Images Digital Edition March 2019

www.images-magazine.com MARCH 2019 images 27 TIPS & TECHNIQUES If your DTG system requires pre-treatment as an external process, then this deserves a detailed list in its own right as it requires a separate set of hardware, maintenance, consumables and staff. If you are planning to ‘buffer’ pre-treated garments for later printing, then you need to take space or storage cost into consideration as well. Getting the price right Once you have completed your ‘spending calendar’ you will have an overview of the actual cash that will be going out. In order to take this one step further towards an actual business plan, you need to consider how you will generate the incoming cash and how closely the two will need to be linked to each other – in other words, how much of a cash buffer you will need in order to run your operation In order to calculate profitable sell prices, there are a lot of different calculation models. The full cost calculation, on one hand, tries to understand the total costs incurred by the production of each garment, including indirect and allocated costs. The direct cost calculation models only take into consideration the costs that can be directly assigned to the produced goods, and your fixed costs will need to be covered by the profit margin in a later step. Whichever way you go in setting up your cashflow plan and cost calculations, if you’re planning for your DTG printing operation to be more than just a hobby, you should seek the help of a professional business or tax advisor in checking the solidity of your assumptions and calculations. www.kornit.com per print, but you need to make sure that the conversion factor is accurate. Check with existing users of your system of choice or calibrate this tool for your equipment and operation later on. As well as the headline costs outlined above, you’ll also need to factor in the expense of additional equipment, such as a heat press, hot-air dryer, pre-treating equipment and more, depending on the complexity of your process. Spending calendar The best approach to calculating TCO is to make a list or a spreadsheet for the year detailing the amounts that you need to spend on your DTG enterprise: ■ Preparing the site, including installation of power (three-phase in most cases) and compressed air if required ■ Infrastructure requirements: do you need a new computer to run your prepress software and/ or a RIP? Do you need any software licences for applications such as Photoshop or InDesign? ■ Depending on your intended business model, you might require the development of a new website/ order storefront, together with a workflow solution ■ Lease rates (recurring item) for the DTG system ■ Lease rates for auxiliary equipment such as a dryer ■ After warranty, payments for a service contract or sum allocated for time and material (recurring item) ■ Inks and consumables (you should check with existing users of your desired system to establish the real number) ■ Staff ■ Rent for your production room or facility, if applicable 185+ Discover creative and innovative products at the UK’s leading exhibition for signage, print, display, décor and design. o Talk to the experts o Live Demos – practical ideas & applications o Exclusive show offers BE INSPIRED BY THE LATEST INNOVATIONS EXHIBITORS PRACTICAL WORKSHOPS & TRAINING DISCOVER NEW PRODUCTS WITH THE ‘WOW’ FACTOR www.signanddigitaluk.com SIGNAGE | PRINT | DISPLAY | DÉCOR | DESIGN Face-to-face with creativity 2-4 APRIL 2019 • HALLS 3 & 3A • NEC BIRMINGHAM Pre-register for free entry at www.signanddigitaluk.com PRODUCT UPDATES & LAUNCHES MEET THE INDUSTRY MAKE NEW BUSINESS CONTACTS