Printer Running Costs Explained

What cost per page really means, why quoted page yields rarely match reality, and how to estimate your own running cost.

Last updated 2026-07-30

What this guide covers

How to estimate what a printer will cost you to run, and why the number on the box is not the number
you will experience.

Who it is for

Anyone comparing two printers where one is cheaper to buy and the other looks cheaper to feed.

The decision factors

• **Page yield.** The number of pages a cartridge is rated for, measured against a standardised test
• page with roughly 5% coverage. A dense text page or anything with a background colour will use
• considerably more.
• **Cartridge vs tank vs toner.** Ink tanks are refilled from bottles and cost dramatically less per
• page than individual cartridges. Toner cartridges cost more each but last far longer.
• **Colour set behaviour.** Some printers stop printing entirely when any one colour is empty, even
• for a black-only document. This changes your real cost significantly.
• **Maintenance parts.** Laser printers have drums, fusers and transfer belts with their own
• lifespans. These are real costs that do not appear in a cost-per-page figure.
• **Cleaning cycles.** Inkjets consume ink on start-up and cleaning routines. A lightly-used inkjet
• can spend more ink on maintenance than on printing.

Estimating your own cost per page

1. Find the yield of the black consumable and the yield of the colour set for your model.
2. Divide the consumable price by its yield to get a cost per page for each.
3. Multiply by your realistic monthly page count, split between mono and colour.
4. Add an allowance for maintenance parts on laser models, spread over their rated life.
5. Add the purchase price divided by how many years you expect to keep it.

Doing this for two candidates usually produces a clearer answer than any review.

Common mistakes

• Comparing standard-yield cartridge prices when high-yield versions exist and are much cheaper per page.
• Forgetting that the cartridges supplied in the box are often lower yield than the ones you buy later.
• Ignoring the cost of paper, which is a meaningful share of the total for high-volume mono printing.

Where to verify specifications

Consumable part numbers and their rated yields are published on manufacturers' specification pages.
Match the part number to your exact model — closely-named models frequently take different cartridges.