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Junior hall
01-20-2015, 7:46 PM
Is there a price calculator like they have for sandblasting and vinyl. Such as you input the length and width and it gives you a price and then a retail price You can also add in gold leaf contour cut double side and so on and so on

Mitchell Tutty
01-20-2015, 8:05 PM
The size shouldn't be the issue.
As it should be more dependant on time, engraving a 200x200mm piece of stainless steel will take a lot more time to engrave then say a 200x200mm piece of Acrylic.
A lot of people work on $2 a minute, some at $100 an hour, however the choice is yours.

Junior hall
01-20-2015, 8:26 PM
thanks Mitchell Tutty

Dan Hintz
01-20-2015, 8:49 PM
The size shouldn't be the issue.
As it should be more dependant on time, engraving a 200x200mm piece of stainless steel will take a lot more time to engrave then say a 200x200mm piece of Acrylic.
A lot of people work on $2 a minute, some at $100 an hour, however the choice is yours.

So using my Trotec, which runs at twice the speed of your Epilog, means I should charge half of the price you do? What about the guy down the road who has a 150W Trotec and can run things twice as fast as I can (e.g., Cermark)... should he charge half as much as me?

Charging jobs based solely on laser time is a money-loser for the majority of jobs. Use the calculator (when you decide to build your own, Junior) to determine your base cost, i.e., your break-even price to cover wear and tear, materials, electricity etc. But make sure you price the item itself as a complete job, preferably at the maximum the market will bear. If that value is at or less than what the calculator comes up with, it's a money-loser and you should drop the job. If that value is significantly more than the calculator comes up with, it's a gold mine and you should ask for those jobs all day long.

It sounds snarky, but the best answer you'll get to "how much should I charge?" is "As much as you can get!" Determining that price comes from experience, and the only one who can give you a good dose of that is you.

Junior hall
01-20-2015, 9:48 PM
Thanks Dan Hintz On the sandblast calculator it says 73 bucks for a 12 x 12 piece of wood This equals out to 50 cent a inch I figured charge at least 25-30 bucks All depending on the market like you said depends on the market what people are willing to pay but yet dont lose my butt also Thanks Dan Hintz thanks

Clark Pace
01-20-2015, 9:53 PM
Thanks Dan Hintz On the sandblast calculator it says 73 bucks for a 12 x 12 piece of wood This equals out to 50 cent a inch I figured charge at least 25-30 bucks All depending on the market like you said depends on the market what people are willing to pay but yet dont lose my butt also Thanks Dan Hintz thanks

Yep your market is important, and I also charge more if they need it fast. Also quality! So many factors. As for engraving since I have a chinese laser I charge differently then say cutting. I charge $40 per hour to engrave, but $60 per hours for cutting. It's kind of a mix if I do both on the same job.

Andrew Holloway
01-21-2015, 12:50 AM
This is a hard question as there are so many different things people make with lasers.

I don't make a lot of finished products. People send me files set up ready to go I charge based on design/setup time, laser time and material cost. I don't always follow that perfectly, but it's a great starting point.

Before I bought a laser, I used to order laser cut things from other laser cutting businesses. I worked out my laser time rate based on the prices I used to pay for jobs from my previous suppliers. My laser time rate (per minute) was probably a lot less than theirs as I had a FSL 40W (Chinese). I recently upgraded to a Trotec Speedy 100 60W and I tripled my laser time rate which keeps my pricing more or less the same as it was when I had the FSL.

I find it hard to determine prices as I am fairly new to this. I'm sure in time I will get batter at it, but until then, it's nice to have a calculator as a guide I think.

Junior hall
01-21-2015, 7:05 AM
Thanks all for the helpful hint on pricing things. Here is the calculator i was referring to as to the web site link http://thesignexpert.com/sign-pricing-calculators/sandblasted-sign-calculator/

I might just stay at .25 to .30 cent a inch as the market may determine more or less. I am still new at this laser engraving thing as i done it the hard way with sandblasting things with vinyl as my templet then sandblasted as it too longer to cut the vinyl then weed it ( take things out that dont want to be there ) then sandblast it as that took a lot of time and alot of material such as vinyl as i had to include in my price

Dan Hintz
01-21-2015, 7:19 AM
Thanks all for the helpful hint on pricing things. Here is the calculator i was referring to as to the web site link http://thesignexpert.com/sign-pricing-calculators/sandblasted-sign-calculator/

I might just stay at .25 to .30 cent a inch as the market may determine more or less. I am still new at this laser engraving thing as i done it the hard way with sandblasting things with vinyl as my templet then sandblasted as it too longer to cut the vinyl then weed it ( take things out that dont want to be there ) then sandblast it as that took a lot of time and alot of material such as vinyl as i had to include in my price

Let me give you an example as to why that is a bad idea (per-inch pricing). Let's say a customer comes in and wants an 18"x18" wooden plaque engraved. Your per-inch pricing suggests that plaque should cost them $97. Personally, that plaque is worth several hundred dollars. You just lost a lot of potential profit on that job because you want to stick with what a calculator says.

Now, take the same 18x18" chunk of wood, and the customer wants nametags cut from it. That's roughly 40 nametags. At $2/tag, that's $80... within reason... may be a bit cheap for some areas, may be a bit pricey for others, but it puts you in the ballpark.

If you were using a fast machine (e.g., Trotec) to do the engraving in the first example, you'll finish it in half of the time as someone using a slower machine (e.g., Epilog / ULS), or 1/4th of the time as a typical Chinese laser owner. That's a lot of plaques, with a fat profit margin on each. In the second example, you'll be spending a bit more of your machine's time doing slower vector cuts, which will help normalize time between the different machine types to a small degree... profit margin will be closer no matter what machine you use.

Junior hall
01-21-2015, 4:00 PM
I agree Dan but good gosh i dont think any one would pay several hundred bucks for some thing engraved OR WOULD THEY i like to find some one that will spend 25 bucks on a 12x12 piece of wood serious these people around Winston Salem NC are tight wads We have a lot of the big corporate head quarters such as Krispy Kream doughnuts bank of America several big cigarette manufactures Walcovia bank Honda Jet These people dont spend money they spend it on like 45 dollar pair of soaks that you put on your feet The other people they dont have any money Also Winston Salem NC is home to NASCAR good luck getting to talk to any of them clowns been waiting on a return phone call since 2 years ago I gave up on that deal

Dan Hintz
01-21-2015, 4:14 PM
I agree Dan but good gosh i dont think any one would pay several hundred bucks for some thing engraved OR WOULD THEY

The only time I engraved a plaque that large for that price (<$100), it was for a friend as a favor (I did several of them over the months/years). That person is no longer a friend. Shortly after the "de-friending", he asked me to do another one. I believe I quoted him somewhere in the area of $275. These plaques involved color fill with multiple colors, but that's pretty typical of my pricing (and I get it, too). Took me about 1.5 hours of work per piece (about 45-60 minutes of that was laser time), and that was with my ULS... with my Trotec, I can cut my engraving time nearly in half but command the same price. At $90, I'd be making $1/minute, and my time is more valuable than that.

Sometimes, it's all about the customer... find ones who will pay for quality and then give it to them.

Scott Shepherd
01-21-2015, 4:26 PM
This is why you price by the job, not by the sq. inch.... (see photo). If a customer wanted that sandblasted or engraved, it would be a tremendous difference in pricing.

304851

Scott Shepherd
01-21-2015, 4:30 PM
Also, keep in mind, you listed some of the top names in corporate America there as places you'd like to do business with. Those people don't often sit around without having a source already. Nascar, Krispy Kreme (ummm.....doughnuts....), Wachovia, Wells Fargo, all of those people are top tier customers that already have products in their businesses. It's YOUR job to figure out how to make them want to stop using their current supplier and use you. A cold call or email isn't going to do it, unless they are really unhappy with their current suppliers and you happen to catch them at the exact right moment of their frustration with their current supplier.

Junior hall
01-21-2015, 8:51 PM
holly cow Dan i wish i could find some one that is willing to pay ----- 25 bucks they moon and groan about every thing but they want top dollar for there stuff.

WOW Scott that would be a pain in the __

Dan Hintz
01-22-2015, 7:01 AM
holly cow Dan i wish i could find some one that is willing to pay hell fire 25 bucks they moon and groan about every thing but they want top dollar for there stuff.

WOW Scott that would be a pain in the __

It could very well be the area you're in (are you in the US?), but you may be aiming for the wrong crowd. If a business complains about spending $25 on, well, anything, that's probably not a good repeat customer.

Mike Null
01-22-2015, 7:20 AM
I do a fair amount of work "for" big name companies except that it's not for big name companies. They have regular suppliers who go out and find companies to produce all or part of a finished product. When I do NASCAR, McDonald's, Anheuser Busch, Acura, Mobil, Interstate, etc. it's always for one of their many suppliers who put together a package for these companies. My billing goes to the suppliers and the big guys never know who I am.

The point is that you'll likely be wasting your time calling on the big guys. Look for their suppliers and be prepared to give them 100% perfect work or they'll drop you like a hot potato.

One more thing, you're in the middle of a lot of colleges who buy lots of stuff you can make. Unlike the corporations, there may be as many as 50 people at each college with authority to buy directly from you. I've never seen a school where buying was coordinated.

Tim Bateson
01-22-2015, 10:02 AM
Pricing is always about a calculator/worksheet/spreadsheet. I often get calls.. "We have a budget of only $300/$400/$700 and need a plaque/award...". I somehow find a way to meet their budget. :rolleyes: Do, I always charge their full budget - no. Is it more than I'd normally charge - yes, but... They get special attention and all of the bells & whistles. Every single customer of this type have come back to me over and over.

Another example (just off the phone call).. I hated engraving & paint filling 2 way radios. So I threw out my cost spreadsheet guidelines and started charging a far higher premium. Even more customers came in. Grrrr As of today I do all of the 2-way radios for a Fortune 100 company. I think I can learn to like working on 2-way radios.

Like stated earlier, you are not likely to cold call & find these customers. Provide the quality and they will find you.

Also - like Mike said - this new contract isn't directly for that Fortune 100 company, but a supplier of theirs.

Junior hall
01-22-2015, 8:31 PM
Dan yes im in the USA

MIKE NULL I DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THEY ARE TOO BUSY FOR ME AS YOUR RIGHT THEY HAVE THERE OWN SUPPLIERS AND IM SURE LIKE WITH BIG COMPANY'S THEY OUTSORCE THERE WORK TO OTHER SMALL COMPANIES

ALSO YOUR RIGHT I DIDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THINKING OUT SIDE THE BOX OF THE COLLEGES WOW I GOT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PLUS WAKE FOREST LAW SCHOOL AND UNLIMITED THINGS SUCH AS THE SCHOOL OF ARTS ( DANCE )

AWESOME TIM BATESON IM SURE YOU WILL LIKE DOING 2 WAY RADIOS LOL $$$

I JUST GOT A LOT TO LEARN WITH ENGRAVING . I GUESS IT IS LIKE TRAINING DOGS AS THAT IS MY DESIRE BUT WITH THE ECONOMY THE WAY IT IS SLIM TO NONE GOT TO BEG TO EVEN GET A DOG TO TRAIN. I DONE IT WITH TRAINING DOGS FOR SEEING HEARING IMPAIRED CANCER DETECTION DIABETIC ALERT MOLD BED BUGS PROTECTION NARC EXPLOSIVES I CAN DO IT WITH ENGRAVING ALSO LIKE DID WITH TRAINING DOGS AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN GET BOMBARDED WITH CUSTOMERS THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN NOTHING DUE TO THE ECONOMY

THANKS ALL FOR THE GREAT HELPFUL TIPS I AM ON OVER LOAD NOW WITH ALL KINDS OF THINGS POPPING INTO MY HEAD OF THINGS TO DO PLACES TO GO WOW SOME ONE CAL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT I SEE SMOKE FROM MY BRAIN

THANKS ONCE AGAIN FOR THE HELPFUL TIPS AND ENGORGEMENT

Mike Null
01-23-2015, 8:06 AM
Fire Depts are also good customers for engraving. :)

Speaking of dogs--the Humane Society is a potential customer.

Frank barry
01-23-2015, 8:43 AM
Hi when your starting out you have to understand everything you do will take ages very often a simple task can take ages but you cant charge your customer for this time as its not there fault your inefficient so I would look around and see what others charge and use that as my start point also I would try to limit what I would offer to my customers and expand what I offer as my skill level improves which will be faster than you might think good luck with your project Frank