I use Paint Pro, and so there is no ink cost information when I print. Anyway, I'm not sure if those values from the RIP are trustworthy. Do you think they are?
Anyway, I carried out a test to figure out ink consumption. This is how I did it:
1) I created a 20x20cm (7.9x7.9 inch) square, 100% magenta.
2) I accurately markt the ink level of my magenta bottle (also the others, just in case), and used a syringe to add exact 10 ml of ink to the bottle. My idea was to see how many prints I could do with these 10 ml.
3) I printed this square over and over again on a some white t-shirts, resolution 1440x1440.
4) I extrapolated the results to figure out the overal ink consumption. Now this is the tough part, and would like your opinion to see if this make sense at all.
Result: 8 exact 20x20cm prints from 10 ml of ink.
if 1 liter (1000 ml) of ink, let's say, cost $300 => 1 ml = $0.3
10 ml => $3, so $3/8 prints = $0.375 per print (cmyk at 1440x1440)
Here comes the big question:
if we set t = 0.375 as the CMYK cost, in order to deduce the WHITE cost of such a print, should it be 4t (4 times t)? I say that because white has 4 injectors, and 100% magenta, just 1.
So, if wanted to know how much would be the same magenta square 20x20cm with white underbase at a resolution 1440x1440 white and 1440x720 cmyk, my right formula should be 4t + t/2?
If so, 4x0.375 + 0.375/2 = $1.6875 for a 20x20cm (7.9x7.9 inch) with white underbase. Correct? Wrong?
If this is true, if we have white highlights on the print at 1440x720, should they factor as 2t (4 times t/2)? (for the same reason, 4 injectors firing 1440x720)
At the beginning I thought that it would be enough t + t/2, but this amounts only $0.562 and seemed to me too nice to be true =)
My final goal of all this calculations, is to know the square cm cost of a print. With this and knowing the exact surface of a particular design, the total cost can be known BEFOREHAND.
Btw, does the dpi resolution affect on how much ink is layed down (for example, 72dpi vs 300dpi)?
I think you may be trying too hard here. Safe to assume that it costs about 25-50 cents for a light shirt and $2.50-4.00 for a dark shirt. Of course these will vary somewhat, but 90% of the full front shirts you print will be in this range (assuming $300 per liter ink cost).
Albert
Best way to measure and accurate is weighting. Not volume.
Print any squire size you want on many color or single or any DPI but you have to know your printing area exam: 100sq" or 60sq".
take weight all you cartridges (A) (with ink in it)
After finish print weight again (B)
Formula is
(A-B)/sq" = will tell what is your usage by weight. DuPont ink weight is 1ml = 1.05g on color.
I hope it clear your question. You need GOOD Scales as we use in our lab.
take weight all you cartridges (A) (with ink in it)
After finish print weight again (B)
Formula is
(A-B)/sq" = will tell what is your usage by weight. DuPont ink weight is 1ml = 1.05g on color.
I hope it clear your question. You need GOOD Scales as we use in our lab.
Unfortunatelly, I can't weight my cartridges, since I'm using the HM1 with WIMS2, and I can't do that with the white :-)
But a lot of my question would be answered if anyone could afirm, if teorically white underbase uses 4 times more ink that the same resolution for CMYK... or not.
Figuring out ink costs with my HM1-C 
