Subject: comp.periphs.printers - FAQ - Part 8 of 11
Version: 3.09
Last-Modified: 1997/01/05
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked
         Questions (and their answers) about printers and
         should be read by anyone wishing to post to the
         comp.periphs.printers newsgroup.
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Date: Sun, 5 Jan 1997 05:28:42 GMT
Archive-Name: comp-periphs-printers-faq

Subject: 08 Average printing costs

There are different ways to calculate the printing costs for a
single page. The easiest calculation method just takes the
printing supplies (toner, drum, ribbon, ink or else) and divide
that price by the number of pages printable with one set of
supplies. The result is the printing price per page, in fact it's
the cheapest price compared with other, more accurate methods of
calculation (this may be the reason why most manufacturers use
this method).

For a complete calculation you need more information (and time).
First the price of the printer itself is part of the equation
since you will use it for a limited amount of time (lets say 3 or
4 years), eventually the printer must be replaced when it reaches
its maximum printing capacity. In relation to this, the number of
pages printed per month are an important factor in the
calculation. In addition you need the printer supplies necessary
for the printer's lifetime, and maybe also the paper costs
(especially when some of the printers to be compared use
expensive high-quality paper while others work with standard
paper).

After so many words let's do an example..

We have 2 laser printers called "A" and "B". Current street price
for "A" is 800 USD, and for "B" it's 1800 USD. Both printers have
a maximum printing capacity of 300,000 pages. Printer "A" needs a
new toner & drum kit every 3,000 pages (average price is 120
USD), printer "B" needs a new toner & drum every 8,000 pages
(average price is 240 USD). Both printers use standard paper
(therefore we won't include it in the calculation).

The average costs should be calculated on a 4 year lifecycle base
with two different numbers of pages printed per month: private
usage with about 500 pages/month and commercial usage with 5,000
pages/month (since both printers may print up to 300,000 pages,
the maximum capacity will not be reached within 4 years).

Calculation:

Printer "A"   Printer "A"   =  Printer "B"   Printer "B"  =
500 p/month   5000 p/month  =  500 p/month   5000 p/month = comment
=============================================================================
    800 USD       800 USD   =     1800 USD      1800 USD  = street price
      7            69       =        2            29      = # toner/drums
    840 USD      8280 USD   =      480 USD      6960 USD  = price toner/drums
=============================================================================
   1640 USD      9080 USD   =     2280 USD      8760 USD  = total costs
=============================================================================
    6.83 c.       3.78 c.   =      9.50 c.       3.65 c.  = page costs

I'll leave the interpretation of the results to the reader.

_______________

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End of Part 8 of 11
