Anyone keep a screen; print count on products used?

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

I was just wondering if anyone keeps track of how many screens; shirts; etc products last you.

For example I can say that one quart of emulsion I can coat 19 screens....coating 23 x 31 screens....doing one pass on each side.

Next I am going to keep track on how much a can of adhesive lasts me as far as shirt count and same for a can of screen opener...granted the number will vary but I'm sure you can get a general idea of how many shirts you can print before you need to replace.....same for rolls of tape which I think would be an easy one..just measure all 4 lengths of the screens and dived the tape roll length by the screen measurements and you can figure out how long a roll of tape lasts.

all of these calculated cost will help me refigure my price structure..I THINK im a little to high with my prices....especially for someone with ZERO over head.

Just wondering if anyone else has such numbers calculated already.

[Evo]

all of these calculated cost will help me refigure my price structure..I THINK im a little to high with my prices....especially for someone with ZERO over head.

If your prices are affecting how many jobs you land, then yes. Otherwise, there is never such thing as too much income. (and too little overhead)

[Binkspot]

Ask Kitson, Mindseye he can tell you down to the penny what everything cost in his shop.

[Northland]

I was just wondering if anyone keeps track of how many screens; shirts; etc products last you.

For example I can say that one quart of emulsion I can coat 19 screens....coating 23 x 31 screens....doing one pass on each side.

Next I am going to keep track on how much a can of adhesive lasts me as far as shirt count and same for a can of screen opener...granted the number will vary but I'm sure you can get a general idea of how many shirts you can print before you need to replace.....same for rolls of tape which I think would be an easy one..just measure all 4 lengths of the screens and dived the tape roll length by the screen measurements and you can figure out how long a roll of tape lasts.

all of these calculated cost will help me refigure my price structure..I THINK im a little to high with my prices....especially for someone with ZERO over head.

Just wondering if anyone else has such numbers calculated already.

Here's my guess-estimate on supplies cost per screen:
Reclaim chem's    .25
Emulsion             .75
Film positive        .75
tape                    .10
tack                    .10
screen wash       .25
mesh                  .80  (based on static frames with about a 30 cycle lifespan)
So, three dollars (material) per screen

Even with no overhead... I think you could easily add:
Three dollars per screen to keep up with pre-press equipment costs (printer, exposure unit, wash-out station).
Three dollars per screen in equipment depreciation (press, dryer, etc).
One dollar per screen in business expense (phone, website, etc).

[Frog]

all of these calculated cost will help me refigure my price structure..I THINK im a little to high with my prices....especially for someone with ZERO over head.

Okay, this is always a red flag for me, generally heard from "garage" printers (though home based businesses, like mine, in fact, are not limited to garages. Hell, I don't even have a garage and if I did, I'd use it for vehicles!)

No overhead? So, your property and operation incurs no utility costs, no insurance, no trash, no mortgage or rent or upkeep?
I work on my residential property, and my operation is responsible for at least 25% of all of those expenses as well as some specific to the business.
This is both figured into my shop hourly costs as well as, of course, listed as expenses on my taxes.

For example I can say that one quart of emulsion I can coat 19 screens....coating 23 x 31 screens....doing one pass on each side.

This is also skating on thin ice. Although some meshes may give an acceptable EOM with a 1/1 coating, most meshes that we use will not (assuming plastisol use)
I coat the print side to see a glistening on the squeegee side, usually at least two coats on 160 and higher. The point is, there is a visual reference.
But a lot of discussion on this facet belongs in the screen making section.
 

[bimmridder]

We track everything. Purchases of in, chemicals, mesh, emulsion, etc. Labor. Impressions, Set ups, set up/tear down times, run times,  Screens made/reclaimed. And on and on. If we use it, we track it. Fixed costs are, well, fixed costs. I can't imagine anything we can't figure a cost on.

[tpitman]

all of these calculated cost will help me refigure my price structure..I THINK im a little to high with my prices....especially for someone with ZERO over head.

Okay, this is always a red flag for me, generally heard from "garage" printers (though home based businesses, like mine, in fact, are not limited to garages. Hell, I don't even have a garage and if I did, I'd use it for vehicles!)

No overhead? So, your property and operation incurs no utility costs, no insurance, no trash, no mortgage or rent or upkeep?
I work on my residential property, and my operation is responsible for at least 25% of all of those expenses as well as some specific to the business.
This is both figured into my shop hourly costs as well as, of course, listed as expenses on my taxes.

Yup. I went from garage to a warehouse and back to the garage. From the get-go I estimated expenses for a commercial building, including lease, insurance, and utilities, and factored these into my prices. When I actually moved to the warehouse, I made no changes to pricing. Likewise when I moved back. And, like yourself, Andy, I calculate my utilities for tax purposes based on the percentage of my home office and garage taken up by the business.
Starting out in a garage and basing pricing on no overhead will bite you in the ass if you ever expand into a commercial space.

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

We track everything. Purchases of in, chemicals, mesh, emulsion, etc. Labor. Impressions, Set ups, set up/tear down times, run times,  Screens made/reclaimed. And on and on. If we use it, we track it. Fixed costs are, well, fixed costs. I can't imagine anything we can't figure a cost on.

i have no employee's and no rent....the only thing my biz would effect in my life is electricity and water....and being my business isnt busting at the seams i have noticed very little effect on those 2 bills. Even if I was busting at the seams all that would be effected is electricity and water. I dont include all other bills because id would be paying that anyway...its my house...i have to pay the house note no matter what.

I HAD a shop last years and was paying $775 a month plus electricty (water was free) and mandatory insurance...i made my rent twice in the entire year.... i dont have the biz to support a shop plus make money...wish i did...but i dont.

[Frog]

Mark, any part of your home that is now used for business is not available as a home, and should be figured as such.

Take it to the extreme, and figure that some day, you may need your entire house for business, and sleep in your car or rent another place.
Would your business still "no overhead"? It's the same place.

Why do you make the distinction when it is merely part of the home?

What about a nice commercially zoned loft in which you also sleep? Would that be free lodging, or no overhead for your shop?

You have to look at this in a business-like way, or you are starting on a slippery slope.

[Socalfmf]

Mark

how the hell do you run a business without knowing what it costs you?  If you don't know how do you know your prices are too high?

this is simple business and economics 101.

time to start figuring out why you are failing.

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

Mark

how the hell do you run a business without knowing what it costs you?  If you don't know how do you know your prices are too high?

this is simple business and economics 101.

time to start figuring out why you are failing.

I am using the cost matrix of the guy that mentored me. When I got back up and running we worked a deal where I would move my press into his existing commercial location shop..he wanted to expand to two presses and I needed a place to set up...so I set up there and the trade off was he used my press and I had access to his shop with no rent to pay.

He shared his price structure with me and thats what I have been using. When he closed his shop and I opened up my own shop and carried over his price matrix with me. Once I closed my shop and set up in my garage I am kept the same structure.

So I am using a calculated price matrix for my area which is right down the middle and comparable to other businesses that run manuals.

[Mark @ Hurricane Printing]

Mark, any part of your home that is now used for business is not available as a home, and should be figured as such.

Take it to the extreme, and figure that some day, you may need your entire house for business, and sleep in your car or rent another place.
Would your business still "no overhead"? It's the same place.

Why do you make the distinction when it is merely part of the home?

What about a nice commercially zoned loft in which you also sleep? Would that be free lodging, or no overhead for your shop?

You have to look at this in a business-like way, or you are starting on a slippery slope.

I have claimed my 3rd bedroom as my office for my biz....this year will be the first year I claim my one car garage.

[inkman996]

Save a ton of money and start using water based pallet adhesive and a can of Screen opener should only be used as a last resort to open a stubborn stencil. A can of that crap lasts us a year or more.

[Frog]

I have claimed my 3rd bedroom as my office for my biz....this year will be the first year I claim my one car garage.

There you have it. If nothing else, the same percentage of your home that is used for business, is the percentage of home-related expenses that should be viewed as part of your overhead.

[Gilligan]

Mark

how the hell do you run a business without knowing what it costs you?  If you don't know how do you know your prices are too high?

this is simple business and economics 101.

time to start figuring out why you are failing.

I am using the cost matrix of the guy that mentored me. When I got back up and running we worked a deal where I would move my press into his existing commercial location shop..he wanted to expand to two presses and I needed a place to set up...so I set up there and the trade off was he used my press and I had access to his shop with no rent to pay.

He shared his price structure with me and thats what I have been using. When he closed his shop and I opened up my own shop and carried over his price matrix with me. Once I closed my shop and set up in my garage I am kept the same structure.

So I am using a calculated price matrix for my area which is right down the middle and comparable to other businesses that run manuals.

Once again, I agree with Sam but not with his delivery.  But seriously... don't you see a theme going on here?

He used his prices, closed shop.  You used his prices, closed shop.

I also agree with Frog and tpitman... you have to at least "pretend" you have or will have some over head even if you don't really have much.  You are leaving yourself no room for growth if you don't (tpitman, pretty much summed it up).