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Why Benchmark Printer Costs?

Most manufacturers don't publish cost per page stats on-line or in printer manuals. We could not find a comprehensive source for printer costs, so we built our own. Why? Because printing supplies and repairs are a major annual cost for most practices. A wrong printer choice can cost your office $2,000 per person per year. On the other hand, a well-chosen printer using generic ink can save you tens of $thousands per year.

 

4 Cost Measurements

Printer costs are usually expressed in cost per page - a number that does not convey the true cost of printing. We calculated three additional measurements: cost per person year, cost per case, and cost per ream. We use cost/person/year as the default statistic in this web site.

 

Key Cost Variables

Printer efficiency depends on two variables; printer design and consumables cost. Some printers flat out use less ink than others. Some printers use more expensive consumables than others. We always recommend using generics because they save as much as 70%. Some printers have no generic options: if you're buying new printers, make sure generic products are available for the model you choose.

 

Costs Vary Dramatically

We calculated annual costs per page, ream, case and person for 150 currently available printers based on 10,000 sheets per person/year (44 pages per day incluuding invoices, orders, documents others print for you, etc. Cost per case numbers provide an easy way to check your paper consumption against your purchases. The charts below quickly demonstrate the high cost of color output and the huge savings offered by using generic or remanufactured consumables.