Printing Cost Update 002

[wcandrews@sccoast.net]

Here are two screen shots of my updated Excel Spread Sheet that shows the total (almost) cost of printing photographs. As in the past the ink usage for the Canon Pro9000 II comes from the research done and published by Red River they do good work.

This update includes HobbiColors and Mis ink and assumes that ink consumption is comparable between both papers and all ink.

The spread sheet isnt of the best layout because it just grew as I got around to it, and I am too lazy to start again to make it pertty.

This first screen shot shows the final results. The second screen shot shows how the results were calculated.

There are two very striking results to me about this analysis
1. When using these third party ink at current prices (including shipping and/or sales tax in SC), paper is the greatest factor in the printing cost. Note the difference in using Red River paper and Kirkland paper. Red River is a very economical paper and other name brand papers are likely greater cost than Red River.

2. The actual printing cost from the three inks used here demonstrate that even up to 13" x 19" print there is little difference in the total cost using any of the three inks. You dont need to base your ink selection on price between these three inks, even though one is almost twice as expensive as OCP, the least expensive.

The lesson here is that you can select ink from any of these three sources on the quality of the result, and keep your printing cost almost constant. Now how you determine that is another story.

Note on the Cost estimates
1. These results include shipping cost and/or sales tax when they could be found.

2. These results dont take into account any amortization of equipment, or other factors that can increase the cost of printing.

 

[stratman]

Interesting. Nice work.

Curious you used 8.5X11 paper for printing 4X6 prints. Don't recall seeing that on the forum as people seem to use 4X6 paper from the start.

Is it you don't print many 4X6 and use the larger paper to avoid added cost of additional stock, concerns over performance of a hardly used and aging stock, printer performance advantage in using the larger sized paper, or better uses for finite storage space?

 

[wcandrews@sccoast.net]

Getting three 4 x 6 prints from one 8.5 x 11 sheet requires that you print two portrait and one landscape on a single sheet of paper.

This is an almost automatic operation with Qimage and a less convenient thing with Lightroom.

Printing the three 4 x 6 prints on one 8.5 x 11 is the way to print economy. Using 4 x 6 paper is very expensive and doesn't make borderless prints very well.

I only stock 8.5 x 11 and 13 x 19 paper. This provides the best economy in paper I have found>

Good Luck!!
Wil

 

[l_d_allan]

Wil,

Interesting way to economize on photo paper. On a cost per square inch, letter size 8.5x11" Kirkland is significantly lower than their 4x6". If I did the math correctly, a 4x6" is about 5 each for 24 sq", and the letter size is about 4x more area (93.5 sq") for about 12.5 each.

I infer you make your cuts so you have the equivalent of:
* a pair of 4.25 x 6"
* one 5 x 8.5"

*****************
*       *       *
*       *       *
*       *       *
*       *       *
*****************
*               *
*               *
*               *
*               *
*****************

Something I've done is have Office Depot cut an almost full package of 125 sheets of Kirkland 8.5x11" paper in half, so I have 250 sheets of 5.5x8.5". The aspect ratio is very close to the sensor's 2:3 ratio ... 0.647 vs 0.667. A problem is that with my 9000-2, I can't print borderless, as 5.5x8.5 is a custom size.

(Note: Office Depot charges 75 for the cut, with a maximum of 125 sheets ... ymmv).

 

[wcandrews@sccoast.net]

Get a RotoTrim trimmer and cut your own. This trimmer will last you a lifetime with no problems. Mine is the 24 inch model and is about 10 years old. I make whatever size desired. If I want 4 x 6, that is what I cut.

I don't print borderless and don't recommend it.

1. This causes distortion at the edges, and sprays ink off the sheet which is likely to give you a problem at some point.

2. You can get the same effect in a 4 x 6 print by printing three on one 8.5 x 11 and not have the mentioned problems.

Good luck!
Wil

 

[Redbrickman]

I'm sure I read in the forum here or elsewhere that the Pro 9000 MKII can print borderless with no overspray problems. I have been printing borderless with mine for a little while now and no issues with spray so far.

No doubt one of the members her with a well used Pro 9000 MK2 will chime in.

 

[martin0reg]

To have a simple standard for comparison I would suggest to calculate:

- the average consumption of ink per letter sized / A4 paper in milliliters

With your personal cost of ink per ml and of a sheet of letter sized paper you could easily estimate you own cost of a print with this printer model

 

[The Hat]

Why go to all that trouble to find what it actually costs to print a photo on an inkjet printer.
If you are using non OEM inks who cares anyway, just keep on printing those lovely photos..

 

[Redbrickman]

For me ink costs are negligible.

Getting the best priced papers in UK is more interesting to me.

 

[wcandrews@sccoast.net]

This really is a tough forum. I try to share some information and just get negative replies. I've learned my lesson. I'll keep my info to myself.

Good bye,
Wil