1/4" red cedar

[Leigh Costello]

I have a customer needing some red cedar vector and raster cut. He is providing design and lumber. How should I charge? By the minute or a flat fee? I know he is making $400, so I don't want to cut his profit, but I also don't want to short change myself. The design is very intricate - no Aztec calendar - with a total of about 50 to 75 pcs. to the order. Any Ideas? Thanks!

[Robert Alexander]

When I do a new job, with new artwork to be done. I charge a flat dollar a minute of 60.00 an hour. If you are working on a new design you do not want to get short changed, and lose money on the job. I have found the people who are really serious about a job will not complain too much about the price.

[Leigh Costello]

I was thinking of $50 just to turn on the laser and $1 per minute for tweaking and lasering. Thanks for the info.
Leigh

[Joe Pelonio]

Leigh,

In a large quantity for quoting I'll actually take the artwork and run one with the top up so the laser doesn't fire to get an accurate quote, and I too will go $1/minute. Even with good artwork I charge a minimum $10 setup. I wish the manufacturers would have added a feature that gives the time to run when the files is sent to the laser, as my wife's embroidery sewing machine does.

[Mike Null]

Leigh:

I try to get $120 per hour. $60 is what ULS told me 8 years ago.

Cutting the cedar is not hard but it probably will take more than one pass. An intricate engraving usually covers more area than a simple engraving hence more time.

Are you supplying the material. Watch out for knots-do not engrave or cut over them.

I agree with Joe that you must time it out.

Will you have to mask it, clean it, etc.?

Just to confuse the pricing issue even more: $120 per hour is the laser time; art is $65; clean-up and assembly, $15.

[Joe Pelonio]

Leigh:

I try to get $120 per hour. $60 is what ULS told me 8 years ago.


That's fantastic if people are willing to pay it. I'd love to turn a $3,000
job into $6,000, but then I know that some of my customers would shop around, since I'm shipping to them in other parts of the country anyway.

Double in 8 years seems a bit more inflation that cars, bread, and saw blades but probably still way less than houses around here (and gas!).

[Mike Null]

Joe:

I didn't mention that my new machine is much faster than my original also. Still, in my view at least, $60 isn't enough for your skill and equipment.

I recognize the competitive aspect and enjoy no luxuries there.

[Lee DeRaud]

I try to get $120 per hour. $60 is what ULS told me 8 years ago.Eight years ago, what was the price of ULS's cheapest laser? $30K? More?

Today's machines are cheaper in adjusted dollars and more productive: if anything, I'd expect the price of engraving to decrease, or at worst grow much slower than inflation. You might get away with charging more for "brain time" (design/layout/setup/whatever), but charging more for watching the machine run doesn't make sense.

[Leigh Costello]

Well, I had my first frustration and satisfaction today. The "guy in town" came into play when I told him my fee - $50 up front that covers only starting the job, $1 per minute for cutting and engraving and a flat $15 to mask or clean up. He said I was way out of line in my pricing and would check elsewhere. I didn't waste too much time explaining the scanning of his artwork, tweaking the settings, the dry run, etc. He called back about 30 min ago. Surprise, he wants me to do the job for 50 cents a minute, no mask fee, no start up fee, and he cleans up. And he wanted to know how soon I could be done. I kindly declined the job and thanked him for thinking of us for this job. I may not hear from him again, but I am guessing he was just trying to low-ball me.

Thanks for all the help! You all rock!

[Joe Pelonio]

Way to go Leigh! (If he found it at that price elsewhere why would he have called you back?)

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Guys and Gals,
I almost never tell prospective or current customers what I get per hour to laser. I think the best way is by the part with a set up fee. Then again if it is a one time job and it is a custom then hourly is one way unless you have figured out a "by the inch" pricing method. I have a spreadsheet set up so I can do "if thens" once I know the time it takes to laser.

Bottom line is one price does not fit all applications or machines. If Acme laser has a 25 watt laser that can go 70IPS and AAA laser Inc. has a 60 watt laser that can go 140IPS do you think they should both charge the same amount? If they both charge by the hour ($60.00) then AAA loses money but if they both charge by the part then AAA can make up to twice as much by getting the job done in half the time. Obviously not every job can be done at twice the speed but this is just ment as a comparison.

I have posted a simliar scenario on a wood forum also when asked about charging by the hour for a CNC router. If you only charge by the hour that is all you will ever get but when charging by the part you can make alot more as you design efficient strategies to produce more in less time.

just my 3 cents worth, :D

Michael

[Mike Null]

Actually 8 years ago I paid 17,500 for a new 25 watt Universal laser. I paid considerably more for my new Trotec 2 months ago. But the new one is faster and more powerful and, I believe has superior technology.

Michael K is right. I have jobs that pay $300 per hour based on part prices and they're regular jobs. Give me commercial marking any time.

Home prices have doubled, gas prices more than doubled, health insurance more than double, utilities up over 50%. The cost of living has increased. We have every right to keep up.

[Mike Null]

Just as a follow up to the pricing issue. I just checked my time on a laminated plastic nameplate order. 6 plates, 2"x8"x1/16", beveled, Velcro,
60 pt. one line name.

time: 6:23, price $48.00, material cost $5.

Here's a case where the engraving time is nearly $8 per minute. At $8 per plate I am competitve with the many people on the internet who sell this item. The balance of the time required is about 1-2 minutes per plate.

Obviously, if my machine were slower the rate would be less.

[Leigh Costello]

After I turned down the job the other guy could do cheaper ;) , my nephew called and set up a job. So out with "the other guy" and in with the man who had no complaints. So far, so good. After I do this job for nephew, he has another in a month or two. Family...long live nepotism. ;)

[Joe Pelonio]

Just as a follow up to the pricing issue. I just checked my time on a laminated plastic nameplate order. 6 plates, 2"x8"x1/16", beveled, Velcro,
60 pt. one line name.

time: 6:23, price $48.00, material cost $5.

Here's a case where the engraving time is nearly $8 per minute. At $8 per plate I am competitve with the many people on the internet who sell this item. The balance of the time required is about 1-2 minutes per plate.

Obviously, if my machine were slower the rate would be less.
I did a couple yesterday too, and this was wholesale. Just for fun I did a comparison. Same material, 8.5x11, charged $36. Material cost $10, time
11:20, $2.30/minute. But not really, because I mark up the material, so
the laser time is actually .70 minute which is my wholesale rate for this customer due to his high volume.

On the other hand, like Mike, I do not use the per minute formula for retail customers on engraved nameplates and namebadges, for two reasons. First they have to be priced to compete with the local rotary engravers,
and second someone buying only one or two of them at the per minute price with insignificant material cost (scraps) would not be worth bothering with. Rather than have a hard minimum I'll price that with
$5 added to any total that's under $5, to make it worth my time. So, for example, if I'm normally charging $4 for a 2"x4" one liner, and a guy orders 6 of them, it's $24. If a guy orders one it's $9.