Start with one complete plate
Slice the same product in each configuration. Record the number of saleable parts, whole-plate print time and material use for that plate. Use the same quality requirements and include the supports you actually intend to print. A faster draft preset and a slower finished-product preset answer different questions.
Keep your two slicer outputs separate. Do not estimate multicolor time by adding an arbitrary percentage to a single-color print. Color changes, purge settings and layer layout can change both time and waste.
Choose one material input method
If your slicer gives a complete filament total that already includes the part, supports and waste, choose “Total includes purge.” Enter that total in All material. The separate purge box becomes inactive.
If you have separate values, choose “Parts + separate purge.” Put part and support material in one box and all additional flushed material and tower material in the other. Do not add a tower twice because it appears in two different summary screens. If a slicer reports volume instead of grams, convert using the actual material density before entering a weight.
Compare cost per good part
Material is only one line of the result. Add electricity, machine wear, setup time, finishing, packaging and expected failures. Divide the total by the successful part count. A plate with ten parts should not be compared with a five-part plate using total cost alone.
Prusa documents that its smart wipe tower is shared by the objects on a plate and is influenced by color changes. That supports checking a multi-copy batch in the slicer; it does not establish a universal saving for every printer or model.
Decide whether a color premium is enough
Take the extra modeled cost per part into the pricing calculator. If the sales channel charges a percentage fee and you want to preserve a margin, the required increase in selling price is larger than the increase in production cost. Demand is a separate test: a customer may not pay that premium.
Use an average filament price for this version of the calculator. If the colors have materially different costs, calculate a weighted price from their actual weights first. No model files are uploaded here, and the example inputs are hypothetical rather than measured production data.