How To Tell Which Printers Are Cost Effective

Before you purchase your next inkjet or laser printer, you will need to understand the importance of the term "Yield", which we will discuss in a moment. For now, let's take a look at the various elements that go into determining the cost of printing just "One Page".

We can identify two major costs. The first being the cost of the printer and the second being the cost of the ink. An Inkjet printer usually runs anywhere from $50 to $300, while a Laser Jet can cost you $200 up to $6,000 depending on the type (Color vs. Monochrome).

As far as the purchase of ink, generally the cost of ink for an Inkjet printer is cheaper than that of a Laser printer. However, you will need to buy it more often than the laser cartridges you purchase for the laser printer. But does buying an expense printer cost you less in ink or does purchasing a cheaper Inkjet printer mean that it does not matter what the cost of ink is? Can we include a common denominator that will determine just how much your printer is costing you? Or better put, what is the cost of printing just "One Page"?

Well, for one thing, you will need to learn a new term called "Yield". This is defined as dividing the cost of the ink by the number of pages you can print with one cartridge. For example, if it costs you $40 for your ink cartridge and you can print 500 pages, then the yield is 8 cents per page ($40/500=$.08). Compare this with a laser cartridge that costs $150 which produces 10,000 pages per cartridge. The cost of this cartridge is like sticker shock compared to the inkjet printer, right? But this cartridge will only cost you 1.5 cents per page to print. By doing this simple calculation, you can better determine which printer is the most cost effective on a "cost per page" basis.