What are the start up costs for a copy shop?

Answer 1

The cost of starting up a copyshop depends on the volume and size of the shop.

In order to make profit you need more than a copier.

With the copier you can copy & print most things like flyers, business cards, school and business work and so on.

But you should also be able to make stamps, stickers, t-shirts, buttons, mugs, caps and so on.

You can start up with as little as $4000, but I started up with $60 000 because I focus on bigger and better machines to handle more volume.

20 000 for a color copier and quite a bit more for a black and white model with advanced finishing possibilities.

Business card cutters, dye sublimation printers and different heat presses.

I started with silk screen printing as well. And I make stamps with a stamp creator.

I bought a Roland machine to cut stickers and other materials. I also bought an engraving machine. To mention a few.

I also plan to buy a Ricoh duplicator to be able to print flyers and stuff like that dirt cheap.

Since I started with a lot of equipment I quickly started to make money, and after a few month (4) I started to make profit.

I send out flyers made in house, to businesses that I want as a customer.

I am now the sole supplier of copying and printing services for a couple of larger businesses. I gave them a good price, and they can focus on what they know best.

I can supply them with professional looking catalogues, CD covers (I burn CDs and DVDs as well) and other high volume printing.

They send me the files on e-mail and I print it the way they like. Then I deliver the copies to the right person as soon as possible. They don't even have to walk up to their own printer to get the copies. This has resultet in many smaller jobs as well.

We print catalogues for companies all over the country now. This is high volume, but the profit is not that high. But all in all it gives a few extra thousand a week in revenues.

I accept walk in customers as well. From just 1 copy to several million (in my dreams).

I talked to a service technician to find out which copier I should buy, and I'm very pleased with my choise. The machine has the capability to print about 8000 sheets of paper after I go home at night. In the morning the job is finished and I can start to make the bill.

I believe you can start up with much cheaper equipment, but it gives you more work and takes more time. You will not be as competitive on high volume jobs because a small copier can cost 5 times as much per page as a larger model.

I think $4000 is the lowest you should go. Then you have a small color multifunksjonal machine, a small cutting machine, an even smaller back-up copier and a heatpress. You can make the stickers on the copier. The t-shirt and mug prints can be made there too.

But quality and price wise... you will not be able to compete with companies like mine, and those whoose bigger.

>Your location is often more important on how much you need to invest. No competitors will give you higher margins, so your machines can be more expensive to run, and still give you a good profit.