Wood & Paper Manufacturing worked example

Printing Makeready Loss at 99% spoilage share of makeready sheets: a worked example

What does the result look like when spoilage share of makeready sheets reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. A print room lead uses it to quantify makeready waste when bidding short-run versus long-run work.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Job Changeovers per Run: 30 setups (unchanged)
  • Waste Cost per Makeready: 85 $/setup (unchanged)
  • Spoilage Share of Makeready Sheets: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 90)
  • Plate Mounting and Setup Charge: 500 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Makeready loss = changeovers x waste per makeready x spoilage% + plate mounting charge) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3,025 $ for total printing makeready loss cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 101 $ / piece for printing makeready loss cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2,525 $ for variable printing makeready loss cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 500 $ for fixed printing makeready loss adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where spoilage share of makeready sheets sits at 90% and the headline result is 2,795 $, this scenario comes in 8.21% above the baseline at 3,025 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when spoilage share of makeready sheets is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It treats waste cost per makeready as an average; jobs with wide color counts or difficult substrates vary widely, so a single blended rate can understate loss on your hardest changeovers.

Results at a glance

  • Total printing makeready loss cost: 3,025 $ (headline result)
  • Printing makeready loss cost per unit: 101 $ / piece
  • Variable printing makeready loss cost: 2,525 $
  • Fixed printing makeready loss adder: 500 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Printing Makeready Loss calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.