Cost Comparison
In an effort to demonstrate the viability of The CheckPrintshop™ system, we offer this cost analysis to compare a few popular check providers (listed alphabetically) with our system. Our examples are for business voucher checks.
Bank of America®
Quantity | Cost | Cost/Page |
250 | $69 | 28 cents |
500 | $99 | 20 cents |
1000 | $139 | 14 cents |
Costco® - Economy
Quantity | Cost | Cost/Page |
500 | $45 | 9 cents |
1000 | $60 | 6 cents |
Costco charges a $25 setup fee for a custom logo
Costco® - Premium
Quantity | Cost | Cost/Page |
500 | $123 | 25 cents |
1000 | $174 | 17 cents |
Costco charges a $25 setup fee for a custom logo
Deluxe®
Quantity | Cost | Cost/Page |
250 | $87 | 35 cents |
500 | $118 | 24 cents |
1000 | $164 | 16 cents |
Intuit® (Quickbooks®)
Quantity | Cost | Cost/Page |
250 | $98 | 39 cents |
500 | $133 | 27 cents |
1000 | $190 | 19 cents |
Vistaprint®
Quantity | Cost | Cost/Page |
250 | $64 | 26 cents |
500 | $75 | 15 cents |
1000 | $112 | 11 cents |
The CheckPrintshop™ System
There are a few variables that need to be taken into account in order to compare prices. These variables include:
Labor For Check Setup: Employee wages vary too much for us to give an accurate assessment, but check setup time will be minimal. Our software includes pre-made templates for over 50 check designs, accommodating many popular accounting programs. Among them are multi-purpose, accounts payable and payroll formats. Setup can be as easy as entering the customer and bank info, placing a logo and you're ready to print.
Toner Cartridge Cost: Varies from printer to printer; high-yield cartridges are available for some; you have a choice between "new" and "re-manufactured" cartridges.
Paper Cost: We offer a more affordable, single-color "standard" line and nicer, multi-colored "premium" papers; there are big discounts for quantity purchases (up to a 24% discount); shipping cost - paper is on the heavy side and the further we have to ship increases this cost. For our two examples we'll assume a coast to coast scenario (so approximately a worst case).
CheckPrintshop™ Example #1
This example assumes that you'd buy 5 cases of standard blue voucher checks (12,500 sheets), shipped coast to coast. Buying 5 cases would get you a 17% discount. This would bring the paper cost to $457 with shipping. That's 3.66 cents per sheet. We'll assume a re-manufactured, high yield toner cartridge rated at 1 cent/page for a total of 4.66 cents/sheet. If your average customer buys 500 checks, five cases is enough paper for 25 customers.
Quantity | Your Cost | Suggested Retail |
250 | $12 (4.66 cents/sheet) | $35 |
500 | $24 | $55 |
1000 | $48 | $95 |
CheckPrintshop™ Example #2
This example assumes that you'd buy 20 cases of premium voucher checks (50,000 sheets), shipped coast to coast. Buying 20 cases would get you a 24% discount. This would bring the paper cost to $2044 including shipping. That works out to 4.09 cents per sheet (remember this is the premium paper). In this case, let's go with a new, high-yield, toner rated at 2 cents per page, bringing the cost per sheet to 5.09 cents.
Quantity | Your Cost | Suggested Retail |
250 | $15 (5.09 cents/sheet) | $40 |
500 | $30 | $65 |
1000 | $60 | $110 |
Conclusion
When you start to look at how this computes, you can see that buying paper in quantity is much to your advantage. When you look at toner prices, pay particular attention to the per page cost. The high-yield cartridges look expensive but are much more economical in the long run. If you're in the market for a new printer, you may want to base some of your decision on the toner cartridge cost/yield. We think the re-manufactured, high-yield cartridges are a great way to go too.
Of the contenders above, Costco has the lowest prices and their quantity of 1000 is very competitive. Bear in mind that for Costco (and others), the customer is typically looking at a 7-10 day wait, they charge extra for a custom logo setup and don't offer quantities of less than 500. Costco does have an expedited service but it is more expensive. And of course you have to be a member.
With The CheckPrintshop™ system, you are welcome to set your own retail pricing, of course, and could reasonably charge extra for 1-hour or same day delivery and easily offer next day as your standard delivery.
See for yourself how easy it is!
While we've done our best to provide accurate information, pricing from all vendors is subject to change without notice. Further, this is not a guarantee of any such pricing nor of profitability for you as a check provider.