Actual ink usage

[Moglex]

I need to recommend a printer to a friend and they have asked about cost per print.

I must admit I've never really kept tabs on the number of prints I get from a cartridge so have no idea how the actual number of prints relates to the number for 5% coverage.

Assuming the prints are 'average' (i.e. not all snow scenes or black cat in a coal cellar), does anyone know what how real world use relates to the 5% coverage specification often used by the manufacturers?

 

[Garbz]

This is a photo forum. I doubt anyone here would use 5% ink coverage in our real world

That is also why this can't be answered. I for one print a lot of technical graphs which are often sparse lines and use far less than 5% coverage. Others may print text only. I'm sure plenty of the people here print mostly photos which cover far more than 5%

If the question is about cost to produce prints, at standard 6x4 it's cheaper to go to a photo lab. If you're a member of that lab and get larger prints for a reasonable price it's cheaper to get it at the lab again. Home printing is expensive, and the cost of inks is utterly ridiculous.

 

[Moglex]

This is a photo forum. I doubt anyone here would use 5% ink coverage in our real world

That is also why this can't be answered. I for one print a lot of technical graphs which are often sparse lines and use far less than 5% coverage. Others may print text only. I'm sure plenty of the people here print mostly photos which cover far more than 5%

I'm sure photo's do cover more than 5% but it should be easy enough to work out by how much.

For example if I get 100 A4's from a cartridge when printing photo's and they claim it's 400 at 5% coverage then I know the actual coverage is 20%.

I've just never kept tabs on it and as I print a mixture of A3 and A4 it's hard to remember and estimate.

I was just hoping someone else had.

If the question is about cost to produce prints, at standard 6x4 it's cheaper to go to a photo lab. If you're a member of that lab and get larger prints for a reasonable price it's cheaper to get it at the lab again. Home printing is expensive, and the cost of inks is utterly ridiculous.

Well, she wants to do her own printing and she's not doing it with the intention of saving money.

 

[Bifurcator]

Quote:

If the question is about cost to produce prints, at standard 6x4 it's cheaper to go to a photo lab. If you're a member of that lab and get larger prints for a reasonable price it's cheaper to get it at the lab again. Home printing is expensive, and the cost of inks is utterly ridiculous.​

Well, she wants to do her own printing and she's not doing it with the intention of saving money.

Then what's the purpose of the thread?

 

[Josh66]

Yeah, what Bifurcator said - if she's not worried about saving money just go for quality and don't worry about trying to convert ink usage figures to photos...

Not even counting the ink my per print cost is between $.25 & $.60 just for the paper (depending on type and size). Add in the ink and maybe it's around a dollar...?

Probably more than a dollar though. Not counting the big black tank (I don't think it uses any of that for photos) it costs about $40 to refill my printer. If I got 100 prints out of that (which seems like a lot, but I haven't really been paying attention to it) that would put me in the $.65 to $1 range, but I think it's probably more than that.

 

[Moglex]

Then what's the purpose of the thread?

Not doing something with the intention of saving money is in no way the same thing as not being concerned with the cost.

If you have nothing useful to say and do not even appear to understand the question, surely it would be better to simply not post?

 

[tasman]

5% coverage refers to printing a standard letter, not a photo. And genereally only covered the black cartridge.

 

[Bifurcator]

Not doing something with the intention of saving money is in no way the same thing as not being concerned with the cost.

No wonder you're having problems communicating. Read the above sentence back to yourself 3 or 4 times and see if it makes any sense.

 

[Helen B]

With a lot of small printers, particularly some of the Epsons, you can reduce ink costs and maintain the exact same quality and stability of output by using a continuous ink supply with OEM ink obtained from cartridges for the larger printers. If she is concerned about cost, this could be an option. It depends a lot on how much printing she may be doing, what size of printer she requires, whether she will be switching between matte and glossy papers, whether or not she wants to use a RIP, and whether or not she wants to use dedicated B&W inks. And probably a few other things I have not listed.

Which printer were you thinking of recommending? You will probably be able to find real world cost-per-page information on the web - with the usual caveats about trusting the stuff you read on the web.

As already mentioned, inkjet printing is not cheap. I do my own printing for quality reasons.

Best,
Helen
PS Would you recommend a printer that you hadn't used yourself? Why not hook her up with someone who has used the printer or printers that you are considering, so that it can be discussed in more depth?

 

[Moglex]

No wonder you're having problems communicating. Read the above sentence back to yourself 3 or 4 times and see if it makes any sense.

I am not having any trouble communicating except with people who are either stupid of being deliberately obtuse.

I notice that your location is Japan so as English may not be your first language to I'll attempt to explain:

"Not doing something with the intention of saving money is in no way the same thing as not being concerned with the cost."

e.g.

A: I'd like to do my own printing.
B: Oh, trying to save money?
A: No, I want faster results and more control.
B: So you don't care what it costs?
A: Of course I care, I'm just not doing it to save money.

Have you got that now?

A is not doing something with the intention of saving money but she is still concerned about the cost.

Hence my question (which I have now answered via a more helpful forum) which was perfectly sensible.

 

[Moglex]

With a lot of small printers, particularly some of the Epsons, you can reduce ink costs and maintain the exact same quality and stability of output by using a continuous ink supply with OEM ink obtained from cartridges for the larger printers. If she is concerned about cost, this could be an option. It depends a lot on how much printing she may be doing, what size of printer she requires, whether she will be switching between matte and glossy papers, whether or not she wants to use a RIP, and whether or not she wants to use dedicated B&W inks. And probably a few other things I have not listed.

Which printer were you thinking of recommending? You will probably be able to find real world cost-per-page information on the web - with the usual caveats about trusting the stuff you read on the web.

As already mentioned, inkjet printing is not cheap. I do my own printing for quality reasons.

Best,
Helen
PS Would you recommend a printer that you hadn't used yourself? Why not hook her up with someone who has used the printer or printers that you are considering, so that it can be discussed in more depth?

She's thinking of printing for the purposes of faster turn around, better quality and more control.

I don't think she's that worried about the cost - she certainly wouldn't want to get a continuous ink supply for the amount of printing she does.

 

[Bifurcator]

Did you just call me stupid and deliberately obtuse? You did! You little rascal! Of course you'll deny it now...

Hey, wanna see a magic trick?

I command you to reply and deny it. :lmao:

 

[Rhys]

Just to chuck more confusion to the OP...

HP, Dell and Canon cartridges merit a partial refund if you take your used cartridges back to Staples. Epson cartridges are cheaper but don't get that refund and you have to chuck the cartridges into landfill.

My personal recommendation is to avoid the Epson 9400 Fax. It's a decent enough printer/scanner/fax but here's the killer - mine won't give me a b/w print when I set it to b/w if the magenta ink is empty. I mean wtf is that all about - I'm not even using magenta ink. When questioned, the Epson rep turned pink and ran off never to return. No reply was ever received from Epson inc. Basically, avoid Epson - the manufacturer does not stand behind their products.