Paper Considerations & Printing Estimation

Last but not least of all the considerations I need to take is on the paper. For this I consulted Mr. Bharat Suthar from the Printing Labs in NID for his advice.

BOOKLET

For the booklet, explaining I needed something durable, that wouldn't tear easily, get dog-eared or stained, he suggested Art Paper in a light weight. However, I thought that Art Paper was too expensive for my project, though I decided to a rough estimation for the same despite that. Consulting again for the same, he suggested I take Super Sunshine Paper, also from Bilt. This was much cheaper. Let's compare the costs:

• Royal Art Paper (Gloss) 90 gsm: Rs.1200 for 100 sheets of 23" x 36" stock.
• Super Sunshine Printing HB (Matt) 80 gsm: Rs.1150 for 500 sheets (ream) of 23" x 36" stock.

What a difference. The Art Paper is ideal, not only for its durability, but also the gloss factor, which creates a good impression for the average slumdweller, as in my research phase I found out that they prefer glossy over matt. But seeing that 18 booklets will be printed from one sheet of Art paper, it follows that:

Per 100 sheets there will be 1800 copies for Rs. 1200. Each booklet therefore is 1200/1800 =  Rs. 0.66 

With SS paper, 

Per 500 sheets there will be 18 x 500 = 9000 copies for Rs. 1150. Each booklet therefore is 1150/9000 =  Rs. 0.12 

This is not a huge difference, but both options can be utilised.

STICKERS

For the stickers, I needed a glossy paper for sure so I decided to go for a durable Art Paper chromo coated on one side. Inclusive of adhesive backing, the cost would be:

• Royal Art Paper C15 (Chromo) 90 gsm:
  Rs. 1600 for 100 sheets of 23" x 36" sheets. 
  (Sheets would have to be pre-cut to half its size- 23" x 18") 

After cutting this would be 200 sheets.Since 70 stickers fit on one sheet, hence for Rs. 1600 you can get 70 x 200 stickers = 14000.

Each sticker therefore is 1600/14000 = 

 Rs. 0.11 

PRINTING COST

For printing, a pre-mixed colour was required for one colour printing in an offset machine that could take 23" x 36" stock for the booklet, and 23" x 18" stock for stickers. I settled on a Bright Red (CF1624).

An average cost of Rs. 900 is applied per ream for one side of the paper in one colour.

For the booklet both sides will be printed on. Therefore, Rs. 900 x 2 = Rs. 1800 is the cost for printing 500 sheets. 500 sheets consist of 18 x 500 copies = 9000 copies.

Therefore the cost of printing one booklet is 1800/9000 =  Rs. 0.2 

For the stickers one side will be printed on. Each 23" x 36" stock is cut into 2, so 140 stickers sit on one sheet. 500 sheets consist of 140 x 500 copies = 70,000 copies. Therefore the cost of printing one sticker is 900/70000 =  Rs. 0.012 

TOTAL COST

Adding up the costs,

• Each booklet would cost 1200/1800 (art paper) + 1800/9000 (printing) =  Rs. 0.86 
• Each booklet would cost 1150/9000 (ss paper) + 1800/9000 (printing) =  Rs. 0.33 
• Each sticker would cost 1600/14000 (chromo art paper) + 900/70000 =  Rs. 0.13 

Per user, however there are three stickers given, which means that for the cost of printed material of one purse/one user:

• Booklet cost with Art Paper (.86) + 3 Sticker Cost (.13) =  Rs. 1.25 
• Booklet cost with SS Paper (.33) + 3 Sticker Cost (.13) =  Rs. 0.72 

N.B. These rates are applicable to papers from the NID store only. Outside of NID, these rates would have Rs. 200 additional applied to them. This makes a minor difference to the costing.