If you have invested in new equipment in the last year, did you go back and change your supporting processes to ensure you are pricing your work appropriately? It is a question for in-plants and print-for-pay shops, commercial and transactional. While some work is done under contract with limited options for price changes, the ability to understand the actual cost of goods sold after new equipment is installed and put into production is essential. Despite best intentions, few organizations go through this process. Make 2019 the year that you update your understanding of your true costs and update your quoting, estimating and pricing assumptions.

If you have upgraded the speed of existing print hardware, or installed new hardware that extends your capacity, it’s time to revisit your internal costs. Have you recalculated your cost to print your regular work based on those new speeds, or today’s ink or toner costs? You may find that your margins have grown, which gives you more room to work when its time to negotiate. Conversely, you may find that even with more speed, the cost of consumables is eating into your margin and you aren’t charging enough.

Take some time and do the calculations. Look at the programs and tools you use to set your prices to be sure they have been updated to match the equipment you have today, your working hours, and any other assumptions that go into your pricing models.