Flatbed UV Printing makes photo printing profitable!
Printing custom canvases with the Mutoh XpertJet XJ461-UF can make you $300 or more per hour.
If that doesn’t get your attention then, read on and watch the video on how simple it is to take a phone-quality image and turn it into something worthy of hanging on a wall. AND worthy of spending real money on a retail basis.
The Mutoh XpertJet 461UF is full of new and unique features from the makers at Mutoh. Among the ones that make creating beautiful canvas prints from cell phone photos are:
- 2.75” Print Depth – expandable to 5.91” for printing on things like acrylic photo cubes and more
- UV/LED Local dimming technology
- 19” X 13” print area that allowed us to print TWO canvases at the same time
- Mutoh UV Ink set in CMYK + White and VARNISH
Canvas Printing Mutoh XpertJet 461UF ROI
We purchased good quality, pre-stretched cotton canvases from a local craft store for about $6.50 each (8” x 10”) – you could do much better buying in volume – we bought 2 for a total of $13.00
The ink costs for printing 2 canvases at the same time was a little over 37¢ – or about 19¢ per canvas.
Print time on the two canvases was under 4:30. It would be realistic to turn the printer over 12 times at this speed = 24 canvases per hour.
We found them for sale for up to $59.00 on Etsy, including some photoshop effects, and for as little as $15.00 for something very basic with a longer shipping time.
Based on fully custom prints like these it is not unrealistic to expect to sell these for $20-25 each.
Given roughly $6.50 cost for canvas and ink per print we are looking at $13-18 profit per canvas – we can make $304-$424 per hour when printing 24 canvases.
Cost Each:
8×10” Canvas Cost – $6.50
Ink Cost – $.19
Total: $6.69 each
Production Cost:
Labor 1 Hour: $15.00 estimate
Capacity:
24 prints per hour
Cost of Materials:
$6.69 x 24 = $160.56
Cost of Labor: $15.00
Gross Profit at $25.00 Sale Price
Revenue: $25.00 x 24 = $600
$600.00 – $160.56 – $15.00 = $424.44
Gross Profit at $20.00 Sale Price
Revenue: $20.00 x 24 = $480
$480.00 – $160.56 – $15.00 = $304.44
The Market for Custom Canvas Printing
The example we used here was a print to be presented to an elementary teacher from the parents of her students.
In a time when teachers are not getting to say goodbye to their classes this is a great idea that will warm the heart of the teacher while also making profits for your business.
The average classroom size in Florida, just as an example, is 22 students. Imagine offering the parents copies of the same print and your order of one or two canvases might turn into well over that 2 dozen mark we outlined in the 1 hour ROI on canvases!
It doesn’t take much imagination to think of other markets for this specific use of the Mutoh XpertJet 461UF. Simply look to the custom t-shirt printing market for inspiration.
- Family Reunions
- Graduations
- Memorials
- Sports Teams
- Championships
- Cheer and Dance Pictures
- More…
