Kyocera pitchman, and University of Maryland economist Peter Morici pretty much sums it up correctly, when he says, "It's really not that complicated."

Peter Morici, PhD in Economics and Printer Pitchman

Generally speaking, the less expensive the printer is to buy, the more expensive that printer is to own.

Most businesses with under 10 employees will have 1 or 2 printers, usually a multi-function unit (e.g. print, copy, fax, scan). If you're in a paper intense business, for example constantly mailing invoices, letters, etc.; and you're buying ink cartridges more than once per month, you should really start to evaluate your printer's level of efficiency.

A simple question we like to ask business owners is simply, "Do you remember the last time you changed your ink or toner?" Or, "Do you know how often you change your ink or toner?" If they can answer either of them, odds are it's time to talk about the value of investing in a more efficient printer.

We frequently recommend the HP Officejet Pro 8600 (and in the past, its two predecessors, the HP 8500A and HP 8500).

HP Officejet Pro 8600 Premium

Quite simply, without spending significant multiples on a much higher end laser printer, it's pretty much impossible to beat this unit's efficiencies.

Some basic math on just the black ink cartidges for the 8600 and its "baby brother" the HP 6500A, and HP's entry level MFC, the HP 4500. All prices are approximate, and like any commodity, the prices fluctuate up and down a bit from week to week. The prices are also "street" prices, not the manufacturers list, which are higher. Lastly, if you were to compare a few competitors from different categories, you will conclude the same inverse relationship between up-front and operating costs.

HP 950 XL (Black ink cartidge for HP 8600)

Price: $36.99
Yield: 2,300 pages
Cost per page: $0.016

HP 920 XL (Black ink cartridge for HP 6500A)

Price: $28.99
Yield: 1,200 pages
Cost per page: $0.024 (almost double the HP 8600)

HP 901 XL (Black ink cartridge for HP 4500)

Price: $27.99
Yield: 700 pages
Cost per page: $0.04 (almost double the HP 6500A)

Notice a pattern? As you get down to those "super cheapies" you might as well have a coin slot attached to them.

You will notice that all HP ink cartridges have an "XL" notation in them. Almost all the printer companies give you the opportunity to purchase a "regular" ink cartridge and an "extra capacity." Unless you litterarlly change your ink only 2x per year, you should always purchase the extra capacity cartridges.

To show an extreme case:

HP 901

Price: $14.99
Yield: 200 pages
Cost per page: $0.075 (That means you pay almost $1.00 for every dozen pages.)

Now Let's Examine the Up-Front Costs of the Devices Themselves

We'll start with list prices (which if you actually pay them, you're either crazy, desperate or lazy):

HP 8600 (there are three models): $299.99, $399.99, $499.99
HP 6500A Plus: $149.99
HP 4500: $99.99

Again these are just list prices. They are essentially perpetually on sale at various big box stores (e.g Best Buy, Staples, etc.), on large on-line stores (e.g. Amazon, Buy, etc.).

In a recent ad for Staples there were no less than thirty (30) printers and multi-functions devices on sale from Brother, Canon, Epson, and Kodak.

Prices for our three (3) examples:

HP 8600: $229.99 (reg. $299.99), and $299.99 (reg. $399.99) *
HP 6500A Plus: $129.98
HP 4500: $69.98

* As they say in the infomercials, "But wait! There's more!" You can save an additional $50 by trading in any old printer toward a new printer with a regular price of at least $199.99. This reason alone is what drives so many consumers and small businesses to Staples for printers.

So now the gap between models is even less and the entry point is extemely affordable.

Last but not least, the "duty cycle" of the higher end devices is much greater. Simply put, the duty cycle is the number of pages the units are designed to be able to process in a month. (Takes those numbers with a grain of salt.)

Let's talk about paper for a brief moment.

There are 500 sheets of paper in a standard ream. There are 12 reams in a standard case. Which means there are 12,000 sheets of paper in standard case of paper.

Before you go through one case of paper, you will save ink the differnce between HP 8600 and HP 6500A or the HP 6500A and the HP 4500.

So think about how long it takes for you to go through a case of paper. If you buy a case more than once per year, time to upgrade.

If you print more than 2 cases per year, it's time to really get serious, you need something much more substantial which requires some in-person auditing to pick the best model for your business.

Printer Math

You'll never think the same way about 5% again

Now let's really get into the weeds on printing costs, because those costs per page can be deceptive.

If you look at the fine print, that page yield generally assumes 5% coverage. (i.e. 5% of the paper is covered with ink) Well what does this mean in the real world? It means a normal typed letter, double-spaced.

That was fine for up to about say, 20 years ago. But today everything has graphics in it.

Print a lot of pictures or maps? Start multiplying. A page full of graphics (i.e. 100% coverage) means that even for the miserly HP 8600, full (black only) costs about $0.32 per page.

Don't Forget About Color

Now for color (and most printers have three (3) color cartridges in addition to the black one), of course cost more money. So by the time you're done, even the HP 8600, the most efficient printer in our examples listed here could get to around $1.00 per page, full bleed (100% coverage), full color.

That's how your print costs spin out of control.

What Should a Small Business Do?

First, think about the use of your consumables (e.g. paper and ink) in very simple terms.

If you track your purchases, so much the better. If not, make a good estimate. If you purchase a few reams per month, something like HP 8600, Epson WorkForce Pro or the like should be your minimum purchase.

If you consume less than one case per year, turn your focus to the ink. If you are changing cartridges more than once per month, you probably should upgrade.

Examine Your Printer Logs

I'll bet you didn't know you have one. Most printers actually track at a minimum their total page count.

Some even track black only versus color.

Start a log of your own to understand your historical usage.

A simple spreadsheet. Date and total page count. A weekly log should suffice. Track for 10-12 weeks. Now you've got a basic idea of how much you are consuming without any guess work or false assumptions.

Sometimes Two Printers Are Necessary

It may make sense for some small businesses to easily justify the cost of having two (2) printers. For example, an MFC for color and mid-range laser printer for black and white. A classic example of this would be any business that prints a lot invoices, but only a limited number of "office" documents.

Take a landscaping business. They will print dozens (if not hundreds) of basic 1 or 2 page invoices every month but only a few full color proposals.

Summing Up

Let cooler heads prevail. A little bit of analysis can go a long way when it comes to selecting the right printer(s) for your business.

Read the fine print on the consumables and as they saying goes, "do the math." For most businesses, you will not require a PhD in Economics from SUNY Albany or anywhere else to comare the efficiencies of various devices.

And if you're not quite sure, you can always seek further assistance.

Apparently Businesses of All Sizes Waste Money on Printer Ink and Toner