True cost of dye sublimation printing
When many sublimators look at the cost of making their products, they only take into account how much they spend on sublimation ink, sublimation paper, substrate and shipping. This approach impacts their businesses negatively, as overhead and labor are not factored into the equation – and this is where the bulk of the real cost of production lies.
As a result, they may be setting prices too low to sustain their business, and look back to cut costs in what they think is the bulk of their production expenses: sublimation ink, paper, substrates and shipping. This is a common mistake that small businesses and those new to the industry often make finding themselves in a continuous cycle of trying to keep their heads above water and stay in business
Alternatively, you should take a wholistic view at calculating the costs of running a sublimation business and set prices that cover all production costs to achieve a true profit on every product.
What are Your Costs?
Whether you have a home-based business or your own shop in town, your cost formula is the same: divide all the operational costs for a given period of time by the number of units produced during the same time period. Operational costs – or overhead - includes all of your anticipated costs: rent, power, insurance, phone, website, e-mail, advertising, marketing collateral, chamber and professional association fees, depreciation on fixed assets (printer, heat press, computer), accounting fees, etc. They should also include your ink, substrates, paper, software and artwork expenses.
Then there are labor expenses. Even if you are a solo operation, you need to pay yourself. Your time and expertise are valuable, which is why it's so important to establish an efficient system of sublimation production. The time spent on doing anything other than making sublimated products for sale is a missed opportunity for more revenue. Remember, it's the product people are paying you for.
When businesses are struggling to get off the ground or are finding they are simply not making enough money, the first instinct is to cut costs. While running lean is usually a good business practice, you should impress upon your customers that they must choose their cuts carefully so as not to sacrifice product quality and to ensure they are actually impacting their bottom line.
We hear lots of people talk about how sublimation inks are expensive, or how off-brand inks are such a great buy. We are sure you do, too. When you have an expense of several hundred dollars, that can seem like a great place to cut costs. But the reality is that reducing the cost of ink expenditures makes a negligible impact on profit margins, and your customers risk losing much, much more than they would have spent on the high-quality inks and printers in the first place.
That doesn't even take into consideration time, paper, substrates and ink spent trying to get colors right. Off-brand inks do not come with color software designed to work with both printer and ink, which is essential to making high-quality prints that command premium pricing. Many companies offer no or limited technical support, as well, leaving you on your own to adjust settings and waste more materials.
How do you increase your efficiency? Focus on how much time is true production and how much is downtime. When the heat press is open, when you're filling in cartridges and trying to figure out why your prints don't look the way you want, you aren't making money. Look at ways to trim the downtime so that print and press cycles are maximized.
If you are running an older printer, then consider a newer model. Advances in technology have led to faster speeds and less ink consumption.
More info:
Website: www.skyimagepaper.com
Company Name: Fei Yue Digital Technology Co.,LTD
E-mail: sales@feiyuepaper.com
Tel: 86-025-86628894
Whatsapp: +86 18252072197
Address: Central Road 323, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Alternatively, you should take a wholistic view at calculating the costs of running a sublimation business and set prices that cover all production costs to achieve a true profit on every product.
What are Your Costs?
Whether you have a home-based business or your own shop in town, your cost formula is the same: divide all the operational costs for a given period of time by the number of units produced during the same time period. Operational costs – or overhead - includes all of your anticipated costs: rent, power, insurance, phone, website, e-mail, advertising, marketing collateral, chamber and professional association fees, depreciation on fixed assets (printer, heat press, computer), accounting fees, etc. They should also include your ink, substrates, paper, software and artwork expenses.
Then there are labor expenses. Even if you are a solo operation, you need to pay yourself. Your time and expertise are valuable, which is why it's so important to establish an efficient system of sublimation production. The time spent on doing anything other than making sublimated products for sale is a missed opportunity for more revenue. Remember, it's the product people are paying you for.
When businesses are struggling to get off the ground or are finding they are simply not making enough money, the first instinct is to cut costs. While running lean is usually a good business practice, you should impress upon your customers that they must choose their cuts carefully so as not to sacrifice product quality and to ensure they are actually impacting their bottom line.
We hear lots of people talk about how sublimation inks are expensive, or how off-brand inks are such a great buy. We are sure you do, too. When you have an expense of several hundred dollars, that can seem like a great place to cut costs. But the reality is that reducing the cost of ink expenditures makes a negligible impact on profit margins, and your customers risk losing much, much more than they would have spent on the high-quality inks and printers in the first place.
That doesn't even take into consideration time, paper, substrates and ink spent trying to get colors right. Off-brand inks do not come with color software designed to work with both printer and ink, which is essential to making high-quality prints that command premium pricing. Many companies offer no or limited technical support, as well, leaving you on your own to adjust settings and waste more materials.
If you are running an older printer, then consider a newer model. Advances in technology have led to faster speeds and less ink consumption.
More info:
Website: www.skyimagepaper.com
Company Name: Fei Yue Digital Technology Co.,LTD
E-mail: sales@feiyuepaper.com
Tel: 86-025-86628894
Whatsapp: +86 18252072197
Address: Central Road 323, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
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