Inkjet Printer Cost Per Page

If you are the kind of person who values efficiency and economy of resources, then you'll know the importance of calculating inkjet printer cost per page. We spend a lot of money periodically for purchasing paper and printer cartridges. As stacks of printed paper keep on mounting, we fail to justify the rising printing cost. Many people then realize later that they should have considered the economics of printing cost, when buying a printer. Here I'll present an estimate of the best inkjet paper cost per page, that will help you make up your mind regarding which printer will be the best for your long term use.

The initial investment in terms of printer cost that you put in is far less compared to the money you may spend later in buying paper and cartridges or toners. That's why it is important that you know what your printer usage rate is before you buy.

How is the Cost Per Page Calculated?

Every manufacturer has a different technique of calculating the printing efficiency and economy. Just like mileage calculation is important for cars, narrowing down to cost per printed page is important before you decide to choose one.

Most manufacturers provide an estimate of the number of pages that can be printed by a single fully loaded inkjet cartridge. The calculation is quite simple. Cost per page for a color inkjet printer will obviously be greater than plain black color printing cost. Still another estimate will be required for photo printing as it takes a big toll on the cartridges.

To make an estimate, a printer is loaded with a fresh cartridge and loaded with lots of paper. It is given a long printing assignment that will take up a moderate usage of ink per page. Then simply the number of pages for which the cartridge lasts, is counted. Then the printer cartridge cost is divided by number of printed papers. The value that you get after division is divided again by 10, considering that ink coverage is only around 5%. The final value is the cost per page.

Cost Analysis

Now that you know how the calculation is done, let me present the actual numbers for your consideration. There are three different estimates for only black, color and photo printing. Here is an inkjet paper cost per page comparison.

Surveys reveal, that the inkjet paper cost per page estimate for black ink ranges from $0.04 to $0.1 for standard size paper. If you consider color printing, the average printing cost per page ranges from $0.08 to $0.3. For A4 size photo printing, $1.07 to $1.88, is the range of printing cost per page. The best inkjet paper cost estimate is of course for the black ink.

The laser printer is more economical. There are lots of factors to consider when buying a printer. Make a comparison between laser and inkjet printers, in context of your requirements, to decide which would be the most economical choice for you.

The general rule to be followed is that if you print voluminously, in terms of economy, laser printers are a better choice. However, if your printing volume is substantially low, inkjet printers are the right and most economical choice.