The four inputs
1. Material cost. What you pay per gram of input, whether you grow it, buy it, or process it on toll. This is usually the largest single line, and small changes here outweigh every other variable.
2. Yield. The percentage of input weight that comes out as pressed output. Yield depends on the material first and the process second; your own logged runs are the only numbers worth using. Optimism here is how ROI spreadsheets lie.
3. Output value. What a gram of your output actually sells for in your channel: the number on your invoices, not the menu price you aspire to.
4. Throughput hours. How many productive hours the press runs per week. A press that runs two shifts pays back very differently than one that runs on weekends.
The math, once
Gross per run = input grams × yield × output value, minus (input cost + bags + parchment + labor). Payback period = total equipment cost ÷ gross per run ÷ runs per week. Everything else (financing terms, tax treatment, utility draw) adjusts the edges of those two numbers. If the payback period lands under twelve months with conservative inputs, the machine earns its floor space.
Where the hidden costs live
Consumables are per-run and easy to forget: a bag and parchment on every press, wash bags on a replacement cycle if you wash your own input. Labor is the other one: a manual hydraulic press spends operator effort on every cycle, while a pneumatic spends it on loading and collecting. At production volumes, that difference is a payroll line, not a comfort preference; the hydraulic vs pneumatic guide breaks down the trade.
Run your own numbers
Run the math above with your own material, your yield, and your price. When the numbers point at a machine, the press lineup has published specs and prices, and financing can spread the payback period instead of concentrating it.
To install this Web App in your iPhone/iPad press
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