Is this a pipe dream or fairly close?

[jdwilliams1]

This is for one sign but would it change your pricing if you were doing 3?

48" x 36" Sign Cost Breakdown Example
1. Material Costs
Let’s estimate per square foot first:

Size: 48" x 36" = 12 sq ft

ACM Sheet (Full 4x8 = $50 / 32 sq ft) → ~$1.56/sq ft
ACM: 12 sq ft × $1.56 = $18.72

Vinyl (printable, ~$0.75/sq ft): 12 × 0.75 = $9.00

Ink (average $0.50/sq ft): 12 × 0.50 = $6.00

Laminate (cast laminate, ~$1.00/sq ft): 12 × 1.00 = $12.00

Total Material Cost: $45.72

2. Labor Costs
Estimate time:

Design/Layout: 15–30 min

Print/Weed/Cut: 30–45 min

Apply laminate and mount: 30–45 min
Let’s round it to 1.5 hours total

Shop rate: $60/hr
1.5 hrs × $60 = $90.00

3. Overhead
$45.72 + $90.00 = $135.72
Overhead (15%) = $20.36

4. Profit Margin
Cost + Overhead = $156.08
50% profit = $78.04

Final Quote: $234.12

 

[victor bogdanov]

You can purchase from wholesalers for under $90 delivered, double or triple that and you're good. Your price is reasonable

 

[Grizzly]

That’s about right for the method with design. 20/sq ft.
Your process is going to be better than any wholesaler who’s printing direct to ACM.

We’d print direct to ACM and overlam with Tedlar for longevity and do it in half the time, which saves on labor and cost.

 

[Mike Paul]

That’s a lot of calculations. Lol.

Do you have the cut off in house? Probably..


$375

 

[visual800]

thats alot of calculating! i just get price from a local wholesaler and mark it up depending on my mood for the day

 

[JSIGN]

Interesting way to figure it out - all costs first, then add 50% ( if I interpreted that right ).
Pricing is about the most interesting thing to me - I still am too cheap since we are busy all the time, work pretty efficiently yet barely have anything left after expenses ( really this is therapy for me ).

A few thoughts - I try to add something for the unused portion of materials ( ACM drop may never get used - or scratched in storage ) - we print on 54" mostly, so any prints under 40" or so have some waste I try to charge something for.
If all three signs are identical, then customer might well expect a little quantity discount - you could deduct/lessen design costs form the next two identical signs ( getting a "deal" usually makes for happy customers ).

Final thought - when we can, we try to steer customers to a 48" x 32" panel since we can get three out of a 4'x8'