How to use PrintCalc

PrintCalc has a lot of features. This guide walks through each one — from the basic single-piece cost to comparing two quotes side by side and exporting a PDF for the client. You don't have to read everything: jump around with the index below.

Embed PrintCalc on your site

Drop this iframe into any blog post, Etsy guide or maker forum thread and your readers get the full calculator without leaving your page. Free, no signup, no attribution required (a small "Powered by PrintCalc" badge stays in the top corner).

<iframe src="https://print-calc.com/embed/calculator?lang=en&currency=USD"
        width="100%" height="900"
        frameborder="0"
        title="3D printing cost calculator"
        loading="lazy"></iframe>

Replace `lang` with `pt-BR`, `en` or `es` and `currency` with `BRL`, `USD` or `EUR`. Set `height` to whatever fits your layout (900 is a safe minimum).

Using WordPress / Gutenberg?

In the "Custom HTML" block, the editor preview may show "print-calc.com refused to connect". That's a WordPress admin security restriction (the Gutenberg sandbox blocks third-party iframes in the editor) — it does NOT affect the published page. Once you hit Publish or open the post in an incognito window, the calculator renders normally. Other Gutenberg blocks (Group, Reusable, Columns) have the same limitation; "Custom HTML" is still the simplest path.

Quick start

Open the home and you're already in the calculator. The default values (Tiny T-rex, 25 units) are just there to show how the pieces fit — replace them with yours.

Typical flow: name the model, set units per cycle, fill in print time and weight for the plate. The costs on the right update live as you type.

Multiple plates per job

If the part doesn't fit on a single plate (e.g. a flying saucer with base + dome on separate prints), click "+ Add plate" at the top of the Model section. Each plate has its own name, time and weight.

The totals at the bottom sum every plate's time and weight. Unit cost is total job cost divided by the configured quantity.

When the model has 2+ filaments, each plate picks one via a dropdown
Each plate has its own G-code upload (icon on the right)
Remove plate is disabled when only 1 remains
An empty plate (0h, 0g) doesn't hurt — it just contributes nothing

G-code upload

Instead of typing time and weight by hand, click the upload icon (📎) to the right of weight on a plate and pick the .gcode file from your slicer. The parser pulls estimated time and filament use automatically.

Supported slicers: PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio, SuperSlicer and Cura. The file is processed 100% in your browser — nothing leaves your machine.

Filament library

On the Costs card, the "Filaments" section lists every material the model uses. Each filament has a type (PLA, PETG, TPU…), a per-kg cost in the active currency, and an optional name to tell apart, say, "PLA premium" from "PLA budget".

Click "+ Add filament" to put more than one material in the model. With 2+ filaments, every PlateCard gains a dropdown to pick which material that plate uses. Example: a sink squeegee with a PLA body and a flexible TPU blade — each plate's cost uses its own filament price, and the chart/PDF break out the materials separately.

Available presets: PLA, PLA+, PETG, ABS, TPU, ASA, Nylon, PC, PVA, Wood, Silk and Custom. Picking a preset auto-fills the per-kg cost in the active currency, converted at the day's exchange rate (ECB via frankfurter.app). Editing the cost manually flips that filament to "Custom" — manual values are never overwritten.

Printer and energy

Pick your printer from the dropdown — we ship profiles for Bambu Lab A1/A1 Mini/P1P/P1S/X1 Carbon, Creality Ender and K1, Prusa MK4 and XL, Anycubic Kobra 2 and Flashforge. Each carries a suggested wattage and useful life.

For a printer not on the list, pick "Custom" and enter the wattage. The kWh price next to it drives the energy calculation.

Monthly fixed costs

Rent, internet, shop maintenance — everything you pay monthly regardless of output. Put the monthly total in "Cost per Month" and estimate how many units you print per month.

The calculator splits the fixed cost across units to get a per-piece allocation. If you don't sell yet or just print as a hobby, leave Cost per Month at zero.

Printer amortization

The printer was worth $X and lasts Y hours — each hour of use "consumes" a fraction of that value. Fill in the purchase price under "Printer Value" and the expected useful life in hours.

Formula: (printer value ÷ useful life hours) × total job time. Bambu Lab A1 ~20,000h, Prusa XL ~30,000h — sane defaults.

Failure percentage

No production is 100% perfect. Warping, detachment, jams, layer shifts — losses happen. Add a realistic percentage (5–15% for hobbyists, 2–5% for well-tuned setups).

The calculator adds that percentage on top of the cost subtotal. Without it, your real margin is smaller than it looks because you end up discarding material and time.

Accessories and packaging

Boxes, stickers, screws, magnets — anything extra that ships with the part. Click "Add accessory" and fill in name, quantity and unit cost.

Quantity here is per JOB/PLATE, not per finished unit. If each saucer needs 2 magnets and the plate produces 5 saucers, enter quantity = 10.

Markup, tax and payment fee

Markup is the multiplier that becomes gross profit (4x = base price × 4). Tax and Payment Fee are percentages that affect the final price.

"Include tax and payment fee in price" toggle: on for marketplaces (Mercado Livre, Shopee, Etsy take their cut from the displayed price); off for direct sales where the invoice is in the buyer's name. Click "What does this mean?" on the card for the full explanation.

Templates and reset

"Templates" in the Model header has 3 ready-to-go presets (Small keychain, Miniature, Large piece) that fill the model with typical values. Costs and markup stay untouched.

"Reset calculation" in the same menu rolls everything back to defaults. Language, currency and Saved calculations are NOT wiped — only model, costs and price setup.

Save calculations

Click "Saved" on Price Summary to open the popover. Type a name (or leave blank to use the model name) and save. Appears in the list below, sorted by date.

Loading a saved calculation replaces the current state. Use the trash icon to delete. Everything lives in localStorage — no sync between devices.

Compare two configurations

Click "Compare" on Price Summary. The dialog has two tabs: "vs Saved" loads an entry from your library to compare against the current calc; "vs What-if" lets you tweak 6 variables (quantity, markup, tax, fee, filament/kg, failure %) without touching the main calculation.

The footer shows the delta in unit cost, final price and net profit. Green = better for you; orange = worse.

Install as app + offline mode

On desktop Chrome, an install icon shows up in the address bar. On Android, menu (3 dots) → "Install PrintCalc". The app lands on the home screen and opens in standalone mode (no browser bar).

After the first visit, every asset is cached by the service worker. You can use PrintCalc offline — handy at fairs, job sites or anywhere with shaky internet.

Language and currency

Dropdowns at the top of the site switch language (PT-BR / EN / ES) and currency (BRL / USD / EUR). Language only changes the UI; currency changes the symbol but does NOT convert the values — you'd re-enter prices in the new currency.

First visit: we read the browser's language and adjust automatically. Override anytime; the preference is stored in localStorage.

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