Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (
More info?)
Although your basic premise is correct, there are some corrections
required in your descriptions.
Most printers are rated by using a 5% coverage per color, both laser and
inkjet. 5% coverage of a color is a very small amount, but, as long as
it is consistent with both types, the model holds.
You have to be very careful about cartridge yield with color toner
cartridges from laser printers. Many today do not provide full
cartridges sets when you buy the printer, such that a starter cartridge
might have only 1500 copies at 5% coverage, which can then be replaced
by a cartridge that may allow for 4000 or even 7500 copies at 5% upon
refill or a new cartridges. Lately, due to rising consumer frustration
and litigation, color laser manufacturers have renamed their cartridges.
They now call the starter cartridges "standard" size, and the more
full versions, "high yield". They offer both as replacements, so that
way no one can complain they are providing a partially full cartridge
with the original printer. However, ironically, the way they protect
themselves from actually selling many of the "standard" cartridges is by
pricing them so that they are poor value compared to the "high yield"
versions, so people will go for the high yield on replacement.
I was recently looking at some older computer magazines (circa 1993) and
the prices on color printers was about 5-10 times higher for the
printers as they are today. For instance, the HP 1200C inkjet printer
sold for $1500 US.
The whole model for sales has altered now. Consumables pay for the real
costs, the printers are basically free.
Art
zakezuke wrote:
> When talking laser, color or otherwise, keep in mind that their yield
> is measured in thousands of pages, rather than hundreds of pages. For
> example looking at a modest price color laser picked at random (except
> the Konica I know better) HP 2550L Color LaserJet Printer. The black
> claims a yield of 5000 pages, each of the three colors claim a yield
> of 4000. The cost of the cartridges will run you $100 each easily at a
> local shop. The yield estimate is usually something like 10% of the
> page or something small. Let's say you used all the colors to print on
> each page. That would be about 10 cents a page and you might have a
> few pages of black left over. The cost per page would go down if you
> refilled the toner your self or buy refurbished cartridges. This
> doesn't include the cost of the drum or other consumables such as
> paper, just raw toner.
>
> A referbished cart might cost you as little as $300/set lowering your
> cost to 7.5cents/page for just the toner. Even lower if you find a
> solution that takes raw toner.
>
>
> Let's look at the Canon ip3000, a very modest printer and cheap to
> operate, what I wish I bought. Last time I checked the official ink
> was equivalent to $3500/gal. Official ink runs about $14 each with an
> estimated yield of of 500pages on the black, 280p on the color. About
> $56 for the set +/- a bit. Again let's assume they are talking yields
> with 10% page used with ink. This is 20cents a page assuming you used
> all your colors and had a bit of black left over. To print the same
> mount as the color laser on the inkjet it would require $800 rather
> than $400 and this is among one of the lower cost/page units on the
> market. Again costs would go down if you went with refills and such.
> This is just the ink alone and not the photopaper required to get good
> results. That'll run you another 10/20 cents/sheet easily... so add
> another 50% or 100% We're hitting close to a grand on consumables on
> only 4000 pages. HP is even higher depending on model, Lexmark is
> often higher stilll. $5000 or even $10000/gal isn't unheard of on
> inkjets.
>
> Most people don't print that much to notice. Burning a $100 of ink a
> year isn't a big deal... and well it isn't really. But if you using
> much more than that it's time to consider at least a B&W laser or color
> one if you need it. .
>
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram