Investing in a printer involves much more than just the initial purchase. There are all sorts of additional costs and other things to consider, and getting the best value for your money doesn’t always mean opting for the cheapest printer.
One of the key areas to consider is to get a high print volume from each toner in order to save money. You may (or may not) have noticed when purchasing toner that manufacturer’s base the yield on just 5% page coverage, but what does that really mean?
What does 5% page coverage mean?
It is the industry standard used by all cartridge manufacturers to give you a guide to the maximum number of pages an ink or toner cartridge can print. The Office of Fair Trading and ISO introduced this 5% print coverage to make it easier for consumers to compare products.
Remember though, that these figures are the maximum number of pages and likely not the number they will actually achieve. As with other similar manufacturer tests, these are performed in one continuous run and under the manufacturer’s testing conditions. Of course in real-life you are unlikely to print thousands of pages in one go. Normally, the printer would be stopping and starting, and recalibrating accordingly, which in turn uses up some ink.
What does 5% page coverage actually look like?
You might be thinking that doesn’t sound like much at all, and you’d be right. 5% page coverage can look slightly different depending on the font and text size, but it generally amounts to between two and three paragraphs on an A4 piece of paper.
To give you an idea, here is a range of different documents and they’re approximate page coverage to match.
So, what will I really be paying per print?
Of course, everyone’s needs are different. Plus, there are other parts such as drums, fusers, waste toner boxes etc. which will increase this cost over time, as well as the paper itself. But to give you an idea here is an example of what the printing could cost based on a cheap device.
Cost per print depending on page coverage
| Toner Price | 5% coverage | 10% coverage | 30% coverage | 60% coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyan Toner Cartridge (1,000 pages) | £72 | 7.2p | 14.4p | 43.2p | 86.4p |
| Magenta Toner Cartridge (1,000 pages) | £72 | 7.2p | 14.4p | 43.2p | 86.4p |
| Yellow Toner Cartridge (1,000 pages) | £72 | 7.2p | 14.4p | 43.2p | 86.4p |
| Black Toner Cartridge (1,000 pages) | £40 | 4p | 8p | 24p | 48p |
| Full Colour Printing (CMYK) | 25.6p | 51.2p | £1.53 | £3.07 |
That’s 25.6p per print at just 5% page coverage. Let’s face it though, most of us print a lot more than the 5% coverage which would mean per print figures more like this:
51.2p per print at 10% coverage
£1.53 per print at 30% coverage
£3.07 per print at 60% coverage
What’s the overall cost vs the initial cost?
More often than not, the cheaper the printer, the more expensive the ink. So, let’s see how that printer compares to another entry level one with a little more initial outlay.
Cost per print depending on page coverage
| Toner Price | 5% coverage | 10% coverage | 30% coverage | 60% coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyan Toner Cartridge (9,500 pages) | £296 | 3.1p | 6.2p | 18.6p | 37.2p |
| Magenta Toner Cartridge (9,500 pages) | £296 | 3.1p | 6.2p | 18.6p | 37.2p |
| Yellow Toner Cartridge (9,500 pages) | £296 | 3.1p | 6.2p | 18.6p | 37.2p |
| Black Toner Cartridge (12,500 pages) | £214 | 1.7p | 3.4p | 10.2p | 20.4p |
| Full Colour Printing (CMYK) | 11p | 22p | 66p | £1.32 |
The average UK office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of paper a year, that’s 45 sheets per working day. Of course, this number will greatly vary from business to business, but we’ll use this figure to compare the overall cost of these two printers.
| Printer 1 | Printer 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Cost | £226 | £291 |
| Full colour CMYK print at 30% coverage | £1.53 | £0.66 |
| CMYK 30% coverage per employee / month | £1,275 | £550 |
| CMYK 30% coverage per employee / year | £15,300 | £6,600 |
| Additional parts per employee / year | £404 | £167 |
| Cost per employee / year (10,000 pages) | £15,704 | £6,767 |
That’s an annual saving of £8,937 just by spending £70 more on the second printer, based on one employee printing 10,000 pages in a year with 30% page coverage.
So, remember to delve into the world of cost per print to work out the best deal. If you’re serious about cutting your business printing costs, make the right choice, the sensible choice. Get in touch to talk printers and find out how much your business could save.
