Why do short runs cost so much more than longer runs?
There are two reasons and both are economical. First, each process to produce a finished package requires setting up machines. These setups are required to ready the machinery to produce each component of the packaging. Score wheels need to be set. Slots are positioned. Dies are attached to the press. Plates are mounted to the printing station. Each setup also requires additional material to be run through the machine that generally becomes scrap or collateral of the initial run. All of this requires additional labor and material. Second, the market has traditionally supported higher prices for shorter runs. This is due to several factors one of which is an effort by packaging companies to steer their customers toward longer runs. If a manufacturer has nothing but small runs the machinery is not being run economically and profits are reduced. So the manufacturer will establish margins that increase dramatically as the value of the order is reduced.
