Production Capacity Estimator

Print speed (m/min) is the web speed you expect to hold on saleable product—not peak mechanical speed on an empty dryer. If your dryer, chilling, or curing limit is lower than the gearbox rating, enter the lower figure so annual m² does not overstate real output.

Print width (mm) is the usable printed web after edge trim and register marks. Using the full mechanical web width inflates square meters when your art only uses part of the web. For multi-up jobs, still enter the full printed band width if that is how you quote customers.

Shifts per day and working days per month convert continuous line speed into calendar capacity. Two 8-hour shifts with 25 days/month is a common export-film planning default; plants with weekly maintenance shutdowns should lower days/month rather than inventing an artificial efficiency penalty twice.

Machine efficiency (%) folds changeovers, splice losses, wash-ups, quality holds, and unplanned stoppages into one OEE-style factor. Long single-SKU film runs often sit near 80–85%. Short-run label or SKU-heavy pouch plants commonly plan 65–75%. Do not use 100% unless you are stress-testing theoretical maximums.

Press type and sub-series do not change the core formula, but they change which speed and efficiency you should believe. Gearless CI lines hold high speed on thin film more consistently than stack presses on the same substrate; stack lines may spend more time on plate and anilox changes. Pick the architecture you are actually quoting so the recommended machine band stays honest.

Months per year defaults to twelve for continuous plants. Seasonal converters who idle for festivals or monsoon logistics should reduce months rather than silently accepting an optimistic annual total.

A snack and pouch converter quotes 300 m/min on 1,200 mm PE/PET laminates, two shifts, 25 days/month, 75% efficiency. Daily meters land near 216,000 m and daily area near 259,200 m² before waste outside the printed band. Annual m² at twelve months is the figure procurement should compare to forecasted sold volume plus overage for trials and scrap.

If real changeovers average four per day, drop efficiency toward 70% and re-run. The capacity gap often reveals whether you need a second deck or simply better sleeve logistics—not always a wider press.

An export plant targeting 400–450 m/min on thin BOPP with long runs can keep efficiency near 80–85% if splice quality and dryer residence time are proven. Enter the sustained saleable speed, not the brochure peak. Width planning should leave margin for later art that needs more colors or heavier white—over-narrowing the press to hit today’s SKU list is a common CapEx regret.

Stack flexo serving labels, paperboard, and short runs rarely sustains film-line efficiency. Plan 150–220 m/min with 65–75% efficiency and more days lost to plate changes. Capacity math still uses the same formula; the lesson is that headline CI film speeds are the wrong baseline for a mixed label hall.

Paste the annual m², assumed speed, width, shifts, and efficiency into your inquiry so LISHG engineers can challenge dryer and infeed limits early. Ask for confirmation of mechanical versus printing speed, sleeve change time assumptions, and whether the quoted efficiency includes your expected SKU mix.

Cross-check capacity against the ROI calculator with the same annual m² and hours/day. If payback assumes more sold volume than this capacity model can print, reconcile the two tools before presenting CapEx to ownership.

For deeper product fit after capacity is settled, run the product selector or open the matched series landing page with your substrate and color count noted.

Efficiency is the most abused input on capacity models. Teams sometimes enter 90% because “the new press will be better,” then wonder why the installed line misses plan. Anchor efficiency to measured OEE on a comparable substrate family: availability × performance × quality. If you lack OEE data, start at 70% for mixed SKU plants and 80% for long-run film, then sensitivity-test ±5 points.

Separate planned downtime (maintenance days, ink trials, customer FATs) from random stops. Put planned downtime into days/month or months/year. Put random stops and changeovers into efficiency. Double-counting both will understate capacity and oversize CapEx.

When comparing two OEM quotes, force both vendors to use identical speed, width, shifts, days, and efficiency in this calculator. Differences that remain are then about dryer, web handling, and automation—not about who typed a more optimistic spreadsheet.

Wider webs raise square meters linearly in this model, but dryers, chill rolls, and rewind torque do not always scale linearly. A 1,600 mm line at the same m/min may need more air volume and more connected load than a 1,200 mm twin. Ask for dryer residence time and connected kW when width jumps.

Color count does not appear in the meter formula, yet each added station increases changeover time and wash-up losses—effects you should reflect in efficiency. Eight-color work with white and varnish is not “the same OEE as four-color process” even on identical film.

Unwind and rewind diameter limits cap job length before meters/day matter. If your rolls are small, the calculator can show high daily meters that operators cannot feed without constant roll changes—encode that reality as lower efficiency or fewer productive minutes per shift.