Pricing labor

I am start up my letterpress shop again after 30(+-) years. A friend has found an old price list on a labor charges from a printer. The price list has charges for imprinting, numbering, die cutting etc work, but the prices are from 1980.

My friend said if I take his 1980 prices and times it by 3, I should have today market price.

So, if in 1980 his labor charge for die cutting was $12.50 per thousand, I should charge $37 per thousand.

Is this correct?

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Seems a bit low for the first thousand, considering set up time and effort. Beyond that, it seems ballpark, though the more you do, the better the price per thousand should be, so there is a point where you may be down to $20 or $25 a thousand, or perhaps even less.

A job that has not register demands and is easy (door hangers for example) would charge much less than a pocket folder or a tight register project.

So I guess your friend is pretty close to the mark, wouldn’t think prices have jumped that much over the years.

So, I guess the first few thousand some be $37 per thousand and over 3 thousand impression it could down to $20.