photo printing in shop often cheaper than at home

[Nifty]

Looks like we are getting pretty close... at least on the i series Canon printers. Grandad got 50 8.5x11 and I was around 40 of the same size on my i860. The most consistent number I've seen is about 50 "full size" pages AND there is usually ink still left over in at least one of the carts.

When I first got my i560 I printed a photo album of each of my parent's grandkids for the grandkids... all 18 of them. So, 18x18 = 324 of the 4x6 prints. When finished I had a bit of ink left over in each color. If I just use those numbers and Kirkland paper that is $0.17 a print.

 

[roytje]

Hello Grandad,

I think this is where it did go wrong: Coverage with water does not assure 100% coverage when using ink. Ink probably has other properties then water. There's a difference in density. I think this is the main reason.

I hope this is a proper answer to your question.

 

[Grandad35]

Hi Roy,

My numbers came from the actual ink usage. The water test was only a sanity check to make sure that I didn't make an order of "magnitude" error, and it did not enter into the numbers or calculations.

 

[KnightCrawler]

25% spillage loss,

Holy crap I hate to see your house grandad !!!

Unlike grandad I have yet to spill ink, thank god

Anyways 125 sheets for $20.65, I put 4 pictures per sheet works out to 0.0413 per 4.25 x 5.5 { I hate wasting paper }

Plus the ink cost which is $30 for 16 oz.

Works out to 6 or 7 cents per picture.

I inlude tax and shipping cost.


The printer cost isn't included because I need a printer anyways but I got mine completely FREE plus I got some cash back since the rebates were more then the actual cost of the printer.

 

[websnail]

Just to note.. I did a little comparison against my own figures that I put together using Retail prices (GBP) and the figures given for individual printers despite carts being useable in different ones.

The results were a bit interesting...

1. The R200 and the R300 results are actually different whereas your results seem to indicate that they will work the same.. Blame Epson for this one as they give different results for each printer with the same cart.

2. Your calculators give "Ink Costs"... which inks? Generic? Epson/Canon/HP branded? It's not particularly scientific and whilst it ID's which would be an ink hog it doesn't explain that there are different types of ink which are more expensive.. At the moment it's just a figure from the air.


In all honesty, without seeing any of the underlying detail the actual calculators are not overly helpful... They assume a set price for the printer, some mysterious ink supplier and no indication of ink type (Chrome, dyebase, etc..)..


Apologies if this sounds rather harsh... I know it is somewhat but at the moment it's just a bunch of figures and personally I like to see where the figures are coming from and adjust accordingly for things like local printer costs, etc...

 

[roytje]

Just to note.. I did a little comparison against my own figures that I put together using Retail prices (GBP) and the figures given for individual printers despite carts being useable in different ones.



2. Your calculators give "Ink Costs"... which inks? Generic? Epson/Canon/HP branded? It's not particularly scientific and whilst it ID's which would be an ink hog it doesn't explain that there are different types of ink which are more expensive.. At the moment it's just a figure from the air.


In all honesty, without seeing any of the underlying detail the actual calculators are not overly helpful... They assume a set price for the printer, some mysterious ink supplier and no indication of ink type (Chrome, dyebase, etc..)..

My calculator gives ink costs for OEM ink cartridges (Lexmark/Epson/HP/Canon original inks). Ink prices and printer prices are prices from manufacturers price lists for the United States. By the way, my calculator is recently updated, so you can check the result. If you don't agree with the results please tell me!

 

[websnail]

My calculator gives ink costs for OEM ink cartridges (Lexmark/Epson/HP/Canon original inks). Ink prices and printer prices are prices from manufacturers price lists for the United States. By the way, my calculator is recently updated, so you can check the result. If you don't agree with the results please tell me!

Roger that...

For what it's worth the past 2 days have been fun while I update my spreadsheet calculator but I suspect mine's a bit different as mine's comparing OEM to aftermarket and CIS (bulk ink) systems.

Not easy by any stretch of the imagination... Either way, IIRC my main niggle with you calculator was that you didn't state where the figures came from or what they represented. It'd be really useful for end users to be able to plug in some custom figures for their own cart suppliers and see how things turn out then... Might actually help you build up a comparison db in the process.

 

[d86cfv]

Interesting figures in that calculator there. Not sure whether they actually bare much resemblance to real life though!

DeskJet 5740 - 0.13 per 4x6 photo

Canon IP 3000 - 0.13 per 4x6 photo

In the UK the 344 retails for about 25.00 and that holds 14ml of ink so 4.7 ml per colour!

The bci6's cost about 8.50 so that's 25.5 for 3 cart's with 12ml of ink in 36 ml all together, More than double the HP!

Then you can throw into the equation that the HP is a TRI colour cart, so you'd better be printing very even colours to get full use out of all colours!

So, do the maths, you have twice the amount of ink for the same price = half the running costs.

 

[roytje]

Then you can throw into the equation that the HP is a TRI colour cart, so you'd better be printing very even colours to get full use out of all colours!

So, do the maths, you have twice the amount of ink for the same price = half the running costs.

That's not true, the amount of ink used to print a page varies for each printer (e.g. HP tested several printers with the same ink cartridges and the print capacity differences were quite big. In this example the same cartridge is used with a different printer from the same manufacturer. If you change cartridge AND printer brand, the results will vary probably even more) . So, your statement that 'twice the amount of ink for the same price = half the running costs' is false

Greetings

Roy

 

[jackies35]

I am a newbie!! I have been taking pictures at every birthday party, special event, and bbq picnics in NYC made so much money. I am using the Epson r220 printer which i purchased back in 2004....

Ink is a fortune.... It's expensive but for what I do, it's cheap...

I bring my printer outside every weekend, set it up, and take pictures using my DSLR camera....

8x10 = $ 10
5x7 = $ 6
4x6 = $ 2 / $ 3
All pictures are framed and sold after the customer agrees he or she loves it!

I cannot go to Mpix, Duane Reade, or Walmart to print these pics. Yes, it's cheaper but the customer wants the picture right then and now.

This summer alone I made over $5400..... Using my r220.... the ink paid for itself 6x over and over....