Feasibility Study for a Printing Press or Print Center in Egypt

How a print shop makes money, and where it loses it

A small print shop sells the hours of its machines: a digital press for short, urgent jobs, an offset press for large quantities, and around them finishing machines for cutting, folding and die-cutting. The machines are priced in dollars or euros and paid for before the first job, paper is bought in cash, and companies, your biggest customers, pay after 60 days or more.

So a printing press feasibility study does not start from the price of a job. It starts from four figures: how many of its available hours each machine actually runs; what a job costs in paper, "clicks" (the charge the digital press dealer bills per printed side, covering toner and service), plates and make-ready waste; at what quantity offset becomes cheaper than digital; and how much cash the machine instalment and corporate invoices lock up together. The real risk is an imported machine that runs fewer hours than its instalment needs.

Notifying the press, and what depends on your activity

Law No. 20 of 1936 on printed matter requires in Article 2 every printer, before opening a press, to give written notice to the governorate or directorate where the press is located, stating his name, nationality and residence and the press's address and name, and to give fresh notice within eight days of any change¹. Article 6 exempts printed matter of a private or commercial nature from Articles 4 and 5, which require the printer's name on the item and the deposit of copies¹. Where Article 2 is breached, the judge may order the press closed¹. Law No. 199 of 1983 changed only Articles 9 and 30², and the Press and Media Regulation Law No. 180 of 2018 does not list it among the laws it repealed³. Because the text is old, ask the governorate what procedure applies today.

For box and packaging printing on production lines, or operating in an industrial zone, the licence you need depends on the activity and location and must be confirmed in writing with the competent authority before you sign for the premises. Watch your customers' rights too: in June 2025 the intellectual property police arrested the manager of an unlicensed press in Cairo with more than 12,000 commercial printed items produced without written authorisation from the rights holders⁴. Keep a written authorisation from each customer for the brand you print. Maher Consulting Firm can handle the company formation.

Illustrative example: a digital press and a small offset press

All figures below are assumptions to explain the method, except the wage, social insurance, exchange rate and interest rate cited with their sources, and all are before VAT:

• Machines: an SRA3 digital production press at USD 28,000, a used four-colour 52 cm offset press at USD 35,000, and finishing (guillotine, folder, die-cutter) at USD 10,000, USD 73,000 in total. The Central Bank of Egypt dollar rate was about EGP 52.74 to sell on 13 October 2026⁵; we assume 52.75 and add 15% for shipping, customs and installation: EGP 4,428,362.50.
• Local costs: three-phase power, air conditioning and an air compressor 350,000; prepress computers and software 120,000; rent deposit 105,000; incorporation 50,000; paper stock 250,000. Total start-up EGP 5,303,362.50.
• Materials: coated paper at EGP 55 a kilo, adhesive stock at EGP 4.50 an SRA3 sheet, a click at EGP 2.50 per colour SRA3 side (check whether the dealer's contract counts one click or two), a plate at EGP 250, ink at EGP 0.10 a sheet, electricity at EGP 15 per running hour for the digital press and 40 for offset, and 2% of the price for reprinting errors at your own cost.
• Speed: the digital press prints 1,500 sides an hour with 0.3 hours of set-up per job; the offset press runs 4,000 sheets an hour with 0.75 hours and 75 waste sheets of make-ready per side.
• Fixed costs: rent 35,000; salaries of 77,000 for eight staff, the lowest at EGP 8,000, above the private-sector minimum wage of EGP 7,000 from 1 March 2025⁶; the employer's 18.75% social-insurance share⁷, 14,437.50; offset maintenance 8,000; fixed electricity 6,000; accountant 3,000; marketing 8,000; delivery 6,000; miscellaneous 5,000. Total EGP 162,437.50 a month, with no salary for the owner.

The cost of three typical jobs

Clicks alone are 78% of the digital brochure's cost, and paper is 70% of the offset job's. The labels are printed 16 to a sheet and then die-cut, and the die is paid once per design, so a repeat order with the same artwork earns EGP 1,200 more. If your labels are for brand owners, read a contract manufacturing feasibility study to understand their minimum orders.

Digital or offset? Quantity decides

The digital cost per copy is almost flat because a click is paid on every side, while offset pays for plates and make-ready once and then gets cheaper with quantity. In the example the two machines break even at about 1,000 copies; at 2,000 offset is about a third cheaper, and above roughly 3,000 it is faster as well.

Running hours: the number that sets the price of a job

Each machine has 208 hours a month (26 days of 8 hours), and we call the share of hours it actually prints, make-ready included, its utilisation. With a mix of 6 brochure jobs to every 4 label jobs on the digital press, it contributes EGP 1,969.05 an hour and the offset press 1,146.67, so break-even = 162,437.50 ÷ (208 × 3,115.72) = 25.1%, about 52 hours per machine a month. Add the machine instalment (EGP 101,060.92) and it rises to 40.7%, about 85 hours. The method is explained in break-even and working capital.

At 65% the shop runs about 169 digital jobs and 33 offset jobs a month. Fixed costs and the instalment are spread over the hours actually worked, so the full cost of a job changes:

Each machine hour carries EGP 974.48 of fixed costs and instalment at 65%, and 1,583.53 at 40%. That is why the large offset job loses EGP 1,812.95 at 40% even though its contribution is positive. Price by the machine hour at the utilisation you really expect, not as a mark-up on materials, as explained in how to price your product.

Cash: a machine loan or buying outright?

Utilisation rises from 15% in month one to 65% in month six. Companies are 70% of sales and pay after 60 days, individuals 30% in cash, and materials are paid in the month used. We compare buying outright with a loan covering 70% of the machines (EGP 3,099,853.75) over 48 months at 24% a year on a reducing balance, above the 20% overnight lending rate the Central Bank of Egypt kept on 24 September 2026⁸:

(Fixed costs of EGP 162,437.50 are paid every month and are not shown in the table.)

Steady monthly operating profit is EGP 258,807, leaving 157,746 after the instalment. The loan cuts what you pay upfront to EGP 2,203,509 and the deepest cash need to 4,016,168 instead of 6,509,656, but it costs EGP 1,751,071 in interest. In both cases the deepest point comes in month six, because unpaid corporate invoices reach EGP 1,935,954 at steady utilisation, and the balance turns positive in month 32 when buying outright and month 33 with the loan. Read a feasibility study for a bank loan before you apply for machine finance.

What if the machines run 40%, or paper or the dollar gets dearer?

On 23 August 2026 the head of the paper division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce said that the Edfu and Qous paper companies had cut their prices by about EGP 4,000 a tonne from 1 July, that some private mills charge between 38,000 and 41,000 a tonne, and that world prices had fallen 6% to 7% since June⁹. The statement did not name the paper grade, so for cut coated paper we assume EGP 55 a kilo, above that range. The trend is down for now, but a one-year corporate contract needs testing against a rise. The same example with one assumption changed at a time (the last row combines two):

• Utilisation of 40% covers fixed costs but not the instalment, so the balance with the loan keeps falling until the last instalment in month 48: the deepest need comes at the end of the loan, and buying outright does not pay back before month 71.
• Paper +20% takes EGP 85,768 off monthly profit, or 33%. To recover it you would need to raise prices 2.5% on the digital brochure, 6% on labels and 10.1% on the offset job, so write a clause into corporate contracts that links the price to the paper price.
• A dollar 10% dearer before the letter of credit is opened adds EGP 442,836 to the machines and 10,106 to the instalment. Fix the price in pounds or secure the currency before you sign, if you can.
• Payment after 90 days does not change profit, but it deepens the cash need by EGP 810,230. The difference between profit and cash is explained in cash flow for small businesses.

Taxes on the machine and on your invoice

• VAT on the machine: the rate on machinery and equipment used to produce goods or provide a service is 5%, except buses and passenger cars, and the law counts it as input tax, deducted from the VAT due on your sales up to the amount due, with any balance carried forward¹⁰. In the example that is about EGP 221,418, paid in cash at customs release and not included in the start-up figures. Article 28 bis suspends the tax for a year on machines of factories and production units used in industrial production, and exempts them once that use is proven¹⁰; do not count on it until your accountant confirms it applies to your press.
• VAT on your sales: the general rate is 14% from the 2017/2018 fiscal year, with registration within 30 days of reaching the threshold¹⁰, which is EGP 500,000¹¹. In the example cumulative sales pass it in month two (EGP 850,969), so the digital brochure becomes EGP 5,700 including VAT.
• E-invoicing: Decision 323 of 2022 of the head of the Egyptian Tax Authority required all registered taxpayers not covered by an earlier phase to issue electronic invoices from 15 December 2022¹², so budget for an e-invoicing system from day one.
• Withholding tax: according to PwC, local payments above EGP 300 are subject to 3% withholding for services and 1% for contracting and supplying, as an advance payment of tax¹³. On the corporate sales in the example that is EGP 9,680 or 29,039 a month, so ask your accountant which rate applies to printing.

Common mistakes in a printing press feasibility study

1. Basing revenue on the machine's rated capacity rather than realistic running hours; in the example fixed costs and the instalment together need 40.7% utilisation.
2. Pricing as a mark-up on materials, so long offset jobs lose money when hours fall.
3. Printing a run on the wrong machine: 5,000 brochures cost EGP 15,990 in materials digitally against 6,868 on offset.
4. Converting the machine price at today's exchange rate and forgetting shipping, customs, installation and three-phase power.
5. A fixed price on an annual contract with no clause for paper price changes.
6. Capital that covers the machines only, not two months of corporate invoices before they are paid.

Frequently asked questions about a printing press feasibility study

Sources

1. Manshurat (Egyptian Gazette copy). الوقائع المصرية، العدد 23: مرسوم بقانون رقم 20 لسنة 1936 بشأن المطبوعات (in Arabic) (1936-03-02); Lawyer Egypt. قانون رقم 20 لسنة 1936 بشأن المطبوعات (in Arabic) (2021-05-11) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
2. Manshurat (Official Gazette copy). الجريدة الرسمية، العدد 51: قانون رقم 199 لسنة 1983 بتعديل بعض أحكام المرسوم بقانون رقم 20 لسنة 1936 بشأن المطبوعات (in Arabic) (1983-12-22). Checked 22 October 2026.
3. Manshurat (Official Gazette copy). الجريدة الرسمية، العدد 34 مكرر (هـ): قانون رقم 180 لسنة 2018 بإصدار قانون تنظيم الصحافة والإعلام والمجلس الأعلى لتنظيم الإعلام (in Arabic) (2018-08-27). Checked 22 October 2026.
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5. Banker News. سعر الدولار مقابل الجنيه اليوم.. أين تجد أعلى سعر للشراء وأقل سعر للبيع؟ (in Arabic) (2026-10-13) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
6. Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. الاجتماع الأول للمجلس القومي للأجور: رفع الحد الأدنى لأجور القطاع الخاص إلى 7000 جنيه (in Arabic) (2025-02-09). Checked 22 October 2026.
7. Andersen Egypt. Social insurance in Egypt (contribution rates under Law 148/2019) (2026-06-30) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
8. Central Bank of Egypt. MPC Press Release 24 September 2026: MPC decides to keep key policy rates unchanged (2026-09-24). Checked 22 October 2026.
9. Al-Mal News. رئيس شعبة الورق: انخفاض الأسعار في السوقين المحلية والعالمية (in Arabic) (2026-08-23) — secondary source; Banker News. «مفاجأة قبل الدراسة».. تراجع أسعار الورق قد يخفف تكلفة الكتب والكراسات (in Arabic) (2026-08-23) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.
10. Financial Regulatory Authority. قانون الضريبة على القيمة المضافة رقم 67 لسنة 2016 وفقًا لآخر تعديل (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
11. Egyptian Tax Authority. ما هو حد التسجيل الإلزامي لضريبة القيمة المضافة، وما هي الأنشطة المعفاة منها؟ (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
12. Egyptian Tax Authority. قرار رئيس مصلحة الضرائب المصرية رقم 323 لسنة 2022 بإلزام المرحلة الثامنة من منظومة الفاتورة الإلكترونية (in Arabic). Checked 22 October 2026.
13. PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Egypt: Corporate - Withholding taxes (last reviewed 17 August 2026) (2026-08-17) — secondary source. Checked 22 October 2026.