What it does
Costing a flexible laminate by hand means holding a lot in your head at once: the grammage each film layer contributes, the ink and adhesive laid over it, the solvent those carry, the wastage the structure will run at, the cylinder cost spread across the order, and the pouching charge on top. Miss one and the number is wrong — usually in the direction that costs you the job or the margin.
The Flexible Laminate Cost Calculator does that arithmetic against a cost model: a set of six rate tables covering the materials and processes that make up a laminate. You pick a model, describe the job, and the breakdown updates live as you change the specification.
How it works
- Open Flexible Laminate and choose New quote.
- Pick a cost model. Entries are badged Template (published by a GPN admin), Mine (created by you) or Supplier (published by another supplier).
- Enter the job — structure and film layers, the materials, sizes and quantities.
- Read the live cost breakdown at the bottom of the form as you adjust the specification.
- Save the quote against the customer it belongs to.
What a cost model holds
Six rate tables, each priced independently so a change in one flows through every quote built on that model:
- Materials The films themselves — each with its thickness and density, which is what turns a structure into a grammage.
- Other layers Inks, coatings and adhesives laid between and over the films, including the solvent they carry.
- Pouch types Pouching and fitment charges, quoted per thousand pouches.
- Cylinder Cylinder cost for the print job, spread across the order quantity.
- Wastage bands Wastage percentages that vary with the number of layers and the run.
- Processing bands Processing charges banded the same way.
Template models come published and ready to use. Suppliers can create their own models and fill in each of the six tables with their own rates, then edit any rate later — every quote priced against that model picks the change up on its next open.
What the breakdown shows
The calculator does not just return a total. It shows the working, so you can see where the cost sits and argue with the parts you disagree with:
- Structure Finished laminate grammage in g/m², layer count, pouch area, pouch weight, pouches per kg and m² per kg.
- Per-kilogram inputs Material, ink, coating and adhesive cost, plus the solvent carried by the inks and adhesives — summed into a subtotal per kg.
- Process Wastage, cylinder cost and pouching or fitment charges converted onto the same per-kg basis.
- Commercial Your profit per kg, and a price adjustment per kg for the times a number has to move for a reason the rate tables do not know about.
- Result Laminate cost per kilogram and cost per pouch — both with the commercial lines already in, so the figure you land on is what you would quote, not what the job costs you.
Calculator results are working estimates, not binding quotations. They price the job against the rate tables in the cost model you chose — always confirm final pricing with the supplier.
Saved quotes stay honest
Saved quotes are listed under Quotes. Reopening one recalculates it at the current rates in its cost model, and if those rates have moved since it was saved a banner says so rather than quietly showing a different number. Film prices move; a quote you wrote three months ago should not pretend otherwise.
Who uses it
- Manufacturer owners and sales heads One shared rate basis across the team, so two people quoting the same job land on the same number.
- Sales teams Customer-ready quotation PDFs carrying your logo, tax details and currency, shared by WhatsApp or email.
- Packaging professionals and consultants Specification options costed as revisions of one Job Ref, with country-specific private cost models per client.
The use cases on the home page cover all eight roles and which modules answer each.