What do Page Yield and Cost per Page Mean?
You’re about to purchase a new printer. Now you’ve broken down your checklist to its value, durability, quality of the print, and ease of use. Now one thing you might forget is its consumables. In order to continue using your printer, you will need to replace its ink and toner cartridges once it runs out. Now, this is where having more knowledge about page yield and cost per page will be really helpful to get the most value.
What is Page Yield?
Page yield is the approximate or estimated number of prints an ink and toner can do before it runs out or before it is needed to be replaced.
For example, an HP 64 black ink cartridge has a page yield of 200 pages. Now you might be thinking about how did they come up with this number? Page yield is calculated based on a standard set by the ISO or International Organization of Standardization. According to them, a 5% coverage of A4 size of paper is equivalent to a single page. This implies a basic type of coverage, meaning no bold text, no images, or graphics. It is also based on the volume of ink or toner inside the cartridge and how much the printer uses when printing. There are other factors that influence page yield, like the quality of the paper used, page size, font, condition, and age of the cartridge. It is not 100% accurate, but it’s a ballpark estimation.
To better understand this 5% coverage, here’s an image of 2 different papers with print. Both are having 5% coverage:
Now that we have a better understanding of page yield, this is where and when we can calculate the cost per page.
What is “Cost per Page”?
To simply put it, cost per page is the amount of each and every page that you print on your printer using a particular ink or toner cartridge.
How to calculate “Cost per Page”?
It’s very easy. You just need to have the amount of the ink or toner cartridge that your printer is using and get the page yield. Once you have all this information, you just have to divide the amount of the cartridge by its page yield, and the quotient is your cost per page. The formula should look something like this:
Cartridge Price / Page Yield = Cost Per Page
So, for example, your printer or the printer you are planning to purchase is using an HP 64 ink cartridge which is $18.99 each for the black and it has a page yield of 200 pages.
18.99/200 = 0.09495
This means that the cost per page is roughly around 0.9 cents. Taking advantage of XL cartridges can also help if you want to save time and money. Not only that, you don’t have to replace your cartridge more often than you do if you are using standard ink, but buying XL cartridges is also cost-efficient as the cost per page for an XL ink is lesser compared to a standard ink. Here’s another example: HP 64XL ink cartridge is $41.99 for black and has a page yield of 600 pages. This means that the cost per page for an HP 64XL black ink cartridge is only 0.6 cents.
How does knowing “cost per page” help me in selecting a new printer?
Knowing the cost per page will give you a better understanding and can help you with a better judgment in getting the best value for your money. This will also help you compare the consumables or cartridges between 2 or more printers. Knowing this information can give you an idea of which printer will cost you more or will cost you less in the long run.
Thanks for reading! Leave a comment if you have any questions. Looking to save money on your printing projects? Check out www.compandsave.com for some great deals on printer ink and accessories! Remember to follow our blog for more interesting printing-related tips and guides.
About the Author
Jomar Samudio is one of the Search Engine Optimization specialists in CompAndSave. CompAndSave is located in Union City, California, and is a retailer and wholesaler of printing supplies. Starting as a Customer Service Representative for CompAndSave, Jomar has a wide array of knowledge about printers, ink, and toner cartridges, which can help people get better insights and understanding about printers and cartridges. Jomar knows the importance of great Customer Service, so he is here to provide thorough details about frequently asked questions regarding printers and cartridges.
