Printing, Labels & Industrial Converting worked example

Label Cost Per Unit at 99% yield after waste: a worked example in printing, labels & industrial converting

Push yield after waste up to 99% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. A label converter uses this to quote a roll order and confirm the per-label price covers makeready and waste.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Labels printed: 50,000 labels (unchanged)
  • Substrate and ink cost: 0.01 $/label (unchanged)
  • Yield after waste: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 94)
  • Die and setup charge: 180 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total label cost = labels x substrate+ink cost x yield% + die and setup charge) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 774 $ for total label cost per unit cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 0.02 $ / piece for label cost per unit cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 594 $ for variable label cost per unit cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 180 $ for fixed label cost per unit adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where yield after waste sits at 94% and the headline result is 744 $, this scenario comes in 4.03% above the baseline at 774 $.
  • It computes the total cost of a label run and divides by labels printed to give the cost of each good label after waste. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Total label cost per unit cost: 774 $ (headline result)
  • Label cost per unit cost per unit: 0.02 $ / piece
  • Variable label cost per unit cost: 594 $
  • Fixed label cost per unit adder: 180 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Label Cost Per Unit calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.