In this time of crisis, many employers have deployed workers to work from home. While this can help slow the spread of Covid-19, it also puts workers in a position where they have to make their home into an efficient workspace. Since employees at home no longer have access to the company copiers and printers, they have to rely on their personal printers and scanners to complete their work.
 
What some may not realize is most inkjet printers can end up costing you far more than you anticipate in the long run due to a variety of factors. Here we will go into detail about the hidden costs of inkjet devices.
 
Cheap Hardware. Expensive ink.
 
It is not a secret that the big money maker for ink-jet hardware companies is the ink itself. In 2019, the ink cartridges market was valued at 10.9 Billion U.S. dollars. They make this money by leveraging low up-front costs for hardware and sell low-yield ink cartridges that have to be replaced several times if you are using the device with any regularity.
 
Comparatively, most toner-based devices provide page yields into the thousands versus ink jet cartridges in the hundreds. Many businesses and people using ink-jet printers will buy bulk packages of ink cartridges to try and save money. Though what we see happen time and time again, is before that ink is used, they have moved on to a new device because the other one broke and could not be fixed or it was “cheaper” to buy a new one. Good luck trying to find that same model that matches those supplies you bought, because the new models have been ushered out and the process you entered into before starts all over again.
 
When buying inkjet devices, sleek design and features such as wireless printing often draw in users. While these are great features to have, they should be paired with durability and consumables that are long lasting. Many ink-jet devices are built in a way that even paper jams can render them obsolete and put you back in the market for another one.
 
Example of Ink Costs Gone Wild.
 
John uses excel spreadsheets and will often times print out reports and emails to make handwritten notes on. He goes through a ream of paper a month (500 pages) and about half of what he prints is in color. On average, his print coverage is 20 percent, which compares to the 5% used by manufacturers to tell you how many pages cartridges will provide you.



Using a 700 page yield, and John’s 20% average print coverage, we can equate that he will use this supply in just about 21 days. Spread that over the course of the year, he would have to purchase around 17 orders of ink to fulfill his one ream of paper a month production. That cost would be approximately $1,776.12 for one year of ink. Not to mention any costs that may come up with having to replace the device due to paper jams or other issues.



Partnering With An Office Technology Provider.
 
While not everyone has the same needs, printing without a plan can be an expensive venture bound to accumulate a closet full of unused and outdated ink cartridges. When you truly evaluate your printing procedures and infrastructure you can start to see trends and behaviors that you may not have known existed. In addition, you can craft security protocols and budget restrictions to curb both expenses and unaudited behaviors.

At Copiers Plus, we have monthly plans for color multi-function printers that start as low as $89 a month which includes a maintenance contract along with 250 pages of both color and black & white prints. No longer will you have to worry about buying ink and worrying about hardware issues because your printing environment would be covered by our service team and your supplies auto-shipped to your door, whether you work remote or in an office setting.  
 
If you would like to learn more about how you can transform your printing habits and gain more financial awareness of the costs, we would love to partner with you and provide a custom solution that works for you. You can set an appointment by phone at 800-648-7081 or online here.
 
Drew Smith currently serves as Director of Communications for Copiers Plus. The company specializes in modernizing office equipment and increasing efficiencies in workplace communications throughout the state of North Carolina. To learn more about how Copiers Plus is providing their customers with innovative document solutions and enhanced printing transparency, visit www.copiers-plus.com. Drew would love to hear from you at [email protected].