Calculator
Photocopy and print shop profit calculator
Prices checked
Short answer
Monthly sales
GH₵6,500
13,000 pages
Monthly costs
GH₵4,511
GH₵0.347 a page
Monthly profit
GH₵1,989
GH₵0.153 a page
Copier pays for itself in
9 months
Break even at 284 pages a day
Starting figures are examples. Toner (GH₵0.051 a page from C-EXV 60 toner), paper (GH₵0.096 a sheet) and the copier price come from our October 2026 price index; replace every other figure, especially your price per page and daily volume, with your own.
A worked example
Suppose a shop charges GH₵0.50 a page and sells 500 pages a day for 26 days: that's 13,000 pages and GH₵6,500 in sales a month. Toner and paper cost GH₵1,911, and rent, power, wages and servicing GH₵2,600, leaving a profit of GH₵1,989.
This shop breaks even at about 284 pages a day. At this rate, a GH₵16,000 copier pays for itself in about 9 months. These are example figures, not a forecast: change the volume and price and the answer moves fast.
What makes a print shop profitable?
Location and volume. A shop opposite a school, university, hospital or government office can sell hundreds of pages a day; the same machine on a quiet street can't.
Low cost per page. Copiers with high-yield toner cost less per page than small desktop printers. Check toner prices before choosing a machine; see toner prices in Ghana.
Extra services. Laminating, binding, colour printing and scanning earn more per job than black and white copies. Our guide to what it costs to start a printing business prices the equipment.
Uptime. A copier that breaks down during exam season costs you sales every hour. Budget for servicing and keep a technician's number.
Questions people ask
How much profit does a photocopy machine make per day?
It depends on what you charge, how many pages you sell and your costs. Profit per day = (price per page - toner and paper per page) × pages sold - your daily share of rent, power, wages and servicing. Use the calculator with your own figures; location and volume matter more than anything else.
How should I price photocopying?
Start from your real cost per page: toner and paper for each page, plus rent, power, wages and servicing divided by the pages you sell each month. Your price must be above that, with a margin. Check what nearby shops charge too, because customers compare.
How many pages a day does a photocopy shop need to sell?
Enough to cover monthly costs. The calculator's break-even figure shows the pages a day where sales just cover toner, paper, rent, power, wages and servicing. Below that you're losing money; above it, each page adds profit.
How long does it take for a photocopier to pay for itself?
Divide the copier's price by your monthly profit. The calculator shows this as payback in months. A busy shop near a school or office can recover the cost far faster than a quiet one.
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