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Book Pricing Engine

The Book Pricing Engine (BPE) is the economic core of the PrintPrice platform.

Its role is to transform a structured print specification into a deterministic production cost estimate based on real manufacturing parameters.

The BPE is not a generic calculator.
It is a production-aware pricing system designed specifically for book and print manufacturing workflows.

Purpose​

The BPE calculates the estimated cost of producing a print job using a combination of:

  • paper properties
  • page count
  • trim size
  • binding type
  • color configuration
  • print run
  • printer-specific production profiles

It provides the financial foundation for:

  • quote generation
  • print-house comparison
  • routing optimization
  • production planning

Core Inputs​

The BPE consumes a normalized production specification.

Typical fields include:

  • trim width and height
  • interior page count
  • cover page count
  • binding method
  • interior paper type
  • interior paper grammage
  • cover paper type
  • cover paper grammage
  • endpapers
  • print run
  • country / destination

These values may originate from:

  • the user interface
  • the AI assistant
  • imported payloads
  • BPE smoke-test tools

Core Calculations​

The BPE calculates multiple components of production cost.

Paper Cost​

Determines paper consumption based on:

  • trim format
  • page count
  • paper selection
  • waste factors
  • printer configuration

Printing Cost​

Calculates print cost based on:

  • black and white vs color
  • interior printing method
  • cover printing method
  • machine profile
  • setup costs

Binding Cost​

Calculates the finishing and binding cost for:

  • perfect binding
  • saddle stitching
  • hardcover case binding
  • sewn binding

Additional Components​

Supports optional cost elements such as:

  • endpapers
  • varnish
  • special finishing
  • extra setup
  • fixed or variable surcharges

Canonical Data Model​

The internal normalized output of the BPE should align with the platform-wide production specification model.

Example:

{
  "bindingType": "perfect",
  "trimWidthMm": 148,
  "trimHeightMm": 210,
  "pageCount": 320,
  "paperType": "uncoated",
  "paperGsm": 90,
  "hasEndpapers": false,
  "printRun": 2000
}