What do should I charge for printed jobs on a Ricoh HQ9000?

[kevinphila]

Our department recently purchased a Ricoh HQ9000 digital duplicator and I was wondering what the going rate I should charge customers per letter size impression. We are a inplant and charge back our offices, but I am not sure what is fair when it comes to the pricing. I charge .075 fper impression in black and white on 20 lb stock.

I ran a couple of jobs on it in Reflex blue ink and I wasnt sure what to charge per impression. Should I charge for the master too?

Any ideas would help, my next step work be too call a quick printer and see what they charge for the same thing.

BTW every Print Shop should have one of these to bang out low volume envelope job its made our work flow so much better.

Thanks
Kevin

[henderd]

Do you mean .0075? If not, I think .075 is kinda high, especially if you're trying to maintain jobs in house. And it is black ink on 20lb paper.

And yes, I think you should charge for the masters (it should be included with the cost of the total job.

I think whatever your costs (total) they should be included in the per copy cost (this includes paper costs.

[TJPrinter]

Definitely charge for the masters. Every time you make a new master you are not only making a new master, but you are also ejecting ink with the old one and re-inking the new master. The shorter the run the higher the cost per master. I have had the HQ9000 for 3 years, and yes, it's a great little machine for the right jobs. When using any color other than black my pricing is slightly less than if the job was on the press. Envelopes - I charge the same, I just get them done in ¼ the time! Black on 20lb - you could charge the same or slightly less than your b/w copier pricing. Enjoy your new little profit center.

[kevinphila]

Thanks TJ Printer

What do you charge for each master? I was thinking of charging a flat $10 for the master and .10 per impression for color ink. If it was envelopes I would just act like we ran them on the press. Plate, film and labor. Does .10 cents per impression sound OK for a job say in reflex blue 8.5 x 11 20 lb?

[TJPrinter]

There's a formula that Ricoh has that will tell you how much ink is used with each ejection and I first used this and lots of tracking with ink usage and master cost. After all that, the best formula was a simple discount off of my normal pricing structure. Just like pricing for the press, the very short runs are not as efficiently done as the 1,000-4,000. I would charge $98 for 1,000 (1 side) with reflex blue on the HQ9000. A percentage off my press pricing (and faster turnaround) is often enough to encourage someone that would have liked a job printed at 133 lpi on the press to settle for 106 on the duplicator. Your biggest advantage is that most print shop owners don't understand the advantage to using a digital duplicator, so don't under price. Hope this helps!
Tom

[kevinphila]

Tom thanks for your helpful advice. Would you mind if I sent you a private message?

I am pretty new to the whole pricing duplicator work. Its been such a great addition to my shop and has opened some doors to regaining some of the volume that my inplant has lost due to the fact that everyone has black and white multifunction devices. It wouldnt replace offset, but its a neat option for the right type of work and you are right I dont want to undercharge because the time and the materials it saves compared to offset is amazing.

I would like to see what you charge for masters and stuff. Ricoh was trying to give me a formula, but I am a simple guy and would rather opt for a simpler per impression strategy.

Thank you and hope to talk soon
~Kevin

[TJPrinter]

Happy to help if I can Kevin. Send message if you want.

[CathieH]

Hey Kevin.

If I've got what you've said right, you're basically an inhouse copy center for larger jobs that individual departments don't want to print themselves? I'm in that situation and we have set prices for color and black and white, of course. But we're a cost center and not really into "making money" per se, although we do charge for our materials and each impression, at a small, small profit.

Cathie

[kevinphila]

Thanks basically what we are too Cathie. I work for a non profit. I would be curious how our pricing matches up. What kind of equipment do you have. We are a all Xerox shop except for our Ricoh duplicator and Offset presses.

[CathieH]

Hi Kevin.

I sent you a PM with the information.

Cathie