Discrete ManufacturingFree calculatorPDF, Excel, Word exportPackaging and Printing

Print Job Makeready, Spoilage and Overs Calculator

Every print job starts with sacrificial paper and ends with some loss in finishing. This calculator shows how many sheets to feed to hit a good count, and why short runs carry a much higher waste percentage.

Your numbers

Good sheets required

10,000 sheets

Colours or units on press

units

Makeready sheets per colour

sheets

Sheets used to bring each unit to colour and register.

Running spoilage

Waste during the run as a share of sheets fed.

Finishing spoilage

Waste in cutting, folding, gluing or coating.

Sheet cost

per 1000

Your results

Total sheets to order and feed

11,120

Waste as percent of feed

10.1%

Total makeready sheets

600

Run sheets needed

10,520

Sheets to feed through the run so that finishing still yields the good quantity.

Waste sheets

1,120

Cost of wasted stock

$106

Planning allowances only. Use your own measured makeready and spoilage by press and substrate.

Save results:

Waste percent vs good quantity

Sweeps Good sheets required from 500 to 20000, holding your other inputs fixed.

Planned versus actual stock

Optional review of how to compare planned spoilage with actual issues in your ERP.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use it

Enter the good quantity you must deliver, the number of colours or units, makeready sheets per unit, running spoilage and finishing spoilage. Add a sheet cost to see the money tied up in waste. The result is the total sheets to order, the waste count and the waste percentage. The chart makes the point clearly: makeready is a fixed cost, so waste percent drops quickly as quantity rises.

The method

Spoilage percentages apply to the sheets going through each stage, so they compound. To deliver G good sheets after finishing spoilage f and running spoilage r, you must feed G / ((1 - r) x (1 - f)) sheets through the run. Makeready sheets are added on top because they are consumed before the run starts. Waste is feed minus good. Do not simply add the percentages, since that understates the sheets required.

Run sheets = good / ((1 - r) x (1 - f))
Makeready = units x sheets per unit
Feed = run sheets + makeready
Waste % = (feed - good) / feed

Using it in quotes and ERP

Estimators often keep a spoilage table by process and quantity band. Store those as planning values in the routing or item master so that work orders issue the right amount of stock. Review actual versus planned after each job. If waste is consistently above plan, look at colour matching time, plate or blanket issues, and substrate handling before simply increasing the allowance.

Keep separate allowances for each process
Update after reviewing actual issues
Treat customer overs and unders per contract terms
Separate makeready from running waste in reports

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do the percentages compound?

Each loss applies to what is left after the previous stage. If you lose 3 percent in the run and 2 percent in finishing, the combined yield is 0.97 x 0.98, not 0.95, so you need slightly more stock than a simple add suggests.

How many makeready sheets are typical?

It varies widely by press, job complexity and automation. Modern presses with closed-loop colour can use far fewer than older ones. Use your own historical average per unit.

What about overs for customers?

Many contracts allow a tolerance on delivered quantity, often set by trade custom or terms. This tool targets a good count; add any contractual overs to the good quantity field.

Does it cover digital printing?

Yes if you set makeready and spoilage to the lower values typical of digital. Those presses have much smaller makeready, so waste percent stays low even on short runs.

If you want planned versus actual stock issues per job in your ERP, we can help build that reporting.

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