By Ed Avis
Reprographics traditions are hard to change, a survey about pricing showed. The industry has charged for prints by the square foot since the days blueprints were actually blue, and that method still predominates. However, per-sheet pricing did make a better showing in this survey than in a similar survey taken in 2014.
According this year’s survey, which was completed by 17 reprographics firms in April, about 60 percent of the industry still charges for monochrome prints by the square foot. This compares to 75 percent in the 2014 survey. The remaining 40 percent of respondents in this year’s survey charge by the sheet; in the 2014 survey, only 12 percent charged by the sheet (the remaining 13 percent in the 2014 survey used some combination of per-sheet and square foot pricing).
Approximately the same division exists in color prints. Color is more difficult to standardize because of the variety of substrate, applications, installation needs, etc. Nevertheless, nearly 60 percent of respondents said they use square-foot pricing for their color graphics. Only two respondents – 12 percent – said they charge by standard sizes. The remainder use some combination of square-foot and standard-size pricing.
Advocates of per-sheet pricing say that charging that way reduces the commodity feeling of plan printing. When something is treated as a commodity, there generally is a race to the lowest price – which is exactly what happened 10-15 years ago, until so many firms went out of business that pricing stabilized.
Per-sheet pricing has also been touted as a possible way to keep the price of color CAD prints strong. Color CAD printing, which hasn’t really taken off in the United States, generates decent revenue for some reprographics firms who charge significantly more for it than monochrome prints. Since color CAD printing does not cost much more than monochrome these days, depending on the printer used, the industry’s grip on higher pricing for color CAD is tenuous. Again, because per-sheet pricing reduces the commodity feel of printing, that model can presumably slow the slide in color CAD prints. (Click here to read the 2014 articles on per-sheet pricing and color CAD).
Another question in the survey asked what charges repro firms add to their monochrome print jobs. Scanning originals was the most commonly charged-for item, with 82 percent of respondents doing that. About 76 percent charge for folding, and 58 percent charge for stapling/binding. When it comes to color graphics printing, the majority of respondents said they charge for file set-up (77 percent) and staff time for file manipulation (70 percent).
Regarding invoicing, about one-third of respondents said they spell out every individual charge on their invoices, while about one-fifth create summary invoices with minimal details. The remainder create invoices that are combination of detailed items and summarized items. In the 2014 survey, nearly half of respondents said they spelled out every charge in their invoices, so that practice has changed in the last eight years. Click here to read the 2014 article with details on that survey.
Care to share your firm’s experiences with pricing and invoicing? Please comment below.