Equipment Costs
The cost of getting the equipment can vary depending on whether you purchase it outright, lease it, or enter into a cost-per-page agreement. If you're leasing or entering into a cost-per-page agreement, make sure to read the fine print and understand all of the terms before signing.
Printer Running Costs
To roughly calculate the cost per page, divide the price of an ink or toner cartridge by the number of pages the manufacturer indicates it should cover. However, these numbers may be unrealistic. Printer manufacturers base their numbers on 5% of every printed page being covered in ink. The cost per page (CPP) is determined by dividing the cost of that printer cartridge by the page yield of the printer cartridge.
Paper Costs
Here's how to figure out how much each sheet of paper costs: Price per ream (500 sheets) divided by the number of sheets = cost per sheet. A ream of 20lb stock printer paper, which has 500 sheets, costs about $5.
Cost Per Print
To figure out the cost per black-and-white print, you only need to know how much the black toner cartridge costs. To figure out the cost per color print, use this formula: (Price per page for black cartridge + ((Price per page for color cartridge) x 3) + Paper cost = cost per page to print in color.
Inkjet Printing Costs
In general, inkjet printers have a higher average cost per page, which is about 20 cents for a colored print and 7.5 cents for a black-and-white print.
Service/Maintenance Costs
Service and maintenance costs can vary depending on whether you have a monthly service contract or a one-time maintenance fee. Taking care of printers can take a lot of time for a company, what with paper jams, connection problems, replacing toner, and everything else. Working with a print provider and installing real-time print tracking software on your network is the easiest way to figure out your cost per print.
Burden Rates
Burden rates are an important factor to consider when calculating your true printing costs. Burden rates refer to the time spent for employees to fix equipment, order supplies, schedule maintenance, etc. Gathering this information can take time, but it's important if you want to know how much you spend each month on printing.
Conclusion
Flex printing is an excellent choice for large-scale projects, but it's important to understand all of the costs associated with it before committing. By taking into account all of these factors - equipment costs, printer running costs, paper costs, service/maintenance costs, and burden rates - you can get an accurate picture of your true printing costs.
