Comparing Print Jobs by Contribution per Press Hour

When press time is the limiting resource, compare the contribution available per occupied press hour. Keep that scheduling measure separate from complete job profit.

Published by Screenprintcalc · Updated September 22, 2026

Define the contribution boundary first

For this scheduling comparison, contribution is job revenue minus the costs that change with accepting and producing the job under your model. State exactly which costs you subtract. A measure excluding fixed shop costs should not be labeled final business profit.

Use occupied press hours when the press is the constraint. Include setup or changeover time that prevents another job using it if that time is part of the constrained window. Person-hours and press hours are not the same measure.

Compare two constructed jobs

Job A has more total revenue and contribution. Job B generates more contribution per press hour. If only two suitable hours are available, Job A may not fit at all. If four hours are available, the best feasible schedule depends on what other work can fill them.

A ratio is not a complete scheduling decision

You cannot assume two copies of Job B are available to fill four hours. Demand, deadlines, preparation dependencies, changeovers, and accepted commitments still matter. If the constrained resource is an operator rather than the press, a press-hour ratio may not answer the relevant question.

Low contribution per hour does not automatically make a job unprofitable, and high contribution per hour does not guarantee overall profit. The break-even calculator separately shows recovery of specified fixed job costs.

Avoid mixing allocation with short-term cash changes

Allocated overhead is useful for complete pricing. But an allocation is not necessarily an expense that disappears when one job is rejected. Be explicit whether your comparison is full-cost job profitability or short-term contribution under a capacity constraint.

Read overhead allocation for the full-cost view. Keep both views if needed rather than silently switching definitions between jobs.

Use the comparison when a rush job competes for time

When a new request would displace existing work, compare the contribution and schedule of the alternatives. Then assess the commitments and consequences not captured by the ratio. The rush-order guide separates incremental expense, displaced work, and deadline feasibility.

All amounts here are constructed examples. The method illustrates a trade-off; it does not recommend a job mix or production schedule for an unseen shop.

AI-assisted educational content. Examples are illustrative; arithmetic is checked against the stated methods. This is not a field-tested production specification. Read our editorial policy.