Hello, and welcome to the cost of printing calculator. First, a few words about calculating costs.

Trying to calculate the true cost of anything is more complicated than it might seem and printing is no exception.

With printing, everyone understands that the cost of paper and ink (or toner for laser printers, but I'll say ink through
spreadsheet) is important. What gets left out or any number of other factors that also count when we look at thous
thousands of printers across the university.

Even starting with the obvious things, vendors who quote the cost per page of their printers usually leave out the co
paper. Many leave out the cost of the printer itself and only count the ink cost.

With color printing, I've seen major manufacturers put out misleading documents that say they can print color for 2
page. The little asterisk on that statement is that it assumes only 5% of the page is in color, which is contrary to the
international standard -- yes, there is one -- for color printing. The standard is to quote costs based on 20% coverage

Inkjet printers have a dirty little secret. Although Canon, Epson, HP, and others will quote a certain number of pages
cartridge, they assume that you never turn your printer off and you never have to clean the print heads. People lose
15% and 50% of their ink to power cycling and print head cleaning. The less you print, the more ink you lose to thes
functions, making the cost of ink higher than you think.

We don't often think of it, but it costs money for Procurement and Purchasing to process an order so every p-card or
goes to buying ink and toner has an institutional cost.

Printers need to get shipped, installed, configured, and surplused. The true cost of having your own printer should c
costs. And we don't think of it very often, but IT departments around campus need to come fix your printer. Most p
that doesn't happen to them or that it doesn't cost anything, but we have data from here at NIU about those costs.
fix the printer, maybe you have a separate contract with a company to come fix it.

When comparing print costs, we have to make an apples-to-apples comparison. The calculator on the next page has
enter these costs. The DoIT rates for shared printers include all of these costs. You can choose to enter $0 for anyth
want, but you should have a very good reason to think that something has no cost.

If you have any questions about how to use the print calculator, please contact Lisa Arnold at larnold@niu.edu.
 costs.
printing is no exception.
nters, but I'll say ink throughout this
unt when we look at thousands and
ers usually leave out the cost of the
y they can print color for 2 cents per
or, which is contrary to the
osts based on 20% coverage.
e a certain number of pages per ink
he print heads. People lose between
e more ink you lose to these
an order so every p-card or PO that
g your own printer should count these
me fix your printer. Most people say
at NIU about those costs. If IT doesn't
ulator on the next page has places to
hoose to enter $0 for anything you
ld at larnold@niu.edu.
Now, a few words about how to use the printing calculator itself.
Everything you need to find your cost of printing is on the Calculator tab.
information on the Data tab is used to hold sample data and some picture
Visually, the cells on the Calculator tab are red, green, yellow, or gray. The
printing either black/white or color. The green cells are where you enter
calculations. The gray cells are sample data. Not everyknow knows their
well regarded, and gathered costs, the amount of printing they can do pe
published data. To pick sample data from different printers, use the pull d
picture of the printer.
Columns A and B hold questions about your use of printing in general. Th
matter which type of individual printer you end up using. Of special note
your office has these devices, they could be replaced with a shared printe
want to count those costs as part of your apples-to-apples price comparis
Columns D-F ask about your printer. Duty cycle is the number of pages pe
in years. The expected lifetime of printers is going down over time, due to
cheaper parts are being used. Inkjet printers are now believed to live less
printers break, it is common to buy a different model of printer which can
spare ink cartridges you have in your closets. Those extra costs are accou
Columns H-J cover your ink and paper costs. It should be self-explanatory
inkjet printer, you really should account for the loss of ink due to head cle
Columns L-N address support and repair costs. Typically, people only hav
contracts are either assessed on a per page or a per month/year basis. If
IT usually fixes the printer and that has a cost. Use can use our averages i
Finally, in the bottom right corner, under the per page costs, is a section o
playing with the model, it's easy to leave some things out. This area has s
set all the variables. See the comments for more explanation of each war
ng calculator itself.

ng is on the Calculator tab. You don't need to enter anything on the Data tab. The
mple data and some pictures used by the Calculator.

, green, yellow, or gray. The red cells are your final answer, the cost per page of
n cells are where you enter data. Green = go = type here. The yellow cells are
Not everyknow knows their actual costs so I've selected six different printers, all
t of printing they can do per month, and how long their ink lasts based on
erent printers, use the pull down list in cell D20, immediately to the left of the

se of printing in general. The costs in these columns would be the same no

d up using. Of special note is the question about scanners and fax machines. If
placed with a shared printer from DoIT, relieving you of that expense. If you
es-to-apples price comparison, you may do so here.

e is the number of pages per month you print. Life is the lifetime of your printer
oing down over time, due to downward cost pressure which in turn means
are now believed to live less than four years and laser printers about five. When
model of printer which cannot use the same ink or toner. This abandons any
Those extra costs are accounted for in this section.

t should be self-explanatory except for Loss. If you are calculating the cost of an
e loss of ink due to head cleaning and powering on and off.

. Typically, people only have one type of support agreement. Maintenance

a per month/year basis. If you don't have a maintenance contract, someone in
Use can use our averages if your area doesn't keep track.

er page costs, is a section of checks. There are lots of variable and if you're
e things out. This area has some warning messages to help you remember to fully
ore explanation of each warning message.
About your printer Printer
Yes Is it an inkjet? Your values
Cost $ -
Duty cycle 800
About your printing Expected life 4
100 Pages per month black Max pages 38,400
10 Pages per month color Your pages 5,280
91% Percent print that is black and white
$ 40.00 Paper cost per box (10 reams) Left over ink 1
Accessories $ -

About other devices Cost printer

No Do you also have a separate scanner? components 0.09
No Do you also have a separate fax machine?

About transaction costs

$ 5.00 overhead cost to execute a PO or use P-Card
Choose a comparison printer below
Epson WF-2760

Description
Budget all in one geared for small offices
 Ink
Comparison Your cost Comparison
$ 80.00 Cost (black) $ - $ 30.00
800 Life (black) 500 500
4 Cost (color) $ - $ 51.00
Life (color) 450 450
Loss (%) 25% 25%

1 Paper cost 0.80

black color
2.13 2.28

Checks:
Support
Your cost Comparison
Warranty (per year)
Warranty (per page) $ 0.01
IT setup / removal $ - $ 30.00
IT break/fix support $ - $ 10.00

Scanner cost NA
Fax cost NA

support
-

Black Color

Total Cost Per Page 2.2 2.4

Inkjet loss calculation OK

Left over ink OK
Printer lifetime OK
Printer usage OK
Transaction costs OK
Warranties OK
IT support costs No support costs at all?
Answers Picture names Name
Yes HPInk None
No HPLaser HP OfficeJet Pro 7740
EpsonInk HP LaserJet Pro M501dn
DellLaser Epson WF-2760
CanonInk Dell S5840cdn
CanonLaser Canon Pixma MG6620
Canon imageCLASS LBP678
Description Cost Duty Liftime Ink Cost

Large duplexing inkjet for offices 250 1500 11000 38

Good mono laser printer for small office 328 3750 187
Budget all in one geared for small offices 80 800 30
Color laser for medium sized workgroups 707 14000 109
Wireless inkjet photo printer 122 1000 25
High volume workgroup mono laser 330 40000 214
Ink Life Ink cost color Ink life color cpp black cpp color

2450 51 700 2.1 8.1

9000 1.6
500 51 450 6 17.3
5000 423 4000 0.9 7
300 60 330
12500