Printing is one of computing's biggest on-going costs - the price of the printer is just the first in the list on continuing expenses.
Over time, buying the ink or toner and acquiring media (paper, envelopes, transparencies) will very likely make a far bigger impact on your wallet. These costs will vary depending on what you print, how much you print, and what kind of media you use.
Some expenses are unavoidable: Printing an 8x10in photo on premium, glossy paper will never be dirt cheap. Shaving pennies off of other kinds of printing, however, involves just a little thought, effort, and advance planning. Read on for tips on how to choose and use your printer wisely - or perhaps not at all in some cases.
Know before you buy
Saving money on printing starts (ideally) before you buy the printer. Before you begin researching new models, make sure that you'll be getting the best printer for the types of documents you plan to produce. Once you start looking at specific models, make a point of checking the recommended print volume; if you typically print 100 pages a day, for example, don't buy a printer that's rated for 500 pages a month.
How much is that cartridge in the window? Replacement ink or toner cartridge costs represent a major part of your long-term printing expenses. In some cases, replacing the cartridges can cost as much as buying the printer. In general, expect to pay £7 to £20, and £40 or more for a toner cartridge.
But don't judge a cartridge by price alone; its efficiency, or page yield - the number of pages it can print - matters just as much. Of course, that figure will vary depending on how much ink you use on a page, but the industry-standard assumption is five percent coverage per page for each colour. Some companies make yield information available on the web along with other printer specifications; others will provide it if you ask, either by email or phone.
You can use yield information to calculate per-page costs, which can be useful in determining what your printing costs for different printers would look like over time. Laser printer toner cartridges may cost a lot more than ink jet cartridges, but their higher yields make per-page costs lower.
Some printer manufacturers offer multipacks of inks, which can knock a few pounds off the price per cartridge, while some ink jet printers produce superior photo quality by using additional colours beyond the usual cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. But all the colour cartridges may not come with the printer, so you may be better off investing in these cartridges too.
NEXT PAGE: The incredible, shrunken starter cartridge
- Tips and tricks to ensure you don't spend a fortune on ink
- The incredible, shrunken starter cartridge
- Penny-saving printer settings
- Digital photo tips
- Taking a chance on cheap
- Pay it again, Sam: ink costs can dwarf printer prices
- Bulk ink: feed the need, cheaply
Comments
Alan Findlay said: Richard KempsterTell me more about where to get a chip resetter please
Martin said: Another tip with Canon - select greyscale printing on the driver if you are not printing colour I noticed after a spell of printing only regular non-colour text documents that my colour cartridges were nevertheless should that be everthemore depleting Guess what - the printer was purging all five cartridges for every print heedless of the fact that it was a black text document Selecting greyscale seems to have put a stop to it
Martin said: How much ink-jet ink gets purged before and after each print run I have a feeling that one easy way to save half your ink is to get organised so that you print all your documents nose to tail rather than one by one as and when with an ink purge before and after eachHowever I have never seen this issue addressed in an inkjet printer review I have never seen a printer review which actually MEASURES ink consumption under typical usage scenarios - they all just take the lazy route and use the manufacturers data to calculate a cost-per-page Any fool can read the manufacturers web site and we know from the pie-in-the-sky print speeds quoted how truthful they are Lets have some proper value added by the reviews
Gordon said: I use a CISS system on my Epson printer and it only cost me 40 for the 6 cartridge set and 6 X 500cc bottles of ink The system also only took 20 mins to install and doesnt require the lid to be raised all the time Quality is fantastic and the ink heads do not jam
Steve Hamilton said: Thats ok Barb if you have got a HP printerI have a Lexmark so am unable to use this system
Steve Hamilton said: Thats ok Barb if you have got a HP printerI have a Lexmark so am unable to use this system
Richard Kempster said: No mention of Chip-Resetters The inkjet chips are an absolute rip telling you the cartridge is empty when it is at least half full I started resetting the chips a year ago mine cost 5 for an Epson DX4400 and has more than doubled the volume I can produce
David Murphy said: I found that some bulk ink once opened can become infected with mould so I advise that if you take over 6 months to use it up keep it in your freezer or the mould will block your printing heads
Barbara said: I use City Ink Express continuous ink system I do not need to worry about the cost of ink any moreMy HP deskjet 950c prints are fine Cannot fault the system