Pricing a 30 opening (double) mat

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printmaker

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
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A woman brings in a pile of photos, all different sizes, to be put in a single frame. :( We end up selecting 30.

Needless to say, it takes a while to design. The CMC saves no time in the design process (for me, anyways). Fortunately, the CMC cuts the finished mats in a few minutes, :D and with it, we're able to inject a bit of finesse and class (flash?).

The finished size is 40" X 24". It is double matted (AlphaMat).

I was not able to give her an estimate. I've priced the piece based on a double mat + our hourly rate. The price, as far as I'm concerned, is more than fair, but I'm sure she'll be "shocked" (let us not dwell on how much her new Lexus cost)...

* I'm curious, if you don't mind the inquiry, as to what other CMC grumblers would charge for this matting?

* Do you charge the regular shop rate :confused: , or should there be a premium when working on the CMC?

Curious minds want to know.


Thank you!!!
 
I still charge per opening, especially for an item like your project.
Because you have a CMC, I would say you have to factor in the cost of the matboard, X labor for layout, and overhead. I would not want to guestimate, but I would put it at at least $125
When I was buying multi-opening mats from the co> that has now gone out of business, I PAID $95 for 23 cutout wholesale. So go figure...
 
So Less doesn't have a CMC.

But, I would charge at least my hourly rate for design time. I would guess a minimum of 2hrs (mat plus $100) labor, probably more. What would you charge by hand and why should you charge Less? Someone has to pay for that machine.

On complicated layouts I would take a guess at the layout time when quoting. A one opening double Alphamat would be $60, plus two hrs equals $100. No, scratch that. Think about how much time was spent just at the design counter. Make that 3 hours labor. That sounds more like it.

Less would charge $200 for the mat. Maybe more?

How much would Fletcher charge?

I don't think it's unusual to charge $3 to $5 per opening. That would be time 60 openings plus the normal mat charge. Ok, so make it times 58 openings. So, that would be $234 to $350 depending on Less' mood.

[ 06-19-2003, 09:43 PM: Message edited by: lessafinger ]
 
I would charge my normal 40 X 24 one opening double mat fee $51.50 plus my additional 4.00 per opening charge for 29 add'l openings, $116.00, mat price 167.50 plus my usual shop rate for the design time. I use a Wizard
 
Am I to understand that some of you would charge <strike>LESS</strike> a lower price for this mat because you have a CMC and it cuts very quickly?

I'm sure I must be mis-reading, 'cause I have to wonder who is paying for the CMC if not the customer.

Do I have to tell the story again about doing some dry-mounting for my sister? I hope not!

I'll price this mat out if/when I go to the shop in the morning. I guarantee it'll be the same price as it would be if I didn't have a CMC.
 
But Walt, what would you charge if it was just a single mat with 30 openings?

Should different size openings be a different charge that all the same size? I would think so.

Maybe I would charge $3 per for the same size and $5 per for different sizes.
 
Isn't these one of those jobs where you go "Cha-Ching!" then say crap i have to actually do it if they say yes???
dennis
 
I'd price the mats as materials and double my cost. I've charged $2 per opening for similar jobs. Big difference here is you have various sizes. The ones I have done used all the same size opening so the design/layouy was quite simple--maybe 15 minutes to lay out up to 60 windows. Our "computer time" hourly rate is $75. I'd use this to price my time rather that our "shop labor" rate of $40.00.
 
And whateveryou do, don't forget to cut a "dummy" from flawboard and add that into your pricing. Anytime we do something like this, we always do a trial on flaw and the customer pays for the corners for that flaw plus the labor.

This is what makes "custom" custom.
 
Our price for a mat is with one opening. Each additional opening is at 3.00, ovals at 4.00.

I would charge for 2 mats and 58 openings.
 
I don't have a CMC but use a proprietary program written for such occasions, Multiple Opening Mats™ (MoM).

I would charge $227.20 for such a mat – $82.20 for the base Alphamat double mat plus $145.00 for 29 additional openings (29 times $5.00).

I would take me about an hour and 45 minutes to complete.
 
Wizard's new software makes design easy - especially when using auto-sizing. If the result was 40 x 24 with 30 openings my price would be $174 - 2 mats @ $29 each plus 29 additional openings @ $4 each. The markup on Wizard corners is quite good @ $.06 apiece ($.24 an opening) in the Junior rental program.

I would not be happy with this price without the Wizard.

Pat :D
 
For a double Alphamat with 30 windows, 24x40, I'd charge $255.

When I've done 68 of these, my Mat Maestro will have paid for itself. (If I don't have to change blades, slip sheets or servo motors.)
 
Originally posted by lessafinger:
[QB] But Walt, what would you charge if it was just a single mat with 30 openings?

Should different size openings be a different charge that all the same size? I would think so.

Less: I charge $4.00 per for additional openings regardless of the number of layers. If it's a double, I charge for two mats and 1 opening plus $4.00 for additional openings.

I think I need to take a look at this to see how I would come out on a job like this. In my vast experience (10 months) I havn't had anything remotley similar to this. I'm not sure what the impact would be in corners used if this one went three or more layers.

I really like the idea of charging a $75.00 computer design time fee instead of my normal shop rate.

Thanks for making me think!!! :confused:
Click to expand...
 
With special work, like repairs, I don't have any problem with using a shop rate and keeping track of time. But with something like a collage mat, I think most customers would expect a firm quote before you start the project.

Except for the ones who NEVER want a quote because they think you're implying that they can't afford it.

It happens . . .
 
Originally posted by Ron Eggers:
... I think most customers would expect a firm quote before you start the project...
Click to expand...
The quote I like best is, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." ... wish I had the guts to use it
.

Thanks for the input, everyone!

- printmaker -
 
What surprises me the most are those of you that only charge the opening price once. This is where the job gets very difficult by hand. If I do a multi-layer multiple opening mat you can bet I will charge for each layer. With many different size openings, layout time, payment on the cmc to make or hours of labor to do right. I would not do it for less than 300 if it took a long time in selling 350 would not be out of the question.

Too many framers charge too little for jobs like this. You think it a great money maker until 1/2 a day shot and you get a paper cut and drop blood on it, or your nose drips and put a goober in the center of the mat. Or you reverse bevel one side by mistake. Top quality design and workmanship requires top quality pay or design it CHEAPER.

framer

Step up to the Plate and hit a homerun "Printmaker" you deserve it.
 
Originally posted by Walt C:
[QB

Should different size openings be a different charge that all the same size? I would think so.

[/QB]
Click to expand...
Walt,

Are you setting up a CMC to do different sized openings or cutting them by hand??

My take on different sized mat openings that are laid out and cut by hand (yes, I still do it the old fashioned way) is it doesn't take that much more time to cut an 11x14 opening than it does to cut a 5x7 opening. The four cuts are just a bit longer. The time is in the layout and design portion of the work. And that may take some tweaking until you get the proper balance and look.

I guess you can do all this layout work on the computer with a CMC but, by hand, it takes some measuring and layout on the back of the mat to get things right. And then, if you are not focused on what you are doing, you will spend 15 or 20 minutes laying out the mat design only to notice right after the last line is drawn on the 30th opening that you forgot to lay it out in reverse!!

Been there, done that!


My POS program is set up to charge for each mat and one opening. For multiple openings you must enter the total number of extra openings for all mats and it will calculate the cost based on your per opening rate.

2 Crescent 1500 or 1600 series mats would thus cost $271.40 to lay out and cut 60 openings. And that is by hand. I would expect that, with a CMC, the cost would be higher to pay for the advanced technology (and the CMC).

Framerguy

[ 06-22-2003, 09:35 PM: Message edited by: Framerguy ]
 
Originally posted by printmaker:
...I was not able to give her an estimate. I've priced the piece based on a double mat + our hourly rate. The price, as far as I'm concerned, is more than fair, but I'm sure she'll be "shocked" (let us not dwell on how much her new Lexus cost)...
Click to expand...
Well fellow grumblinos, I just thought I'd post the ending to this saga:

We matted, glazed and sealed the finished photos, and invited her back to choose from 3 different frames we selected, from 3 different price ranges (250 dollar difference between the cheapest and most expensive)...

When she saw the matted photos, she absolutely couldn't wipe the smile from her face :D , even after we told her the price; she lit up the entire room! When presented with the moulding choices, she picked the most expensive frame of the three and paid cash.

Don't ya just love a happy ending?!? ;)

Thanks again, all!

- printmaker -
 
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