Lots of numbers are bandied about. A number of people I spoke with gave 'guestimates' about what the difference in costs between printing diazo and printing digital might be. These ranged from more than five cents on the high end down to .5 cents per square foot. As you can see in the chart, there are numerous variables in the equation. Kirk Duncan of Duncan Parnell in Charleston, SC also points out that digital costs can vary dramatically depending on the number of prints you crank out.
Labor costs are an interesting part of the equation.
Some reprographers are paying the digital operators at a higher rate. At the same time, one operator can easily run two machines and sometimes more, so if your volume is great enough, the labor cost may actually be less to print digital files. Those printing digitally probably have additional technical costs which may not be included in this analysis, such as additional computing power and capabilities for Internet file transfer. Finding the balance between value added services which you provide free to your customers versus those you can charge for is a topic for another day, but certainly to be considered in this analysis if you have additional costs to support your digital printing. Additional diazo costs you might consider include maintaining a cold room to store the paper, as well as the shelf life of the paper.