Cost per page (CPP) is determined by dividing the cost of that printer cartridge<\/em> by the printer cartridge\u2019s page yield<\/em>.<\/p>\n CPP = Cartridge price \/ cartridge page yield<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In order to get a clear picture of your overall cartridge costs, we’ll help you evaluate how all three of these factors play into each other.\u00a0 Before we begin calculating, let\u2019s explore page yield and cartridge cost in a bit more depth.<\/p>\n Page yield<\/a> is the approximate number of pages you can print with a cartridge. Finding your cartridge\u2019s page yield is easy, just look for it on the side of the cartridge box or consult your printer\u2019s user manual.\u00a0 Yield can fluctuate significantly across printer cartridges.\u00a0 To make it easier for consumers to compare page yields across products, all printer brands base their yields on 5% page coverage, or based on printer pages where on 5% of the page has been imprinted with ink.\u00a0 For instance, an HP\u00ae\u00a0<\/sup>64XL black ink cartridge has a page yield of approximately 600 pages.\u00a0 Going off printer manufacturer standards, you should be able to print 600 pages at 5% page coverage, which is comparable to printing around 600 short paragraphs or emails.\u00a0 Keep in mind the 5% coverage is a baseline for comparison.\u00a0 If you are printing something more substantial like a legal document or a full-page color photo, your page yield will drop significantly.\u00a0 Since everyone\u2019s printing habits are different, the actual number of prints you get from a cartridge changes from user to user.<\/p>\n The cost difference from one cartridge compared to another can vary.\u00a0 You can find some ink cartridges for less than ten dollars and some toner cartridges priced in the hundreds of dollars.\u00a0 Two printer cartridges can even offer the same exact page yield but contrast greatly in price.\u00a0 Each manufacturer has their own reasons for charging a particular price, including technology and development costs that help determine the value.\u00a0 Take the original HP 64XL cartridge we mentioned earlier, it prints approximately 600 pages and sells for $45.89*.\u00a0 Brother\u00ae\u00a0<\/sup>sells an LC103 black ink cartridge for $20.49, which prints the same number of pages for a much cheaper price. \u00a0Even slight variations in page yield and cartridge cost can mean a drastically different printing bill at the end of the day depending on what printer you own.\u00a0 Understanding cost per page will help you make a smart buy the next time you are shopping for a new printer!\u00a0 So without further ado, let\u2019s jump into it.<\/p>\n Cost per page defines how much you are going to be spending on your printed pages.\u00a0 Now that you are familiar with page yield and printer cartridge cost, you can use that information to calculate the cost per page.\u00a0 The math behind it is pretty simple, just divide the cartridge page yield by the cost of the printer cartridge.<\/p>\n Printer cartridge price \/ Page yield = Cost per Page<\/em><\/p>\n If we continue with our HP 64XL black ink cartridge example, we divide $41.99 by 600, giving us a cost per page of 6.9 cents.<\/p>\n $45.89 \/ 600=7.6 cents<\/p>\n As expected, the Brother LC103 black ink cartridge is much cheaper at just 3.4 cents!<\/p>\n $20.49 \/ 600 = 3.4 cents<\/p>\n Since all of the cartridges work together to produce the colors in your prints, the quoted page yield takes all of the involved cartridges into consideration.\u00a0 To get the cost for your color cartridges, first calculate the cost per page for each individual cartridge using the same formula mentioned previously:<\/p>\n Printer cartridge price \/ Page yield = Cost per Page<\/p>\n Then, add up the cost per page of all of the cartridges. Most cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges have the same page yield and the black cartridge usually has a slightly higher page yield.\u00a0 If your printer uses four individual ink cartridges, you would add up the cost per page of all four cartridges:<\/p>\n (Black cartridge price \/ page yield) + ((Color cartridge price \/ page yield) x 3) = Color cartridge cost per page<\/em><\/p>\n We\u2019ll look at original HP 204A toner cartridges as an example.\u00a0 Original cyan, magenta and yellow toner cartridges sell for $59.89 and print 900 pages each.\u00a0 The black 204A toner cartridge sells for $53.89 and prints 1,100 pages.<\/p>\n ($53.89 \/ 1,100) + (($59.89 \/ 900) x 3) = 24.7 cents per page<\/p>\n The easiest way to cut down printing costs is to buy a printer that uses cartridges with a low CPP.\u00a0 A number of printers these days have a super low cost per page, including Brother\u2019s Inkvestment printer line and the Epson\u00ae\u00a0<\/sup>Ecotank line.\u00a0 A little bit of research and your newfound CPP formula goes a long way!\u00a0 Compatible alternative cartridges from LD Products can bring your cost per page down even further thanks to their affordable price point.\u00a0 We’ll demonstrate the cost savings by comparing all four of our previous CPP examples with their compatible cartridge equivalent:<\/p>\n LD Brand Compatible HP 64XL Black Ink Cartridge<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n $23.99 \/ 600 pages = 3.9 cents per page<\/strong><\/p>\n LD\u00a0 Brand Compatible Brother LC103 Black Ink Cartridge<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n $5.99 \/ 600 pages = .99 cents per page<\/strong><\/p>\n LD Brand Compatible HP 204A Black Toner Cartridge<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n $30.99 \/ 1,100 pages = 2.8 cents per page<\/strong><\/p>\n LD Brand Compatible HP 204A Color Toner Cartridges<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n ($30.99 \/ 1,100 pages) + (($29.99 \/ 900) x 3) = 12.7 cents per page<\/strong><\/p>\n We hope you found our guide to understanding cost per page useful.\u00a0 If you have any questions about your specific printer cartridges drop us a line!\u00a0 Looking for a new printer with a low cost per page?\u00a0 Check out our blog article<\/a> on cost efficient printers!<\/p>\nPage Yield<\/h4>\n
Printer Cartridge Cost<\/h4>\n
Calculating Cost per Page<\/h4>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nWays to Save on Cost per Page<\/h4>\n