FAQs

Strategies for reducing copying/printing costs

More efficient / less expensive printers. Attacking the problem by looking for more efficient printers isn’t easy either. All laser printers share the same underlying technology. While some manufacturers can quote you lower prices, they are often offset by more expensive toner cartridges. To complicate matters further, printer manufacturers often quote per-page toner costs based upon 5% coverage (ink coverage on a ‘typical’ business letter.) With the amount of web-based material being printed by college students, typical coverage is more like 13% to 18%. Some manufacturers put restrictions on the use of third-party toner cartridges (or forbid it outright) which can also affect your TCO. In the end, if you are coming close to the duty cycle of the printers you are using, the cost of the printers themselves will have little impact on your budget. Instead, buy printers based upon your performance needs and seek out independent toner vendors — and be sure to test toner yields in your environment.