Measurement, Estimation and Production Planning
This domain tests the arithmetic that turns a specification into sheets, spine widths, time and cost, plus the planning that sequences operations without bottlenecks.
Units and counts
Millimetres for dimensions, GSM for paper, 500 sheets to a ream, 24 or 25 sheets to a quire, 144 to a gross.
Key formulas
- Sheets per copy = total pages ÷ (pages per sheet side × 2 for both sides printed).
- Total sheets = sheets per copy × copies × (1 + wastage %). Typical wastage is 5–10%.
- Block thickness = leaves × caliper; leaves = pages ÷ 2.
Costing
Cost = material + labour + overhead + wastage, then add the profit margin. A written quotation fixes the price and the delivery date.
Sequencing
Cut → fold → gather → sew or stitch → glue → trim → cover → finish. Plan so the guillotine and the binder are never both idle or both overloaded.
Worked example
500 copies of a 64-page A5 saddle-stitched booklet, printed on A1 both sides. A1 (594 × 841 mm) holds 16 A5 pages per side, so 32 pages per sheet. Sheets per copy = 64 ÷ 32 = 2. Total = 2 × 500 = 1000 sheets. Add 5% wastage: 1000 × 1.05 = 1050 sheets, that is 2.1 reams. Always round up to whole sheets.
Traps
- Forgetting to double for two-sided printing, which halves the order.
- Quoting without wastage, so the job runs short.
- Ignoring that paper sizes are rounded, as in A6 at 105 × 148 mm rather than 148.5 mm.