OT Printer

Those mainly are leased on an understanding that the business will do an agreed maximum volume of colour/mono printing. For that, they get the toner cartridges supplied free. It's a tantalising offer for some business.

All comes unstuck when the staff learn of this 'free' toner supply, and they start printing colour like the cartridges will be supplied like this for ever. Er, nope.

A common branch support job for me has been running about setting passworded access to colour printing, and just restricting this to senior managers. There are a number of methods, either local passwords or integration with the windows domain.

For that I need to get into the maintenance section of the printer, and then there is a master password :( Sometimes Ricoh installers will change this from the (easy) default :

  1. to make my life difficult 2. to reduce support calls from IT user misconfiguration, 3. to encourage chargeable call-outs calls (to enter their password), or 4. to lead users and 'fine them' for exceeding their agreed colour use.

Paper feed problems are the worst with some lower end business MFPs, especially when staff attempt to recycle old "printed one side" paper. Then the things get thumped and the trays even more damaged. They have a hard life :(

Reply to
Adrian Caspersz
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Many of my customers buy their own printers, but then take out maintenance agreements where they just pay a certain price per page. That then pays for all printer maintenance and consumables (except paper).

Reply to
John Rumm

I decided I wasn't going to print enough for it to matter.

So far I am on the original toner.

Andy

Reply to
Vir Campestris

If you buy HP toner a full set will cost you over £300

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Cheaper to buy a new printer.

Or for compatible refills: £89.

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Some difference huh?

I've run about 4 packs of paper through mine and its getting low.

Never sure if the 'supplied with new' toner is in fact only one third full ...

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Or less. They're called starter cartridges iirc.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

I just looked at the printers web page.

It reckons 1000 pages of black only and 617 pages with some color.

The black is 30%, the colors yellow and cyan are 10% and magenta is 30%.

So if we go for a mixed bunch of sort of some black and white, some black and white with a splash of color and some more or less 4 color brochures, which is what it's had, then its around 300 quid for 1200 pages, or 25p a page using HP toner, or with sane refills, £90 for 1200 pages, around 7.5p a page.

Maybe more maybe less.

Plus of course paper costs. But bog standard A4 is less than a penny a sheet.

Rymans do full color starting at 80-90p for an A4 full color sheet.

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1000 printed sheets at Rymans will cost you more than the printer and the paper together.

If you only do black and white of course, then you only need to replace the black cartridge at about 1/4 the cost.

What this boils down to is - excluding the printer actual cost which is negligible compared with toner in the long run, you are looking at around

2-3p a black and white page, or 8p for a color page rising up to 25p or more using HP branded toner 80-90p for as color page printed 'professionally' by a high street retail outlet

Even if you simply buy the printer, print 1000 copies and throw it away, that's around £0.14p a page

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You can do your own sums on alternatives, but I have found that since the initial gulp of paying the price for these machines is swallowed, they provide very reliable service at a predictable cost.

Frankly color doesn't come cheap.

If all you want is B&W get an old refurbised HP laserjet

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Your printing prices are way out. The first random company picked:

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1000x A5 single sided full colour 130gsm £22. So at most £44 for A4, or 4.4p a page.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Have you actually ever had a job printed at 'the cheapest possible price'

Hint: dont.

PS I was talking low volumes. Obviously if you are doing 1000 you wont be using a home laser printer. In fact at 1000 I would be looking at offset litho.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

for A4, or 4.4p a page.

We've done it many times. It's been fine all times bar one.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

While I would not claim it is exhibition quality, running a domestic colour laser print through a laminator gives a pretty good imitation of a glossy "print". Probably also true even of cheap inkjets (but I normally use the laser for photos).

Modern inkjets and lasers don't show the "banding" on images which used to be the instant way to tell they were not wet chemistry.

Reply to
newshound

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