Print-farm profit calculator

How many printers, how busy, at what price. See monthly profit, margin, break-even volume and how long the hardware takes to pay for itself.

Last updatedOct 17, 2026

Default electricity rate18.31¢ (EIA U.S. residential, July 2026)

Your farm

Values marked example are illustrative, not industry averages. For one printer, the payback page shows when it pays for itself; the startup cost planner itemizes the one-time spend.

Capacity

Printers (pieces)

Printing hours per printer per dayexample (in hours)

Days operating per month

Average print timeexample (in hours)

Share of capacity you can sellexample (percent)Demand limit

Failure rateexample (percent)

Per print

Sale priceexample (in dollars)

Filament per printexample (in grams)

Filament costexample (in dollars per kilogram)

Packaging & shipping suppliesexample (in dollars)

Hands-on time (in minutes)

Labor rateexample (in dollars per hour)

Marketplace / payment fees (percent)Total % of sale price

Machines & overhead

Average printer power (in watts)Bambu P1S, PLA: 105 W

Electricity rate (in cents per kilowatt-hour)

Cost per printerexample (in dollars)

Write off overexample (in months)

Maintenance per printerexample (in dollars per month)

Fixed overheadexample (in dollars per month)Space, software, insurance

Monthly statement per month

Monthly profit$0

Net margin0%

Volume and payback
Good prints sold	0
Break-even volume	0
Hardware payback	n/a

Profit by farm size

Same inputs, different printer counts. Fixed overhead stays flat, so margin rises with scale until demand runs out. Your current count is highlighted.

How this is calculated

Prints attempted = printers × hours/day × days ÷ print time × sellable share. Good prints = attempted × (1 − failure rate). Every attempt uses filament, power and wear; only good prints are sold.
Electricity = watts ÷ 1,000 × printing hours × rate. Idle standby draw (about 5-6 W for a P1S on Wi-Fi, per Bambu Lab) is ignored.
Depreciation = printer cost ÷ write-off months, per printer. Payback = total hardware cost ÷ monthly profit before depreciation.
Break-even = fixed monthly costs (overhead, depreciation, maintenance) ÷ contribution per good print.
Not modeled: income tax, sales tax, shipping charged to buyers, returns, advertising.

Sources

EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 (July 2026, accessed Oct 17, 2026).

Bambu Lab Wiki power parameters (accessed Oct 17, 2026).

All other defaults are examples, not survey data.