How Much Do Printer Cartridges Cost

How Much Does A Piece Of Paper Cost

Dont waste paper! It doesnt grow on trees! Oh, wait…it kind of does.

But that doesnt mean its inexpensive. A standard cost of printing paper is between half-a-cent per sheet to two-cents per sheet, depending on weight and paper quality. Premium and specialty paper, however, can cost 10-cents per sheet or higher.

We love Mother Earth, but some recycled printer paper is garbage. This is especially true if youre using an inkjet printer. Paper made for inkjet printers is designed to capture and hold the droplets of ink until they dry. Cheap paper allows ink to run, and the colors bleed into each other. Sure, you saved a penny, but your prints look like they fell in a puddle, and got run over by a big truck!

Heres the formula to determine your paper cost per sheet.

Cost per ream / number of sheets = cost per sheet

A ream of 20lb-stock printer paper costs an average of $5. This factors out to a cost of 1-cent per sheet.

You can bring the cost down by buying in bulk, but dont try to save a buck by purchasing a lower grade of paper. Paper with a low printing papers price can deliver cheap results. Remember the puddle and the big truck!

In order to accurately calculate print costs, you must factor in printing paper cost as well as the cost of the toner or ink you consume.

How Many Pages Do You Print

While all printer specs look similar for image quality, there is a huge difference in operating cost when comparing high-end production devices with units designed for small to medium business use. Most devices today operate affordably with ink technology. The advancement in color ink technology makes it possible to produce water-resistant prints onto durable print media. The prints are great for outdoor use and hold up to the rigors of construction sites and manufacturing environments. An experienced reseller helps you calculate the operating cost of each device and provides a side-by-side comparison based on your estimated use. As an added convenience, many devices are also available with 2-rolls of paper online for easy printing onto different sizes or types of media.

Compared With Epson 822xl

Even if a new Canon TS3520 printer is pretty cheap, the monthly cost of Canon ink cartridges is more than your current monthly cost for Epson 822XL .

Considering all the numbers so far, is it worth buying a new Canon PIXMA TS3520 printer than get new Epson 822XLs for your old printer? No, it is not worth getting a new printer it would be cheaper to replace your current Epson 822XL ink cartridges.

Lets try a different printer, shall we? With an HP printer this time.

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Reasons Printer Ink Is So Expensive

1. Printers are sold cheaply. The business model of many printer companies is to sell printers at a low cost, and then, with a captive customer, sell the compatible ink cartridge at a high profit margin. The printer acts almost as a loss leader for the profitable aspect of business selling ink and refills.

When a customer is buying a printer, the most visible cost is the cost of the printer. If you see one printer for $50, this will be much more attractive than a printer for $200. Many first time consumers may only give a small attention to the cost of printer ink and they may not calculate how much ink they will buy over a lifetime. Therefore, companies who sell cheap printers are likely to sell more printers and get these customers and captive market for buying compatible cartridges. Even if a customer later regrets the price of ink cartridges, he is unlikely to buy a new printer just because the ink is so expensive.

3. Vertical Restraints Big printing companies like Hewlett Packard, allegedly, have been trying to prevent other 3rd party firms from selling compatible ink. This is essential to maintain their monopoly power. To prevent other firms selling ink cheaply big printer firms can use:

• Technology electronic chips with key codes make it difficult for other firms to provide replacements.
• Deals with big shops. It has been alleged that big printer companies have sought to limit the sale of compatible cartridges by retailers.

Cartridge Price: The High Cost Of Replacement Cartridges

This is a no-brainer. Cartridge price is the cartridge price. Its the amount of money you pay to buy your printer cartridge. As simple as that.

What is not simple though is the price of a printer cartridge. Replacement cartridges are expensive!

It doesnt matter if youre using ink or toner replacing the cartridges in your printer is the most expensive part of owning a printer.

Cartridge prices vary greatly depending on the printer brand and model, but the same formula for determining printing costs applies.

Cartridge price / Page yield + Paper cost = Cost Per Page

Learn it. Live it. Love it.

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Printers For Sale In Northern And Central California

Now that you understand the difference between toner and ink, its time to choose a printer. WiZiX Technology Group is a locally owned printer dealer in Northern and Central California. We sell and lease multifunction printers at affordable prices. You can even save time ordering toner and ink for your business with our easy ship service. Call 1-866-846-1411 to discuss options and get a free quote today.

Images used under creative commons license commercial use. Photo by Dario Seretin on Unsplash

The Engineering Is Complicated

The oldest ink drawing in the world was created 73,000 years ago, according to archaeologists. The ink used in early printers occupied the far opposite end of the longevity spectrum. Scott Williams, a chemistry professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, says that early printer inks were essentially a mix of food dye and water that would fade in just a few months.

“Companies like Epson, HP, Canon, they all had to do research in translating a dye to a pigment composition to be able to get the photographic quality everybody wanted,” he says, while also producing prints that would last.

Today’s inkjets have a tough job: firing thousands of drops of ink per second, representing four different colors, with tremendous accuracy. And it needs to be quick-drying and water- and smear-resistant, and avoid making the page curl upwhile also preventing the tiny jets from clogging.

“Ink companies spend a lot of time to get the right blend of pigment, dye, and vehicle to be able to have a very stable small droplet for high-resolution printing,” Williams says.

All of that research and development, of course, costs a lot of moneyand that’s where the price comes in.

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Consider Your Printing Needs

Dont just run out and buy OEM replacement cartridges if you dont need to. If the bulk of your print volume consists of black text documents, cut corners on how much you consume and save some money.

Change your settings to grayscale. Save the set of expensive OEM cartridges for when youre printing family photos on glossy paper and use cheap cartridges the rest of the time.

It is actually far better to think ahead a bit in terms of what your future needs may be. Running out to a retail store for replacement cartridges is the last course of action you want to take.

Plan ahead on what you buy and youll save on unexpected costs.

Geographic Location Plays A Role

The price of a tattoo depends on the location of the tattoo parlor. If the parlor is located in a small town, the price is bound to be far less than if it is located in a big city that is flourishing. This is likely due to the number of walk-ins that arrive during the course of the day. Within the town or city, though, prices should be very similar. However, due to competition, some may charge less to attract more customers. Prices may also vary from state to state. For example, states with large populations, such as New York and California, tend to have higher price tags than others like Alabama, Maine, or Nebraska. The difference in price will likely be far greater than expected. It could be an extra few hundred dollars to get the same tattoo done in New York or California, in comparison to other states. Another factor that is sometimes involved is if a certain location is known as a popular place to go on vacation. It could lead to a consumer bragging about getting their ink done in Los Angeles, for example.

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Why Is Printer Ink More Expensive Than A Printer

For the majority of consumer printers, their cost of manufacturing is astonishingly higher than their retail price. You can purchase, for instance, an HP Envy 4520 all-in-one printer that costs roughly $120 to build at just 70$ from a retail store. It may not make sense at first glance as it would appear that manufacturers are at a loss, but its a smart money-making strategy.

Printer companies are deliberately putting a lower price on their goods because it ultimately gives them better returns. They follow a classic business model employed by Razor companies where they sell their products at a low price to help drive the sales of its accessories, where the real profit is generated.

In this case, the product is the printer, and its accessories are the ink cartridges. So its really important that you consider finding a printer with the cheapest ink if you want to lower your printing costs and save money in return.

HP 63 Ink XL Combo – Black & Color

HP 63 Ink XL Combo – Black

Is 3d Printer Filament Expensive

Additionally, the materials you need for 3D printing are relatively inexpensive, with plastic filament costing around $20 for one kilogram. It is possible to purchase 3D printing items for several times as much as buying them in person. nozzles, belts, and PTFE tubing are also consumables, but they are relatively inexpensive.

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Cost Of Printing Canon Pro

How much does it cost to print with a Canon PRO-1000?

This report is the from a series covering the costs of desktop inkjet printing. Read the Summary Page.

This report addresses concerns and arguments about the true cost of ink in desktop photo printing. Using the Canon PRO-1000, we conducted a series of print tests to determine how much ink is used in a full coverage 8″x10″ print. From that figure, we extrapolated ink usage per square inch. The objective is to share a realistic cost-per-print-vision with inkjet users. The choice to pursue photo inkjet printing is in the end an individual economic choice.

This chart shows the cost of ink used in making prints:

Your Printer Is Freereplacement Ink Is So Expensive

This is the basic business paradigm that all printer companies operate under.

HP, Brother, Epson, Canon, and the other big printer manufacturers make very little money in retail sales. Some even take a loss.

But…printer ink so expensive!

Companies know theyll make it up in replacement supplies over the life of your printer.

Often, printers sell at or below cost, drawing a consumer in with tantalizing low prices. These manufacturers know the overwhelming majority of consumers will stick with genuine OEM rather than opting for less reliable remanufactured and compatible third-party products.

This is sometimes referred to as the razor blade business model.

A razor is cheap because the manufacturer makes money retailing replacement razor blades to consumers. Hair keeps growing and razors will always be in demand.

The same is true of printing supplies.

A genuine HP cartridge snuggles up alongside a non-OEM ink cartridge inside an HP Envy printer.

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Why Are Ink Cartridges So Expensive

Heres a quick and simple answer: Ink cartridges are expensive so companies can make a profit.

Most printers are sold at a loss. A manufacturer makes money NOT by selling consumers an inkjet or laser printer, but .

The manufacturer controls the technology and the prices.

How much does printer ink really cost?

Back in 2013, Consumer Reports determined the ink inside inkjet cartridges cost between $13 to $75 per ounce!* Thats more expensive than the worlds finest perfumes!

Now, how much is printer ink per gallon?

Let’s do quick math.

There are 128 ounces in one US liquid gallon:

128* =

So, the printer ink price per gallon is between $1,664 – $9,600.

And $20 billion is consumed around the globe every year!

Not 1 billion dollars…20 billion dollars!

Is printer ink overpriced?

Maybe.

The quick and simple answer is rarely the complete answer. There are many reasons why ink cartridges are not cheaper.

Lets look at the top seven reasons ink is so expensive.

Time to replace your cartridges? Ink is expensive! Get ready to open up your wallet as well as your printer.

Cheap Printers Expensive Ink

Ink jet printers are often very cheap. Thats because theyre sold at cost, or even at a loss the manufacturer either makes no profit from the printer itself or loses money.

The manufacturer will make most of its money from the printer cartridges you buy later. Even if the company does make a bit of money from each printer sold, it makes a much larger profit margin on ink. Rather than selling you a printer that may be rather expensive, they want to sell you a cheap printer and make money on an ongoing basis by providing expensive printer ink.

Its been compared to the razor model sell a razor cheaply and mark up the razor blades. Rather than making a one-time profit on the razor, youll make continuing profit as the customer keeps buying razor blade replacements or ink, in this case.

Many printer manufacturers go out of their way to make it difficult for you to use unofficial ink cartridges, building microchips into their official ink cartridges. If you use an unofficial cartridge or refill an official cartridge, the printer may refuse to use it. Lexmark once argued in court that unofficial microchips that enable third-party ink cartridges would violate their copyright and Lexmark has argued that creating an unofficial microchip to bypass this restriction on third-party ink would violate Lexmarks copyright and be illegal under the US DMCA. Luckily, they lost this argument.

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Uses Compatible Or Aftermarket Ink

When shopping for a new printer, double check to make sure there are lower cost compatible ink replacements available for your printer model from a reputable retailer.

Most original brand cartridges are not cheap. Fortunately, today, there are other options available through several retailers. Third-party aftermarket consumables in the form of compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges offer customers a way to cut their print costs by as much as 50% or more.

Remanufactured cartridges use recycled component pieces, each individually inspected and refilled using the same quality controls as brand name manufacturers. Compatible cartridges are built from scratch to adhere to these same standards, but for a whole lot less.

Problems For Printer Companies

• If the price of ink is very high, then it creates an incentive for consumers and other firms to find ways around it. For example, in Oxford there is a specialist shop in refilling cartridges. It doesnt worry if cartridges require a compatible micro-chip. The firm gets around it by injecting ink into the old cartridge with a syringe. The higher the profit margin the greater the incentive to get around the restraint.
• Excessively high prices can create negative brand loyalty. More consumers are increasingly aware of the issue and will try to avoid those companies they feel are trying to rip them off. My experience with Hewlett Packard a few years ago, meant next time I needed a printer I made sure not to buy one of them.
• Internet shopping has made it easier to compare the prices of cartridges and compatibles are now easier to buy. The old vertical restraints and lack of opportunities to buy compatible cartridges are not the same.

Tips for Buying Printers

A few years ago I bought a Hewlett Packard printer for £50. I then realised a set of ink cartridges was over £20. Furthermore, they made the cartridges very small, which needed frequent replacing. And, there was no option to buy alternative cartridges.

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Case #: A New Hp Officejet Pro 9015

Is it cheaper to buy a new HP OfficeJet 9015 than replace your Epson 822XL cartridges? Lets dig in.

The HP OfficeJet 9015 printer uses four HP 962 ink cartridges, a black, cyan, magenta, and yellowjust like your good ol Epson WF-3820. HP 962 cartridges also come in high yield XL sizes. Here are the page yields and cost of each HP 962XL cartridge.

Just by looking at the page yields of HP 962XL high yield cartridges, you know this is already going to be interesting.

If your monthly print volume is 1,000 pages, you wouldnt even need to replace ink cartridges before a month is over. You probably would need to replace cartridges in another two weeks or so. With a print volume of 1,000 pages a month, a set of HP 962XL cartridges will last you about 6 weeks.

In 3 months , you would have used 2 sets of HP 962XLs. Since a set of HP 962XLs costs $154.96, two sets would cost $309.92.

Which Printer Do I Need Inkjet Or Laserjet

The answer depends on what type of printing you do.

Inkjets are better for printing certain high-quality photos and graphics as well as printing on fabrics and transparencies. Commercial inkjet printers are used in product packaging.

But, for the most part, toner based printers can do anything inkjet printers can, and do it cheaper.

Although laser printers can do almost anything that inkjet printers can, the latter performs better when it comes to high-quality photo and graphic printing.

Inkjet printers may be the more popular choice in homes and small offices because of their lower price points. But replacement inkjet cartridges are costly, especially brand name ink cartridges.

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