October 29, 2013
Stopping to consider how much it costs to use your printer toner puts these costs in perspective.
- Toner Cartridge Costs (for an HP 4600 printer model):
- Black & White Cost per 8 ½ x 11 page: 2.2 cents
- Color Cost per 8 ½ x 11 page: 10.3 cents
- What It Costs to B&W Print 1 Ream of Paper: $11
- What It Costs to Color Print 1 Ream of Paper: $51.5
These numbers simply account for toner at a fairly conservative coverage percentage (an image is going to use much more ink than text, for example) – this doesn’t take the cost of the cartridge, machine depreciation, maintenance or service into account. As you can see, printer toner is a costly expense. In this article we will explain why printer toner is so expensive and how you can save money buying printer supplies.
Why Printer Toner Cartridge Costs are So High
Each printer manufacturer has taken the time to develop unique formulas for the toner used in their different machine models. This allows them to retain quality printer output and meet the expectations of their customers. Unfortunately for you, this results in an expense that is consumed on a regular basis. However, common alternatives generally don’t translate into cost savings because you may end up sacrificing quality or need more frequent replacements.
How to Save on Toner Costs
Here are some proven cost-saving techniques you can put into practice immediately to begin saving on toner costs.
Set Grayscale as Print Default
Set your printer default to grayscale so it automatically prints in black and white. In order to print in color, your employees will need to adjust the default settings. Although simple enough to do, users usually don’t take this extra step. Most documents don’t require color or after forgetting to change the settings and viewing their document, users decide they can make due with a black and white version. This simple change can substantially reduce how much color printing is used in an office, and therefore how often color toner cartridges need to be replace.
Use High Yield Cartridges
Buying high yield cartridges can affect how many pages are produced per toner cartridge. Although the upfront cost will be slightly higher than a standard cartridge, they are designed to produce more prints for less money.
Note: verify your printer model(s) can handle high yield cartridges by consulting your user manual or the printer compatibility listed on the cartridge’s packaging.
Buy in Bulk
If your organization runs through printer toner fairly quickly, consider buying in bulk or from a print provider, to secure lower prices. However, don’t buy more than you will be able to use within 12 months. This will ensure your toner will not be past its optimum shelf life which can produce lower quality results.
Optimize Your Printer Fleet
There are a couple of things you can do to optimize your printer fleet for efficient toner usage and inventory. One option is to streamline your printer models. The less variety of printer models in your organization, the more accurately you can purchase and stock cartridges. Buying one type of toner cartridges is more cost effective than trying to buy unique toner cartridges for several different models.
A second option for cost effective toner purchasing is based on the total number of printers you have in your fleet. A non-optimized printer quantity increases your risk for inefficient supply usage, due to under or over machine utilization. The recommended ratio is ten employees for every device; this is generally not occurring in most organizations. We often find a much lower ratio in most organizations.
Work with a Managed Print Services Provider
A managed print services provider can simplify these cost-saving techniques by doing the assessment, optimization and implementation for you. They are the industry experts and their experience can help your organization put these techniques into practice cost-effectively. Request a free assessment to get started today:
