Commercial & Direct Mail Printers

Questions for ROI Analysis

The estimator for commercial and direct mail printing companies attempts to estimate as closely as possible the end-to-end job production costs. The estimating discipline is typical for all work directed to the equipment on the plant floor. Digital presses and finishing solutions present new twists for the estimator, especially for estimating ink usage, press time, and maintenance costs.

Commercial and direct mail printers are typically job shops. Each print project presents unique production specifications. Estimates, when accepted by the printer's customers, become contracts to perform. Thus, there is a keen sensitivity to being "cost-aware" for every job.

Here are 3 customer questions presented to the ROI Analyst for study:

  1. What's an appropriate budgeted hourly (BHR) rate for the digital press and finishing system?

  2. Prove ink and fluids usage – reconcile the estimated vs. the actual ink usage.

  3. For post-job production reporting, show the following:

    • Paper usage, how much of the roll is saleable?

    • Press make-ready and run time.

    • Daily start-up time consumed.

    • Pre-press and data processing costs.

    • Business process operations (estimating, reconciling the estimate, and invoicing).