Globally, paper production has been on a downward trend since 2017, even with the world population continuing to rise.  Why then would paper prices be on the rise?

Deciding to capitalize on the popularity of video, our talented First Touch Team is producing a video series called First Touch Answers as just another tool in our arsenal to help our customers do better business.

It is true that printing in color is more expensive than printing black and white.  While some IT departments will set print drivers to default to black and white (mono), others leave it set to Auto Color.  Auto Color allows the device to read the images and determine if the page should be printed in color or mono.   Therefore, proper conversion of images from color to black and white is critical.

A favorite culprit for paper jams is the actual paper.  Nothing is more frustrating for both customers to hear and service technicians to say 'your paper is causing the issue'.  It seems too simple but it really is a very easy issue to resolve.

No one gets more frustrated than when someone responds to this question with "It depends." Copier and printer pricing varies much like automobiles, because there are lots of options.  We will try to make this answer as simple as possible.

We are asked quite frequently whether we recommend buying (outright purchase) or leasing the copiers, printers and all-in-one devices we provide to our customers.

As the name implies, inkjet copiers/printers use a liquid ink to produce an image. A laser copier uses a dry powder called toner to produce an image. These two materials are also applied to the media via different processes. The inkjet uses an array of micro nozzles to spray the ink onto the media where it dries. The laser process uses a series of static charges to transfer toner to the media and then applies heat to melt or fuse the toner to the surface of the media.

When we experience a paper jam, the copier or printer usually gets the blame, but there can be other suspects involved in this crime against productivity.  It only requires a little investigation.

On November 7-8, 2019, The Cannata Report, an intelligence resource for business technology and imaging solutions resellers, hosted its 34th Annual Awards & Charities Dinner to raise funds for Tackle Kids Cancer at Hackensack Meridian Health and 4th Annual Women Influencers Brunch in Morristown, New Jersey.

Let’s first address the factors which determine a cost per copied or printed page and in order to do this let’s assume an average monthly volume of 5,000 pages.

In a true cost per page, the equipment would be included. If the cost of the equipment is the industry average, $6,500, and is leased for five years this should be approximately $130 per month. At 5,000 pages per month, you will need $.026 per page just to cover the equipment cost.

Toner is a huge factor in determining cost per page. Our example above is a color device. This means it will require four toners at a time: Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Let’s assume the price for a black toner is $79 and yields approximately 16,500 pages based on 5% coverage. This would make just the black toner $.0048 per page.
The Cyan, Magenta and Yellow toners each cost $120 and yield approximately 5,500 pages based on 5% coverage. Each color toner costs $.022
A Full Color Page is calculated at 20% coverage of the page and based on these numbers, would equate to approximately $.07 just in toner costs.

Now, I am going to throw a wrench out, not to get us sidetracked, but it is something that definitely needs to be addressed. What happens when you want to have an extra set of toners on the shelf but you are only paying a cost per page price?
Toners on the shelf are not actually generating any cost per page revenue for your vendor. In the scenario above, this would equate to $439 in additional costs not factored into the cost per page. In essence, the cost per page for black just doubled to $.0096 per page and $.14 for a full color page just for toner. While there is the argument of having extra toner so you never run out and experience downtime, the fact is the number one cause of running out of toner is human error. The technology today is so advanced, if you sign up for our AutoTech program, you will never need those additional toners on the shelf nor need to worry about human error. You can read more about AutoTech,

Other consumable items would include the following:
Photoconductor or Development Units are often referred to as drums. In a color device, there will also be four of these units: Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. They often range from $100 - $200 each.
Transfer Belts are also in the $100 - $200 range, as are Fusing Units or Fusers and Exhaust Filters.