Wood & Paper Manufacturing worked example

Printing Makeready Loss at 65% spoilage share of makeready sheets: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop spoilage share of makeready sheets to 65%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimates the substrate and ink spoiled during press makeready plus plate setup cost across job changeovers.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Job Changeovers per Run: 30 setups (held at the documented default)
  • Waste Cost per Makeready: 85 $/setup (held at the documented default)
  • Spoilage Share of Makeready Sheets: 65 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 90)
  • Plate Mounting and Setup Charge: 500 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Makeready loss = changeovers x waste per makeready x spoilage% + plate mounting charge.
  • Total printing makeready loss cost works out to 2,158 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Printing makeready loss cost per unit works out to 71.92 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Variable printing makeready loss cost works out to 1,658 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed printing makeready loss adder works out to 500 $ at these inputs.

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 22.81% below the baseline at 2,158 $.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to spoilage share of makeready sheets, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. 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: 2,158 $ (headline result)
  • Printing makeready loss cost per unit: 71.92 $ / piece
  • Variable printing makeready loss cost: 1,658 $
  • Fixed printing makeready loss adder: 500 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Printing Makeready Loss calculator, set spoilage share of makeready sheets to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.