Guides
Foil Stamping Machine Cost: What a Small Shop Should Budget
Foil stamping machine cost runs about $3,500 used to $45,000 new for a small US shop, plus setup, freight and tax. Here is what to buy first and what to skip.
Desk
Costs Desk
Budgets, quotes and the difference between the estimate and the invoice.
Guides
How to Build a Print Shop Referral Program
Build a print shop referral program with a clear customer ask, dependable trade partners, designer-ready file guidance, and a one-page handoff sheet.
Guides
Letterpress vs Foil Stamping: Which Imprint Method Suits Short Runs?
Letterpress vs foil stamping comes down to setup charges and per-piece pricing on short runs. Here is what US trade printers charge for wedding and stationery work.
Guides
Used Paper Folder Prices: What to Inspect Before You Buy
Used paper folder prices in the US range from $1,200 for a tabletop unit to $18,000 for a floor-model 16-page machine. Check rollers and belts.
Guides
Used Imprint Machinery Inspection: Checks Before Bidding
A used imprint machinery inspection guide to auction listings, press, folder and imprinter checks, machine guarding, and move planning before you bid.
Guides
Print shop stock control checks by cadence: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly
A print shop stock control checklist by cadence: what to check at the end of each day, week, month and quarter, and who owns each cadence in the stock room.
Guides
Section 179 and bonus depreciation for American print shop equipment buyers
Section 179 and bonus depreciation both cut the cost of imprint machinery, but income caps, phase-outs and Form 4562 decide which one you claim.
Guides
Print shop service packages: 17 shapes and the specification each one needs
Seventeen print shop service package shapes, each with the specification to fix and the hidden requirement that decides whether it earns anything.
Guides
Running a print shop by the numbers: monthly KPIs
Print shop KPIs for a one-hour monthly review: six numbers, how to compute each from your own job tickets, and the decision each one should trigger.
Guides
Break-even for a print shop, worked through
Print shop margins and break-even, worked on the constrained machine: contribution per press hour, the four places margin leaks, and how to audit a month.
Guides
Twelve Real Print Shops: What Each Does, Who It Suits and Where It Breaks
Profiles of twelve named print shops, from Cimpress and MOO to Hatch Show Print, with what each does, who it suits and where the model breaks.
Guides
Sequence print shop orders to protect makeready
Schedule print shop orders without delays by sequencing around makeready: group by stock and color, batch finishing, count back from the dock, price the rush.
Guides
Start a print shop in order: one proof before each spend
How to start a print shop in six gates: the proof to hold before each spend, from the buyer count to the process, premises and first customers.
Guides
Print Shop Equipment Checklist: Questions to Settle
Use this print shop equipment checklist to frame space, power, prepress, press, finishing, safety, chemical, and stock questions to settle before ordering.
Guides
Print shop insurance: press breakdown, reprint liability and the exposures that matter
Print shop insurance built from real exposures: work in progress, customer property, press breakdown and the reprint nobody agreed to pay for.
Guides
Print Shop Marketing Built on Quotes and Retention
Print shop marketing built around clear quotes, reliable turnaround, customer retention, referrals, local search, and email to past accounts.
Guides
Print shop services: what to offer and when to say no
A practical way to decide which print shop services to offer: the four commitments each one makes, how to package repeat work, and when to decline or send out.