How to Determine Print Costs for Large Format Printers in Your AEC Business

Computing large format printing costs in your AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) business is crucial for managing budgets and ensuring project profitability. The factors that influence these costs can impact every project and task, from detailed architectural blueprints to engineering plans or construction site layouts. Every aspect, every step of the way—material expenses, maintenance and equipment efficiency play a role in the overall cost per print. In this guide, we'll break down the components contributing to large format printing costs and provide actionable steps to calculate and optimise them for your business.

You can simplify calculating your large format printing expenses, by utilizing the cost per print method. This method focuses on a single print, combining and summing up all the costs associated with producing it—the costs of materials, energy consumption, labour, printer depreciation, maintenance and overheads.

The first, crucial metric of large format printing expenses is paper costs. This includes the medium of printing, the total cost of ink or toner used, as well as any finishing materials required for specific printing jobs. You must exercise sound judgment when selecting your paper and materials. High-quality paper can improve the output quality but will increase the cost. Conversely, standard-quality materials are more affordable but may not meet the highest quality print standards.

While not as significant as material costs, maintenance and running costs are important to arrive at an accurate cost per print amount. These include cleaning supplies, replacement parts, calibration tools, software updates and electricity consumption.

The actual calculation process is the key step in your cost computation process. Accurate calculation is crucial for pricing services, budgeting and identifying areas for financial improvement.

1. Determine material costs: Select a specific unit of measurement, such as a square meter of printing. Calculate the cost of print media, ink and any additional materials for this unit.

2. Calculate labour costs: Multiply an estimation of the time required to prepare files, operate the printer and perform finishing work, with the number of staff involved, and their hourly rate.

3. Factor in overhead costs: Include costs related to space (by calculating the portion of the rent it requires), utilities and other general business expenses.

4. Add maintenance and running costs: Include maintenance expenses and printer depreciation. To account for depreciation, divide the printer's purchase price by its expected lifetime in days and get the daily cost for replacement.

• Spreadsheet software: Tools like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets can automate calculations by creating tables and templates

• Print management software: Some printers come with management software that tracks material usage and job costs

• ERP systems: Enterprise Resource Planning systems can integrate printing costs and provide insights into overall profitability

• Cloud-based cost calculators: These solutions offer real-time collaboration and financial planning features

Insight into the factors that influence printing costs can help provide you a more holistic understanding of large format printing costs, and help you make purchasing decisions and identify areas for optimisation.

Higher print volumes often lead to lower costs per print due to economies of scale. On the flip side, if the higher volume is caused by more users sharing the printer, this can create bottlenecks and reduce efficiency. Utilise effective scheduling to help mitigate this issue and optimise your cost per print.

Newer, more expensive printers are a one-time cost, while older, cheaper printers will cost you in the long run, with inconsistent, lower quality prints that require reprints. New printers tend to be more efficient with ink, faster in printing, have lower maintenance costs and better overall efficiency, leading to a lower large format printing costs.

Reduce wasted material by tracking your ink usage, creating efficient designs that reduce white space, always printing high-resolution images, to avoid reprints from poor-quality outputs and thoroughly proofreading prints.

Keep your printer well-maintained and calibrated to your needs, by adjusting settings like resolution, ink density and print mode, and select the right materials your business needs to get a good balance between quality and cost.