How To Arrive At The Cost Of Inkjet Printer?

By Author: Aniket Dicosta
Total Articles: 139
Comment this article

Inkjet printers offer a slew of advantages over expensive laser printers. The inkjet printer is quiet, prints high-quality images quickly and helps cut half your printing costs. While buying a new printer, no doubt buying an economical inkjet will be your top priority, however, first calculate how much it will actually cost you. If you are ignoring the hidden costs involved then you are certainly opting for a printer that will surely turn out to be very expensive in the longer run.

Step 1

First find out who'll be using the inkjet printer. If it's for the personal use, then work out how much print outs you'll be taking every week. If you are buying a huge printer for a small office, then arrive at an approximate figure like how much print outs each person will take every day.

Step 2

Know your needs. In an office environment, you probably might have to take print of long documents, so you might wish to have a printer that prints documents ASAP. In case, you also want to get pictures, color images or business reports printed then you should opt for a printer that gives high-quality printing.

An ...
... inexpensive printer may cost only $100, while a printer that prints high-quality prints can cost over $400.

Step 3

Calculate the average number of documents you need to print daily. If several documents comprise large pictures, colours, then consider two pages as one. Read the printer's specifications given on the printer box or on the ink cartridge box and then estimate how many pages can be printed on one cartridge.

Step 4

Calculate the total number of print-outs you need every week or month. In case your ink cartridge gives only 200 pages then you might have to buy a new cartridge every month.

Estimate how often you'll have to buy the ink in a year and then add it to the cost of the printer.

Step 5

Estimate the other added costs involved like the cost of the cords or cables. Read the specifications given on the box and on the website so as to know the additional items included in the box and what more items you'll have to buy on your own.

Step 6

Arrive at the total cost of the printer, like the total amount of ink cartridges required to meet the printing requirements. One could somewhat lower the price of ink by opting for refill kits. However, this works once or twice only.

If you're opting for a cheap inkjet printer, bear in mind that such printer won't last long as compared to the expensive models and you may end up buying one every three-four years. Take into account the expense of maintaining the printer, the cost of buying ink and paper and the cost of buying a new one every three years. Then decide which printer you should opt for that'll help cut half your printing costs.