Letter Material Cost

Letter Material Cost is a pricing method used in the Advanced Letter Model. It calculates the price of letters based on the actual amount of material required to produce them.

Key Benefits:

• Accurate pricing: Charge based on the actual material used.

• Font-sensitive pricing: Complex fonts use more material and thus cost more.

• Flexible pricing tiers: Set different material costs for different sign dimensions.

• Real-time calculations: Prices update as customers change their text or fonts.

• AI Sign Designer compatible: The same calculation can be used for AI-generated SVG designs.

How Letter Material Cost Works

The app calculates the midline path of each letter. This is essentially the centreline that the cutting machine follows.

The total length of these paths determines the amount of material required. This means the price can vary depending on the font and design.

The same calculation is used for designs created with AI Sign Designer uploads. When a customer uploads an image, the app converts it to an SVG. It then measures the paths in the SVG and uses the total material length to calculate the price.

Setting Your Material Cost

When deciding how much to charge per centimetre, consider:

• Material cost: The cost of the raw materials, such as vinyl, metal, etc.

• Machine cost: The cost of cutting or machining.

• Waste: Additional material that may be lost during production.

• Profit margin: The amount you want to add as profit.

Example

If your costs are:

• Material cost: $0.20/cm

• Machine time: $0.10/cm

• Waste factor: $0.04/cm

• Profit: $0.18/cm

Your total price would be:

$0.52/cm

When Should I Use Letter Material Cost?

Letter Material Cost is a good choice when:

• Different fonts use significantly different amounts of material.

• You offer materials with different costs.

• Customers frequently change text length and styling.

• You want pricing based on actual material usage.

• Your production costs depend on cutting or machining time.

• You want to use AI Sign Designer with material-based pricing.

When Should I Use Fixed Cost Per Letter?

Use Fixed Cost Per Letter instead if:

• Material usage is similar across different fonts.

• You want a simple price that is easy for customers to understand.

• You normally charge a fixed amount for each character.

• Setup and production costs are more important than material costs.

Converting Material Costs - converting from metric to imperial systems

If your supplier gives you a price per metre or foot, you can convert it to a price per centimetre.

Metres

If the material costs $20 per metre:

20 ÷ 100 = $0.20 per cm

Feet

If the material costs $15 per foot:

15 ÷ 30.48 = $0.49 per cm

What if My Supplier Gives Me an Average Cost Per Letter?

If your supplier gives you an average cost per letter, we recommend using the Simple Letter Model instead.

If you still want to use Letter Material Cost with the Advanced Letter Model, you will need to calculate the material cost of an average letter.

See this guide for further details: Determine Material Cost from Average Cost per Letter.