Mpix (my primary supplier) charges $1.99 for a color corrected 8x10. Two bucks on Kodak Endura paper. They charge $4.95 for USPS Priority shipping. I typically get 5-10 prints at a time to bundle up on shipping.
Assuming $2.50 per print, with shipping, that's 750 prints from a Epson 3800...not including supplies & materials. Add those in and I'll bet you have to hit 1000 prints before starting to see a return on the printer.
Typical lifecycle of computer equipment is three years before replacement in a production environment. That's 333 prints per year that have to be done before the cost advantage of in-house printing starts becoming obvious.
And that's BEFORE you add in your time.
I'll stick with the labs.
