Give Yourself the Gift that Lasts – Lower Color Printing Costs

It seems with the economy in a stall and people worrying about their jobs now more than ever…  there are some interesting trends happening in the industry.  One thing a lot of people seem to be doing is bringing printshop outsourcing in house.  Sure, it's more labor, but for the savings…  it seems well worth it.  This may be a good idea, but then again, it may not if you don't really dig into how color costs are computed.

The first thing to know is that for most color printers (i.e. HP, Lexmark, Konica, Kyocera, Okidata, Ricoh, Xerox, etc…) there is a rated coverage.  This is 20% for color and 5% for Black and white as an industry standard.  When there is a deviation (for example rates some cartridges at 6% coverage….) it will be noted.  Higher coverage means more toner is used….  but it does not necessarily mean more of the page is covered in toner.  For more information on the mechanics of color coverage, please check out a little presentation I put together…

A brochure with 120% coverage may wind up costing twice of what it would have cost to go to a printer where a 50% coverage may be the same.  There are ways to fix these costs, but this is what people seem to be thinking and doing.  Just be careful you are not making a bad scenario worse.

Another temptation people face is purchasing a cheap printer (to keep the budget low), without looking at long term consumable costs.  If you were to but a cheaper color printer, say an HP CP1510 … you would feel good about spending less than $300 for the printer…  How would you feel if you realized you printed 2,500 sheets a month (about a ream a week) using standard office color (20% coverage) and the "super expensive" Xerox 8860 printer would have been $12,500 cheaper for supplies in a 3 year period?  Over $10,000 extra would be spent just because you weren't informed properly. 

Reasons like these are why it behooves you to consult with us and let us help you reduce your costs on these devices.  We aren't just answering phones and taking orders here…  we actually consult and SHOW you how to save significant money while INCREASING productivity.