Short answer
Handling is charged once per order, not once per part, so putting four items in one order is meaningfully cheaper than four separate orders. Above roughly ten of the same part, ask for a batch price rather than using the instant tool.
What the handling fee actually covers
Every order carries a fixed handling fee alongside the per-part cost. It pays for the work that happens once regardless of how many parts are involved: opening and checking files, setting up the plate, inspecting the finished parts, finding a box, packing, labelling and posting.
Because it is charged per order, four separate orders pay it four times. The same four items in a single order pay it once, and the parts themselves cost the same either way. On a typical small order that is a real saving for zero effort.
Multiples of the same part are cheaper per unit too
Printing five copies of a part at once is not five times the cost of one. The material scales, but the plate is set up once, the machine warms up once, and the parts are inspected and packed together. Printing them side by side also improves quality on tall thin parts, because each layer has longer to cool before the nozzle returns.
The instant tool applies this partially — increase the quantity on a file rather than uploading the same file several times, and you will see the difference.
Where the instant tool stops being the right route
The calculator is built for one to roughly ten parts. Above that, it keeps pricing each unit as though it were being made on its own, and the number gets pessimistic. A run of fifty parts is a different job: parts are nested to fill each plate, printing runs continuously, and handling is spread across the whole batch.
Send the file and quantity through the contact page and you will get a proper batch price, which will be lower than the tool suggests. That is worth doing from about ten upwards.
Spares are cheap while the plate is set up
If a part is going somewhere awkward to reach, or you have broken one already, add a second to the order. The marginal cost of the second copy is small compared with the cost of ordering it separately in six months, and the postage is free because it travels in the same box.
Different files, one order
The parts in an order do not have to be related. Upload the bracket, the clip and the enclosure together, set the quantity and colour on each, and it is one handling fee and one parcel. There is no requirement that a batch be identical.
When to stop printing and start moulding
Printing has no tooling cost, which is why it wins at low quantities. Injection moulding has a large tooling cost and a very low per-part cost, which is why it wins at high ones. The crossover for a small plastic part usually sits somewhere in the high hundreds — earlier for simple shapes, later for complex ones.
If you are consistently ordering hundreds, that is worth a conversation. We would rather tell you that a mould is now the cheaper answer than keep taking runs you have outgrown.
What this means when you order
The quote tool takes as many files as you like in one go, each with its own quantity and colour. For quantities above about ten, send the file through the contact page instead and we will price the run.
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