Comparison of the cost of using cartridges for laser printers (top models in 2014)

We welcome the habrasoobschestvo again!
Recall that the previous post ( Laser printers and consumables: a memo for choosing and extending the life ), we devoted to the description of the basic principles of the choice and extending the life of laser printers and consumables for them.

In the comments to the material, a curious suggestion arose: to compare the cost of using consumables for different groups of printing equipment. The proposal is really quite interesting, and since we can give a detailed (more than) answer, we hope that all this information will be useful to both private users and corporations. In general, let's get started.
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There are 4 main groups of laser printers:
- personal equipment;
- small equipment;
- medium technology;
- large equipment.

We also identified 3 main groups of consumables for laser printers:
- original cartridges;
- refilled and reconditioned cartridges;
- compatible cartridges.

Choosing 2-3 top models in each of the groups of printers, we compared them according to the “copy price” criterion, where the copy price is the cost of the printed document, which includes only the cost of consumables (cartridges) without taking into account the maintenance of the printer.

Comparing the cost of using cartridges for laser printers

The purpose of the comparison is to give the most objective assessment of the cost of using various consumables.
We made the choice of TOP cartridge models on the basis of data from the Business-Inform Information and Marketing Agency (http://sforp.ru/docs/marketing/index.htm), as well as on the basis of statistics unloaded from our company's information system.
Cartridge prices are an arithmetic average of prices for several leading suppliers of original, compatible and refillable / remanufactured cartridges.

The price of the copy is obtained by us using the formula:


The price of a copy of the original cartridge was obtained on the basis of the arithmetic mean market value.
The price of the refilled / refurbished copy is indicated by us in the “refill-recharge” range.
The price of a copy of a compatible cartridge is in the range cheap - expensive TM.

Personal Technique Group (print per month up to 5,000 copies):


Small Equipment Group (5,000-10,000 copies printed monthly):


Middle-class printers (print per month from 10,000 to 50,000 copies):


Printers "Large office equipment" (printing per month from 50,000 copies):


Thus, it is possible to derive the INDICATOR of the ratio of the cost of cartridges to the cost of paper.
Why did we choose paper as a constant? There are two reasons:
- paper is necessarily involved in the printing process;
- its cost is quite stable, unlike other participants in the printing process (printer, cartridges).

We obtained the ratio of the cost of cartridges to the cost of paper in the following way:


Cartridge analysis by indicator:


The table gives you the opportunity to compare the cost of paper with the cost of cartridges and evaluate their suppliers in pricing, as well as see the possibilities of saving, if there is a need.

However, "saving" is only one of the criteria for choosing those or other consumables for printing equipment. In addition to it, an important characteristic of office printing is the "quality" of the print, and in recent years, such a criterion as "environmental friendliness" has been gaining increasing relevance.

I would like to talk about them in a separate article, if, of course, Habr is interesting. By the way, we are ready to write more detailed answers to various topics related to the field of laser (and not only) printing. If there are suggestions about what to write, what you are interested in hearing, we are ready to implement these suggestions!