Answered by Alan Bernstein, Sales Manager, Pace Navigator

Question:
What is the industry standard for spoilage with printed materials?

D.S.

Answer:
Typically, spoilage runs about 1-5% of the job quantity, depending on whether the job is run web or sheetfed. The complexity of the processes involved also contributes to this final spoilage amount. Keep in mind, though that spoilage occurs on each piece of equipment the job runs on, so the more processes the job goes through, the higher the amount of total spoilage. Printers factor in the typical spoilage amounts when estimating jobs. However, if your job has critical factors, such as tight registration to the fold, you may want to order enough pieces to ensure that the printer doesn’t run under the quantity you need.

Another factor to consider is when a job is being produced by more than one supplier. Be sure you order enough to allow for each supplier to have enough stock for makeready and spoilage for each of their processes.