Comic Print Cost Calculator

Calculate per-copy and total printing costs for comics based on page count, color, paper stock, binding, and print run size.

Interior Pages

Print Run

Color Mode

Binding Type

Paper Stock

Trim Size

Cover Finish

Include Shipping?

Tab to move between fields

Print Cost Per Copy

$2.15

All-In Cost Per Copy

$2.85

Suggested Retail Price

$10.00

≈ 2 cups of coffee

Total Print Cost$1,174.00

Setup / Plate Fee$100.00

Shipping Per Copy$0.50

Total Shipping$250.00

Margin at Retail71.5%

How to Use This Calculator

Enter interior page count and print run size.
Select color mode (full color, B&W interior with color cover, or full B&W), binding, paper stock, trim size, and cover finish.
Toggle whether to include estimated shipping.
Review Print Cost per Copy, All-In Cost per Copy, and total printing + shipping cost.

How the result changes with Interior Pages

Interior Pages	Print Cost Per Copy	All-In Cost Per Copy	Suggested Retail Price
54	$3.71	$4.41	$15.50
178	$10.16	$11.69	$41.00
326	$17.85	$20.50	$71.75
450	$24.30	$27.88	$97.75

Interior Pages: Number of interior pages (not counting cover). Standard floppy is 22-24 pages.
Print Run: Number of copies to print. 250-1000 for indie, 5000+ for wider distribution.
Color Mode: 0 = Full Color, 1 = B&W interior with color cover, 2 = Full B&W.
Binding Type: 0 = Saddle Stitch (stapled, standard floppy), 1 = Perfect Bound (trade paperback), 2 = Case Bound (hardcover).
Paper Stock: 0 = Standard (60# offset), 1 = Glossy (80# coated), 2 = Premium (100# coated).
Trim Size: 0 = Comic (6.625x10.25), 1 = Digest (5.5x8.5), 2 = Manga (5x7.5), 3 = Magazine (8.5x11).
Cover Finish: 0 = Matte laminate, 1 = Gloss laminate, 2 = Spot UV (premium).
Include Shipping?: 0 = No, 1 = Yes. Estimates freight shipping to you.

Print Cost Per Copy: Printing cost per copy before shipping.
All-In Cost Per Copy: Total cost per copy including shipping and setup.
Total Print Cost: Total printing cost for the entire run.
Setup / Plate Fee: One-time setup cost for offset printing.
Shipping Per Copy: Estimated freight shipping cost per copy.
Total Shipping: Total shipping cost for the print run.
Suggested Retail Price: Recommended retail price for ~70% margin (3.5x markup).
Margin at Retail: Profit margin if sold at the suggested retail price.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Interior Pages = 24, Print Run = 500, Color Mode = 0, Binding Type = 0 = 8 input(s) provided
Calculate Print Cost Per Copy
Print Cost Per Copy = interiorCost + coverCost + bindingCost
2.15 = $2.15
Calculate All-In Cost Per Copy
All-In Cost Per Copy = grandTotal / max(1, printRun)
2.85 = $2.85
Calculate Suggested Retail Price
Suggested Retail Price = ceil(allInPerCopy * 3.5 * 4) / 4
10 = $10
Calculate Total Print Cost
Total Print Cost = perCopyCost * printRun + setupFee
1174 = $1,174
Calculate Setup / Plate Fee
100 = $100