, Yellow, Black, Grey, etc...

It's this cost of coverage that needs to be determined so that print companies can give more accurate estimates to clients.

It is very sad that these professionals cannot even give you an average cost not even an average cost!

I am deffinataely looking at other printer manufactureres right now to find a better solution and I'm in talks with the company I purchased my HP through to send it back. It's a complete waste of my time and thousands of dollars I have spent to enter into the wide format printing market with a printing manufacturere who cant even answer simple questions for whatever their reason.

[jasonmiamifl]

If yourself even could not get an estimate cost on a 4x3" or 8x10" print & really doubtful that you  should get any printing business with any printer.

[theNewerGuy]

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Look at this reply. I cant even understand what this guy is saying.

[meat1820 · Accepted solution]

you could just take the time to draw up your own costs. do some research on what other places would charge for large prints and start there. If you like the Quality of print and graphics the HP Designjets gives you, getting rid of them for something else is not going to solve your question or materials cost in figure. Draw yourself up a standard chart in excell.

for a 16x20 cost

for a 18x24 cost

for a 24x36 cost

for a 36x48 cost

make a standard list for all your sizes. these in mention are all standard poster sizes. put your prices to them and difference the price to whatever kind of roll paper you are using, glossy, matte, satin, canvas, etc.

I print out live action hockey posters 18x24 for people at $30 a pop. on glossy