Product Giveaway & Overfill Cost Calculator

Every package filled above its declared weight gives product away, and at line rates a few grams becomes tonnes. This calculator turns your target weight, average actual fill, packages per minute, and running hours into giveaway per package, per hour, per day, and per year, and, with a product cost, into dollars. Enter the tighter overfill a checkweigher-to-filler feedback loop holds and it shows the savings and the payback on the system.

Worked example: a 200 g package running 3 g over at 100 packages per minute, 16 hours a day, 250 days a year fills 24 million packages and gives away 72,000 kg, about 158,700 lb. At $1.50 per lb that is $238,000 a year. Hold the overfill to 1 g with feedback control and the giveaway drops to 24,000 kg, saving roughly $159,000 a year, so a $60,000 checkweigher installation pays back in about four and a half months.

VeriPak watches every checkweigher on the line in real time and can trim the filler target automatically, which is where the number this calculator produces turns into margin.

How it works
  • Giveaway per package = average actual fill − declared weight; giveaway percentage = that ÷ declared weight.
  • Packages per year = packages/min × 60 × production hours/day × production days/year; giveaway per year = per package × packages per year.
  • Cost per year = giveaway (lb) × product cost per lb; savings = the difference against the overfill a feedback loop holds; payback (months) = system cost ÷ annual savings × 12.
  • Worked example: 200 g target, 203 g actual, 100 pkg/min, 16 h, 250 d, $1.50/lb → 158,700 lb and $238,000 a year; at 1 g overfill, $159,000 saved.

Free, no login. Your inputs are saved in this browser. Values are engineering references — verify against manufacturer data and applicable codes before a final design.

Built by the engineers behind VeriPak packaging SCADA.

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Questions engineers ask

What is product giveaway?
The product a package contains above its declared weight. Fillers run above target to avoid underfills, and every gram of that margin is product sold at zero price. Giveaway is measured by a checkweigher as the average overfill across the run.
How much does 1 gram of overfill cost?
At 100 packages per minute, 16 hours a day and 250 days a year, one gram per package is 24 tonnes a year. Multiply by your product cost per kilogram or pound; at $3.30 per kg that is about $79,000 a year for a single gram.
How does a checkweigher reduce giveaway?
A checkweigher feeding weights back to the filler lets the target sit just above the legal minimum instead of far above it, typically holding overfill at one to two grams. The calculator compares your current overfill with that controlled figure to show the savings and payback.
What if the average fill is below the declared weight?
That is underfill, a compliance problem under weights-and-measures rules rather than giveaway. The calculator flags a negative overfill; the fix is a higher target and a checkweigher rejecting the light packages.

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