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saberger
Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 01, 2007
Posts: 812
Location: NJ
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 Posted:
Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:45 pm |
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For those of you that use EI's in your biz, how do you calculate your cost of ink into it? I have figured out how many images I get per sheet and how much each sheet is, but I am stumped in how to figure an amount for the ink. Obviously each picture is different and one might use a lot of red or black....but I don't do enough on a steady basis to be able to determine how many sheets I can print for each cartridge.
Has anyone figured this out?
TIA |
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saberger
Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 01, 2007
Posts: 812
Location: NJ
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Thu Oct 22, 2009 6:37 pm |
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leah_s
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jun 19, 2007
Posts: 5750
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Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:39 pm |
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Nah. I just charge $10 each.
3 EIs buys the pack of icing sheets and 6 more pays for the ink set. I know I get more than 9 from an ink cartridge + icing sheet pack.
Well, that wasn't very scientific. |
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Kitagrl
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jun 16, 2005
Posts: 4064
Location: NE Philly suburbs
Birthday: Jan 31
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Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:50 pm |
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I don't really charge extra because the time it saves me from having to do handmade art is worth the money I paid for the ink and paper. |
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saberger
Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 01, 2007
Posts: 812
Location: NJ
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Fri Oct 23, 2009 5:53 am |
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$10 a sheet?! Wow! I was only going to charge $5. I figured each page costs me less than a dollar, so I guess the rest can go towards the expense of the ink? |
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CakeDiva73
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jan 30, 2006
Posts: 3057
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Sat Oct 24, 2009 9:15 pm |
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Um, the icing sheet ALONE costs me $1 - not counting the ink. I do factor in the 'easiness' of the sheets but then the added overhead of the freaking expensive as all HECK ink (&sheets). When I created my flyers for holidays, I anticipating charging $3.25 for cookies made with EI as opposed to $2.95 for those using cheap (but time consuming handmade RI details.) |
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summernmicah99
Junior Member
Joined: Nov 04, 2006
Posts: 65
Location: NW Arkansas
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Sat Oct 24, 2009 9:59 pm |
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Most bakeries and grocery stores charge $5.00 per image. I don't mind paying that amount, but would not be willing to pay $10.00 for an image. A buck a sheet and four bucks for ink, machine and power useage is very reasonable. JMO! |
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bbmom
Frequent Member
Joined: Feb 04, 2009
Posts: 466
Location: small town
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Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:03 pm |
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For my epsom the cartridge says enough ink for up to 30 pages, the refill ink says can refill up to 4 times. So I figured how much the initial cartridge, plus the refill will print up to 150 sheets, figure the price plus shipping for that many sheets with the ink and divided it by 150 gives me my cost per sheet including the ink. I know it will vary like you said some pictures use more of a particular color than others but it gives you an average, so if your cost per sheet with ink and shipping is $2.60 and you can get 10 images on it for cookies your additional cost is .26cents per cookie. |
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CakeDiva73
Forum SuperStar!
Joined: Jan 30, 2006
Posts: 3057
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Sat Oct 24, 2009 10:30 pm |
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I am not trying to argue but I think that ink usage claims need to be taken with a grain of salt. I don't believe you get as much as they say you do. I think you should factor in a certain percentage (maybe 20%) on variable consumption.
I also don't know what image you can get 10 of on a sheet. Mine are smaller (once the icing 'sheet' is taken into consideration) so instead of 8.5 x 11 they are actually only 7 ish x 10 ish, and if you have pre-fab 2 inch circles, even less - maybe 6? 8?
I would just hate to see you cutting yourself short, that's all. $5 is cheap, maybe $10 is kinda pricey (for my area), $8 is what the local supermarket sells them for.......but $2.60 INCLUDING s/h is pure madness.
If that is what you charge, I am selling my Epson on Ebay and ordering everything thru you from now on because you are somehow printing and shipping it for cheaper then I can....... just sayin'  |
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zdebssweetsj
Frequent Member
Joined: May 11, 2008
Posts: 218
Birthday: Jan 16
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Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:09 am |
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Just call around and check what the local prices are. In my area they run about $7.00 a sheet. |
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G_Cakes
Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 22, 2009
Posts: 510
Location: in the kitchen...where else?
Birthday: Oct 02
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Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:13 am |
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Dairy Queen around the corner from me charges 5.99 per sheet (rice paper) not per image, so if I can get 10 images on one sheet I still only pay 5.99... |
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saberger
Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 01, 2007
Posts: 812
Location: NJ
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Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:51 am |
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Good info everyone. Thank you! I calculated that each sheet costs me 85 cents. I get 9 images off of each sheets for most of my cookies that I use it for. So the rest of the $5 would go towards the ink and refill. It seems like I am on the right track then.
CakeDiva - I guess it really does depend where you are located and how much your sheets are. When I was ordering them online, I ended up paying $1.56 for each sheet. Then I found Sam's Club! Whoo-hoo!! |
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cookiemama2
Regular Member
Joined: Aug 28, 2008
Posts: 101
Location: Ontario, Canada
Birthday: Jun 04
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Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:08 am |
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| zdebssweetsj wrote: | | Just call around and check what the local prices are. In my area they run about $7.00 a sheet. |
Wow i paid alot more than that from my grocery store ... it was well over $10 and it wasn't very clear at all. |
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tripleD
Frequent Member
Joined: Jan 20, 2007
Posts: 219
Location: Ohio,Adena
Birthday: Jul 10
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Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:23 am |
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I use edible sheets alot but never thought about the cost if ink. I buy cartridge blanks and fill them myself. The cost is much cheaper I have a resetter chip to reset the cartridge after I refill. If I sell a image it usually figured in to the cake total price. |
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bbmom
Frequent Member
Joined: Feb 04, 2009
Posts: 466
Location: small town
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Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:00 am |
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| CakeDiva73 wrote: | I am not trying to argue but I think that ink usage claims need to be taken with a grain of salt. I don't believe you get as much as they say you do. I think you should factor in a certain percentage (maybe 20%) on variable consumption.
I also don't know what image you can get 10 of on a sheet. Mine are smaller (once the icing 'sheet' is taken into consideration) so instead of 8.5 x 11 they are actually only 7 ish x 10 ish, and if you have pre-fab 2 inch circles, even less - maybe 6? 8?
I would just hate to see you cutting yourself short, that's all. $5 is cheap, maybe $10 is kinda pricey (for my area), $8 is what the local supermarket sells them for.......but $2.60 INCLUDING s/h is pure madness.
If that is what you charge, I am selling my Epson on Ebay and ordering everything thru you from now on because you are somehow printing and shipping it for cheaper then I can....... just sayin' |
op was asking how to figure her "cost" not what to charge. I gave the info on how I figured my actual cost. For cookies I can get quite a few ei's per page and yes it is 7 1/2 x 10. I made some 4x5 certificate cookies and only got 2 per sheet, the mini halloween eis that are in my gallery I was able to get 12 per sheet. Knowing my actual cost helps me figure out how much to charge. |
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