How to Calculate Your Printer’s Cost Per Page
We have discussed the high cost of printing and ink cartridges many times. Considering this fact, we would like to help you understand how much your printer is costing you and how you calculate your printer’s cost per page. After all, if you have a high cost per page, then you are spending more money! Cost per page is also known as CPP. This is calculated by taking the page yield of your ink cartridge and the cost of your ink.
The purpose of this blog post is to help you understand the factors of your printing expenses. In order to do this, we will explain the definition of page yield, as well as discuss the price of ink.
What is Page Yield?
Simply put, the page yield is the estimated quantity of pages your ink cartridge can print out. Our ink cartridge product usually lists the page yield for comparison shopping, plus the ink packaging or printer manual should also tell you this information. As you will note on our posts featuring ink cartridge products, the yields can vary from product to product. Page yields will drop if you are printing large documents, like contracts or 8”x11” photos. Yields will also vary from consumer to consumer because printing needs are not the same for everyone.
Is the Price of Ink Important?
We have established in our ink product posts that the cost of ink cartridges is different from printer to printer and from brand to brand. We have also shown you that remanufactured or compatible ink cartridges are often significantly cheaper than brand name ink. Therefore, figuring out the cost per page will better inform you on how to shop for not only ink but also future printers.
How Do You Calculate the Cost Per Page?
Calculating the cost per page is necessary to figure out how your printing is costing you. We have defined what page yield is, established the importance of the price of ink, now you are ready to figure out the cost per page. The formula is simple, divide the ink page yield by the price of the ink.
Ink Cost Divided Page Yield Equals Cost per Page
For example, take Canon PG-240XXLBlack Ink Cartridge Extra High Yield, which costs $24.99. Now divided by the page yield listed on the product page, which is 600 pages.
$24.99 divided by 600 equals 4.2 cents.
Now take the Genuine Canon PG-240XXL Original Black Ink Cartridge Extra High Yield, which costs $51.99 and yields 600 pages as well.
$51.99 divided by 600 equals 8.7 cents
To figure out the cost of color ink, use the same formula. If they come in the same package use this formula:
(Black ink cost divided by page yield) + ((Color ink cost divided page yield) x 3) equals Color ink cost per page
How Do You Save Money?
The best way to save money is to buy ink with a low cost per page, which means buying a printer which takes ink with a low cost per page. Research and make use of the formula above and you will reduce your printing expenses. Remember, using remanufactured or compatible ink will also save you money!