Even with the advancing technology, all professional settings still use printed papers. The collaboration platform only comes in to compliment printing, but not to eliminate.
The cost of printing could get pretty expensive, especially when you print in color. This article seeks to raise awareness on why color toner cartridges cost more. It also highlights some strategies to reduce your printing cost.
The Concept of Cost Per Page
A toner cartridge might be expensive, but the printing cost per page may be low. Other cartridges may cost less, but their printing cost per page could be high. Concluding whether a toner cartridge is expensive depends on its page yield. Do not refer to the price tag.
This is how to arrive at the cost per page of the toner cartridge:
Let’s take a look at these two possible scenarios:
Scenario A is a toner cartridge that costs $30 and prints 600 pages. Then we have scenario B, where a toner cartridge costs $100 and offers 10,000 pages.
You might think that toner cartridge A is cheaper, but you’d be wrong. The cost per page for cartridge A is $0.05 and $0.01 for cartridge B.
This means that printing with toner B is five times cheaper than working with cartridge A.
You need to get the concepts well. That way, you would be able to make wise business decisions.
You also need to beware that page yield does not refer to printing the whole page. Content covering 5% of an A4 would be taken as a page. When it’s indicated that a toner cartridge offers 10,000 pages, it means it can print 10,000 copies of a 5% page. That is the ISO definition of a page in regards to printing. In practice, the content on a page could be more than 5%. You also need to note that printing images will use more toner. That is why hitting the mentioned page yield is not always possible.
And here is our original question:
Why Do Color Toner Cartridges Cost More Than Black?
Color toner comes in three forms: Magenta, Yellow, and Cyan. Black is not deemed as colored toner.
There are two reasons why color toners are expensive. These are the concept of economies of scale and the cost of raw materials.
Let’s review them.
1. ;The Principle of Economies of Scale
This principle asserts that the production costs reduce when you produce more. Understanding this principle requires a look at fixed and variable costs. Variable costs increase with the increase in production. An example is raw materials. Producing more toner would need more of its raw materials. Similarly, you would need more cartridge materials to make more of such cartridges.
Fixed costs remain the same regardless of the size of production. An example is rent payment and marketing budget. Even if you do not produce anything this month, you will still need to pay rent. The cost of mentioning a product in TV commercials does not depend on the quantity.
So how does economies of scale influence the cost of black and color cartridges? You might be wondering.
A black toner is the most used in every context. Any printing firm will tell you that they buy black toner cartridges more than any other color. This increases the demand for black toners. This means that toner companies sell more black toners and manufacture more. The manufacturing process will increase variable costs, but fixed costs remain the same. At the end of the day, the overall cost of production reduces.
The demand for color toner cartridges is less than black toners. This means that economies of scale in the production of black toners do not apply to color toners. Color toner cartridges will end up costing more than the black ones.
2. ;The Cost of Materials
Another reason for the high cost of color toner is the cost of raw materials. Materials for manufacturing color toner costs more than for black toner. Manufacturers will shift the extra cost to the consumer. You will end up paying more than what you pay for black toner cartridges.
Let’s review some of the strategies to reduce the printing cost.
How to Reduce the Cost of Printing
1. ;Minimize Color Printing
It’s no secret that color toner cartridges are more expensive. Printing in color is thus costly than printing in black and white. It would be beneficial to avoid color printing when not necessary.
Approach your designs with the thought of printing in mind. More toner will be used when your art is in full color. Use light shades if it doesn’t affect the readability of the printout. ;
2. ;Choose Your Printer Wisely
The cost of toner cartridges varies from printer to printer. Some printers have inbuilt drums, and their cartridges only need toner inside. Printers that do not have inbuilt drums rely on those that come with the toner cartridge.
Including a drum on a toner cartridge makes the cartridge more expensive. This is not something you can change. It is your printer model that dictates the kind of cartridges needed. Do your research and buy those with a low cost of printing.
3. ;Use Compatible Toner Cartridges
We have remanufactured, and compatible toner cartridges. All of them get the work done, but their cost varies. Original cartridges belong to the printer manufacturer. And the other two (remanufactured and compatible) are made by third-party manufacturers.
Original cartridges are the most expensive. Printer manufacturers take calculated steps to make profits. They know that they would supply even more cartridges when they sell more printers. They tend to lower the cost of the printer and hike that of toner cartridges. That is why the price of two brand cartridges sometimes equals that of the printer.
Compatible cartridge manufacturers price their products based on the actual production cost. They cost a fraction of the brand cartridges. Buying them reduces the cost of printing. Original cartridges only sell their brand name.
4. ;Buy Your Suppliers in Bulk
We talked about the economies of scale earlier in this article. It doesn’t apply to the manufacturers alone. There is a way you can tap it to your advantage.
Buying in bulk comes with two cost advantages. One is the reduced cost per item, and the other is the fixed costs.
Let’s see how:
Suppliers and manufacturers tend to reduce the cost when you buy in bulk. Costs such as shipping and transaction fees may also remain constant. Even if it does change, it will not increase based on the number of items in the order.
Remember that buying in bulk comes with storage implications to consider. Toner cartridges are sensitive to extreme temperatures and fluctuations. If you are going to buy in bulk, be sure to store them properly.
Can We Supply Your Next Order of Compatible Toner Cartridges?
Your supplier can also make a huge difference in your printing cost. You might run into losses if you buy poor-quality products. Different cartridges also offer varying page yields. You might think that you are saving more, only to find that you are printing fewer pages.
Getting a reliable supplier could be the best thing to happen to your business. The good thing with us is that we manufacture our products. If you consider us, it will be a chance for you to buy directly from the manufacturer. You will enjoy factory-direct pricing and uninterrupted supply all year long.
Talk to us, and we will be glad to be of service to you.