We have been in the business of fixing printers and office machines for over 12 years. We have learned a thing or two about when it’s worth fixing or time to pitch it and get a new one
INK JET PRINTERS
Depends on how much you paid and when you bought it
An inkjet printer makes sense for the vast majority of home computer users, but if you print more than 2,000 copies per year you should consider an HP laser printer for much cheaper printing costs. Repair of inkjet machines is hit or miss do to lack of parts availability. Contact us for further information.
LASER PRINTERS
Ask yourself these questions when considering replacement or repair
- Do you have extra toner cartridges, drum units, and consumable items for the printer you have already?
- Is the machine a higher end model? AS A RULE THE HIGHER THE MODEL NUMBER FOR A MACHINE THE CHEAPER THE TONER COSTS
- How much is it going to cost for repair in relationship to buying a comparable new machine?
You can’t get a brand new laser printer for $500 and expect it to last for more than 30,000 copies before needing costly parts.
30,000 may seem like a lot of copies and for a home office it is, however most offices will print 30,000 copies in a few short months and the cost-per-page in toner is far too high in a small, inexpensive consumer-oriented laser printer.
All of the manufacturers at the time of this writing have scaled way back on toner yield for the consumer market, while maintaining the same price points. When a few short years ago a small consumer laser printercould be 10 times more cost efficient to use over inkjet printers, in 2009 it is only about 2-3 times. I guess the manufacturers thought they were leaving too much on the table. Keep your old laser printer. It’s worth it.
IT’S THE TONER EXPENSE
- HP 4000/4050/4100: 75 cents per 100 copies. Let me use the venerable HP 4000 laser printer as an example of toner expenses. This machine has been around for 10 years and while it may be a little slower than it’s newer siblings it still works great in a modern office when serviced properly. If you own one it would be crazy in my opinion to buy a new black and white laser printer to replace it. Most repairs for this machine cost around $100 and never more than $300 and typically the machine will go 100,000 copies between service calls. That’s right! 100,000 copies! An HP 4000/4050 toner cartridge C4127X has a page yield of 10,000 copies. We sell this toner cartridge remanufactured for $74.95 with a cost-per-page of .0075 cents per copy, or $7.50 per 1000 copies.
- HP P3005: $1.08 per 100 copies. The HP p3005n printer is a current model in 2009 lineup and a great printer. One we certainly recommend. It sells for around $800 new. Let’s look at cost per page of this machine. The page yield of the high yield toner Q7551X is 13,000 copies and our price for a quality OEM-compatible toner is $139.95 for a cost-per-page of a little over a .01 cents, or $10.77 per 1000 copies.
- HP P1505: $2.75 per 100 copies. the HP 1505 is a small desktop laser printer that is reliable, quiet and inexpensive, but the toner expense? We sell this toner CB436A for $54.95 which is a great deal for that cartridge for a cost-per-page of .027 cents per copy or $27.48 per 1000 copies!
This is the way with all low priced laser printers and reveals the primary difference between an economy desktop laser printer and a true business machine.
Look at this comparison to see how much money you can save!
- HP 4050n. $75 per 10,000 copies
- HP p3005n. $108 per 10,000 copies
- HP 1015. $275 per 10,000 copies! Now that’s a lot of money!
Conclusion
You can easily see that not only is the initial printer investment high, but cost of toner is higher in newer and ESPECIALLY less expensive machines. Fix your old machine and save money!
How soon will you update your blog? I’m interested in reading some more information on this issue.
Good point! Thanks!