Is a negative gap good or bad?

It means measured registration loss exceeds your entered maximum. The excess-loss row shows how much footage lies above that limit.

Can this measure how far the colors are misaligned?

No. Registration displacement requires inspection measurements in length units across or along the web. This calculator measures the footage rejected for that cause.

Should one section rejected for two colors count twice?

No. Count the physical rejected footage once. Multiple color defects on the same section do not create extra web length.

Does the remaining footage equal saleable output?

Not necessarily. It excludes registration loss only. Subtract other uniquely classified rejects before reporting total saleable yield.

Industrial Packaging Materials Manufacturing calculator

Print Registration Loss Calculator

Measure printed footage lost to misregistration against your waste limit. Enter the run total, uniquely counted registration rejects, and your maximum loss percentage.

What this calculator does

Measure footage rejected for misregistration and the excess over your entered waste limit.

Formula used

Loss rate = lost footage ÷ total printed footage × 100
Limit gap = entered loss limit − actual loss rate
Allowed loss = total printed footage × loss limit ÷ 100
Excess loss = max(0, lost footage − allowed loss)
Footage without registration loss = total printed footage − lost footage

Inputs explained

Footage Lost to Misregistration: Discarded footage assigned to misregistration in the run log.
Total Printed Footage: Metered footage for the same print run and width.
Target Registration Waste Limit: Your maximum acceptable misregistration footage percentage.

How to use the result

Best suited to registration reject Closeout, press Waste-Limit review.
This measures discarded footage, not alignment error or registration tolerance. Remaining footage can still have other defects. Input ceilings are computational bounds, not operating limits.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for plastic resins and materials stands at 280.569 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 6.6% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
The producer price index for paper (not a paperboard or container index) stands at 282.266 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 10% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.

Common questions

Is a negative gap good or bad? It means measured registration loss exceeds your entered maximum. The excess-loss row shows how much footage lies above that limit.
Can this measure how far the colors are misaligned? No. Registration displacement requires inspection measurements in length units across or along the web. This calculator measures the footage rejected for that cause.
Should one section rejected for two colors count twice? No. Count the physical rejected footage once. Multiple color defects on the same section do not create extra web length.
Does the remaining footage equal saleable output? Not necessarily. It excludes registration loss only. Subtract other uniquely classified rejects before reporting total saleable yield.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.