There are SO many arguments for and against outsourcing, and they vary from shop to shop. Some shops have large enough margins to play with, meaning that they can outsource and still keep the job profitable. However, that's not the case for everyone, and there are a lot more factors that play into this age-old decision: To outsource, or not to outsource? And in this case: To sleek, or to foil stamp?
For argument's sake, we'll compare labor and cost on a simple 500-piece foil job. We'll also argue that when we say "outsourcing", we mean outsourcing to be foil stamped; and when we talk about "keeping it in-house", we're talking about sleeking the job on your SLEEKpro-equipped laminator.
Time is Money
Outsourcing a job like this one is a double-edged sword. It frees up resources for you (because the job is out of your shop). However, at the same time, it adds turn time for your customer. Between creating the die, running the job, and delivering it, outsourcing this job takes a turnaround time of about 2 (or more) days. And that's for a 500-piece job.
Keeping this job in-house, on the other hand, means that your team is responsible for the job from start to finish. But by our calculations, you can drastically reduce your turn time by doing it this way.
- You don't need to create a die, so you can save about 48hrs there.
- And because the job is already being done in-house, you save in delivery costs and time moving the job back and forth
So if your sleekpro-equipped laminator runs at 15ft/minute, we reckon that a 500-piece job can be done in about 1 1/2 hours. (Assuming that we spend about 1hr foiling and roughly 30 mins for other miscellaneous tasks like loading foil, wrapping the finished sheets, etc.)
Compared to outsourcing, that's some serious time savings!
Dollar for Dollar: Keep it In-House or Outsource?
The cost of outsourcing depends on what you're charged by the person that you outsource to. But if we average that the cost of a die is around $350, and they charge you $100 to run the job and $50 for delivery, you're looking at $500 to outsource that job. $1 per sheet.
But if you keep it in-house, the cost is significantly less — almost half — even though you bear the cost of labor, material, etc. Here's how:
- There's the cost of foil. Let's average that at $200
- There's also labor. Let's average a generous $50/hour, for a job that takes 1.5 hours. That's $75
So that's $275, or $0.55/sheet; almost 1/2 the price of outsourcing.
And because foil is foil, why not charge the same $1.50 that you'd charge for a foil-stamped piece?
The Strategic Choice
The thing is, it's not always that clear-cut. There are benefits and drawbacks to both options, depending on a few factors. Factors like: floor space, turn time, labor, run length, job specifics, how busy the shop is, and the list goes on.
In general, though, cost is often the deciding factor. In terms of cost per sheet, there is a point at which the two cross over, and foil stamping becomes cheaper than sleeking. And that's generally dependent on run length.
SLEEKpro | Traditional Foil Stamping |
Perfect for short to medium-length runs of variable or static data | Suited for long runs of static data |
No dies required | Dies are expensive and time-consuming to produce, making them less attractive for short runs. On the other hand, for long runs, the cost is spread across the quantity. |
Even with that said, though, we've had customers with jobs using nearly 200,000 ft of foil, who preferred to keep the job in-house because it was quicker than outsourcing.
But your choice should be based on what's best for your shop.
If you need specific advice or help with a job, feel free to reach out to us at 1.888.820.9020 or [email protected]. We're always happy to help.
Happy foiling!