Press Hourly Rates...

[kdw75]

Have have seen hourly rates for 4-color presses, but how do others go about pricing smaller presses that are old? We have a couple of small presses that are 20+ years old that we run regularly and I am wondering how others price these. Another nearby print shop seems to treat them like they are essentially free to run. We run lots of 2-color envelopes on a Hamada 555CDA and averaged out we probably spend less than $200 a year on repairs. When figuring our cost to run the press, I currently have the operators hourly rate and the cost of consumables and shop supplies, but have no idea what to put for the cost of the machine.

Do others just use a cost needed to cover replacing the machine every so often, regardless of whether or not it is actually replaced?

 

[Puch]

If you don't own your premises, then calculate with the place the machine takes up. Eg. we had to get rid of several large footprint machines to go into a smaller office. The decision came after a calculation, where we came to the conclusion that some machines won't even generate enough profit to pay their housing.

 

[Zerge]

Hello.

Do others just use a cost needed to cover replacing

That system was for first 3-5 years.
Now I know how much money my machine needs and calculate more precosely.
Besides — very tough competition among packaging manufacturers.

currently have the operators hourly rate and the cost of consumables and shop supplies

I think, its a good approach.

just use a cost needed to cover replacing the machine every so often, regardless of whether or not it is actually replaced?

Yes. To create so-called "airbag" for unforeseen situations.
This bag contains maxumum of machine needs — for example $1. And they are spent exclusively for it.

 

[pippip]

If it's a machine you'd have to replace tomorrow if it broke then I can't see how you couldn't factor that replacement cost in. I mean are you suddenly going to up your prices if it does happen?

I understand how competitors might low ball, pretty much using said machine to print "loss leaders" but at the end of the day that's just the running cost being absorbed elsewhere within the company.

 

[kdw75]

If it's a machine you'd have to replace tomorrow if it broke then I can't see how you couldn't factor that replacement cost in. I mean are you suddenly going to up your prices if it does happen?

I understand how competitors might low ball, pretty much using said machine to print "loss leaders" but at the end of the day that's just the running cost being absorbed elsewhere within the company.

I can't believe how many low mileage presses are being sold. You can get good 2 color replacements all day long for very little money. My point being that even if we had to replace it, the cost wouldn't really raise our cost much considering how long they last.

 

[pippip]

Yeh in Ireland we've an abundance of used one/two colour litho presses, literally being given away. The only people who may want these machines are really businesses like yourself who have your set amount of jobs you know will be run on it. Nobody is going to buy a litho press in the hope of might be able to come up with the work to keep it going. In Ireland our market is so small and like ourselves alot made the complete jump to digital and to go back into the litho market would involve alot more than just buying the press itself.

If that's the case then yeh it's marginal whether you count that cost into your pricing.