To price a print job accurately, add up your materials, labour, machine and overhead cost, then divide by one minus your target margin. That gives a price that covers cost and leaves the profit you actually planned for. This guide walks through the formula, a worked Australian example, and the mistakes that quietly erode margin.
On this page: The cost of getting it wrong · The pricing formula · Worked example · Your charge-out rate · Markup vs margin · Wide-format and signage · Common mistakes · FAQ
Underpricing does not feel like a problem day to day. The presses run, invoices go out, the shop looks busy. The damage shows up at the end of the quarter, when all that work has not produced the profit it should have. A quote that is 10% too low does not cost you 10%; on a thin margin it can wipe out the profit on the job entirely. Getting pricing right is the highest-leverage change most shops can make.
Every accurate print price is built from the same parts:
Put together, the formula is:
Price = (Materials + Labour + Machine + Overhead) ÷ (1 − Margin%)
Labour, machine and overhead are usually rolled into a single charge-out rate per hour, so in practice you price as materials plus (charge-out rate × hours), then apply margin. Try the numbers for your own job:
[krino_profit_calc]
Take 500 double-sided A4 flyers on 150gsm gloss, as an Australian worked example. Figures are illustrative; use your own.
So you would quote around $156 plus GST, not the $110 a quick guess might land on. That gap is the profit. GST is added on top, not baked into the margin.
Your charge-out rate is the single most important number in the formula, because it hides labour, machine and overhead in one figure. Work it out from the true annual cost of running a machine and the operator, divided by the billable hours you realistically get from it.
| Component | What to include |
|---|---|
| Labour | Wages, super and on-costs for the operator |
| Machine | Finance or depreciation, service, click charges |
| Overhead | Rent, power, software, admin, a share per machine |
| Billable hours | Realistic productive hours, not clock hours |
Rather than do this by hand, use the free charge-out rate calculator. It is the fastest way to get a defensible rate for every station in your shop.
Margin is profit as a share of the selling price. Markup is profit as a share of cost. They are not the same number. A 40% markup is only a 28.6% margin. Quote on markup while thinking in margin and you undercharge on every job. The formula above uses margin for that reason; the profit margin calculator shows both side by side so you never mix them up.
Wide-format and signage are priced by area and are far more sensitive to material cost and waste than small-format work. A poor cutting layout can turn a healthy job into a loss. Price from your real material cost, allow for offcuts, and plan the layout; the free material waste calculator shows pieces per sheet and waste so you quote the true material need.
Doing this by hand for every quote is slow and easy to get wrong under pressure. Software applies your costs and margin consistently, flags quotes that fall below a healthy margin, and turns a won quote straight into a scheduled job. That is exactly what Krino does, with AI quoting checking each quote before it goes out.
What is the formula for pricing a print job? Price equals materials plus labour plus machine plus overhead, divided by one minus your target margin. In practice, materials plus charge-out rate times hours, then apply margin.
How do I work out my charge-out rate? Add the true annual cost of the machine, operator and a share of overhead, then divide by realistic billable hours. The free charge-out rate calculator does it for you.
Should I quote on markup or margin? Margin. Markup on cost produces a lower profit share than the same number expressed as margin, so quoting on markup usually undercharges.
