Blister packaging cost model

What the calculator does

Use this tool to turn your own packaging quote into a screening cost per accepted unit for a blister package. It combines a one-time tooling charge with three recurring charges: backer per unit, formed blister per unit, and sealing labor per unit. The result is arithmetic, not a quote, and it does not validate package design or sealing. Keep the scope explicit: packaging compatibility, sealing validation, freight, taxes, and product costs stay outside the model; this calculator has no separate fields for them.

Setting the quoted cost fields

Enter the one-time tooling amount exactly as quoted for the project. It is charged once per calculation, not per unit. Enter backer, blister, and sealing labor as per-unit quoted amounts. The labels ask for your quote because the calculator does not supply prices, market rates, or a recommended vendor cost. If a charge is bundled in your quote, leave that field at zero and enter only the amounts you want the model to show separately; the tool cannot unbundle a supplier quote. The recurring sum is multiplied by the input quantity, while tooling is added once.

Quantity, loss, and accepted units

Quantity is the number of units you plan to run through the packaging step, not the number you hope to sell. Rejected output is a percentage of that input. The calculator floors quantity times one minus loss divided by 100 to get expected accepted units. That flooring matters for small runs: a fractional remainder is dropped rather than rounded up. A rejection rate that leaves fewer than one accepted unit causes an error, so the tool will not divide by zero or report a meaningless unit cost. If your target is a fixed number of good units, this tool does not reverse the calculation; raise the input quantity until the displayed accepted count meets the target.

Reading the four results

Expected accepted units is the denominator used for both per-unit figures. Total entered cost is the full entered outlay at the input quantity, including tooling and recurring charges on all input units whether or not they are expected to pass. Tooling per accepted unit isolates the one-time amount over good output. Cost per accepted unit spreads the full entered cost over good output. All monetary results are shown in dollars from the amounts you typed; they are not supplier commitments.

Worked examples

In the first case, enter $2,500 of tooling, $0.12 backer, $0.10 blister, $0.08 sealing labor, 10,000 input units, and zero rejected output. Expected accepted units are 10,000. Recurring charges total $0.30 per unit, so recurring cost is $3,000 at the input quantity. Total entered cost is $5,500, tooling per accepted unit is $0.25, and cost per accepted unit is $0.55.

In the second case, enter $1,200 of tooling, $0.15 backer, $0.09 blister, $0.06 sealing labor, 5,000 input units, and 8 percent rejected output. The expected accepted count is exactly 4,600, with no fractional unit to round down. Recurring charges total $0.30 per unit and add $1,500 of recurring cost for the 5,000-unit input run, giving $2,700 total entered cost. Tooling per accepted unit is $1,200 divided by 4,600, displayed as $0.26. Cost per accepted unit is $2,700 divided by 4,600, displayed as $0.59. These entered amounts are an illustration, not a market price.

How changes move the result

Raising any recurring charge increases total entered cost by that charge times the input quantity, including input units expected to be rejected. Raising rejected output leaves total entered cost unchanged. If the whole-unit accepted count falls, each per-accepted figure with a nonzero numerator increases before display rounding. Raising tooling increases total entered cost and tooling per accepted unit, but leaves the recurring total unchanged. Raising quantity spreads fixed tooling over more accepted units while adding recurring cost at the input quantity. The net effect on cost per accepted unit depends on which change dominates.

Limits and edge cases

With all monetary fields at zero and at least one expected accepted unit, the three monetary outputs are zero; zero is a valid entered cost, not evidence that packaging is free. If you enter a loss rate that floors accepted output to zero, the calculator stops with an error message rather than returning an infinite per-unit cost. The model treats rejected output as a single percentage; it does not split defects by cause, calculate rework, or add a second production run. It also does not convert between currencies. Treat the result as a screening calculation from quoted inputs and verify package compatibility and sealing separately.

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