Thread: pratical/cost efficient printer?

Help! I'm having a time trying to find a good cost efficient printer w/color. I presently have a Cannon IP 90, I believe it is costing me about 30 cents per page. When doing a full
report with three sets of copies that gets pretty pricey. Any suggestions out there?
I'd like a color printer that might cost about 5 to 7 cents per page , aprox. 11 to 12 ins. width.no more than 6 in. high. and about 10 in. max depth. quality and trouble free .
The IP90 works great and is small, but very costly to run.

Similar Threads:

• Average cost of new duct work?
• Cost of a chimney metal cap
• Choosing the wrong home inspector could cost you big - KOMO
• Cost of War
• Cost of Business Button

This is just me but I have not printed a report in over 3 years. I would try to get away from printing reports if I could.

Originally Posted by James Duffin

-- I would try to get away from printing reports if I could.

.
Ditto,

Free share wares ( Bome's Image Resizer for photos then pdf. ) email , save to sent mail most providers have generous mailbox storage .
.
Much better Picture Quality by email verses printed.

Can't help either, I don't print reports. I tried the on-site reporting generating and printing and found it was not for me. I did have a hard time giving up my hard copies for my file, but since learning to trust my hard drive and the back-up and the back-up off site, I have not printed a report in over a year, except one for a lawyers records that I mailed to him a month after the inspection.

I have an HP 460 desk jet. I am guessing here because I never broken it down completely. I am guessing about 6 to 7 cents a page. The printer (haven't bought one in a while) is about the mid 2's with a battery. I print at the most 1 report per inspect, sometimes not at all. I guess I have to figure about 2 years a printer so I guess I better add that in the mix. That would bring it up to 10 to 12 cents total and I am really guessing

Hope it helps a little. I practically never use the printer battery, is is almost always plugged in. You could save there.

Ted

I have an HP Deskjet 6940 and am pretty happy with it. I don't print reports but have printed a bunch of color flyers before and I don't think it's anywhere near 30 cents a page. That sounds really high. Are you using aftermarket/refill ink?

Similar to the others, I haven't printed a report in about 3 years. pdf/email/electronic is great.... everybody seems to prefer it.

Only time I have to print a report is when I do an inspection for a old timer who doesn't have a computer or know anyone with an email address.

They expect me to drive across town and place it in their mailbox.

Yeah right!

They'll get it in the mail whenever the USPS gets it to them.

GOOGLE "refurbished HP color laser" - you can buy an entire printer for the cost of an new set of cartridges, and you can buy a refurbished printer with an extended warranty for less than the cost of a new printer with standard warranty.

If you are printing 3 copies of your report it's not going to matter what printer you use, it will always cost too much.
I do not provide printed copies for realtors, closing attorneys or lenders. They usually don't want them anyway. They all want a pdf emailed.
I always email a pdf to the client. Some clients either need or want a hardcopy and I will gladly provide one. 3 hardcopies, I think I would charge cost for that.
I have no idea what it costs me per page anymore. It just doesn't seem to be that big an expense anymore to worry about.

I email a pdf to the client and their agent and follow up with one printed black & white copy for my client. This gives them a paper copy to hold on to and a pdf to see the pretty pictures in color. This costs me about 3 cents a page. Any decent black & white laser printer will work. I use an HP 1100, but those are no longer being manufactured.

Originally Posted by Markus Keller

If you are printing 3 copies of your report it's not going to matter what printer you use, it will always cost too much.

If you have figured the cost of printing into your cost of doing business, then it never "costs too much".

If you are pricing your services according to market pricing without regard to your costs, then any expense above and beyond the actual cost of inspecting is "too much".

For re-sale inspections, I gave my clients a .pdf file for them to share with their agent (who could print it off).

For new construction, I printed two copies (one for my client and one for my client to give to their builder), sometimes three copies (an additional copy to give to their attorney).

Let's see, 3 copies, at 200+ pages per copy, 'costs too much'? Nope. Not on your life - part of the service my clients PAID FOR. Oh, I also gave my clients a .pdf file of the report too.

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

Let's see, 3 copies, at 200+ pages per copy.

At that rate there must have been a few customers who has suffered from the dreaded Peck-Bloated-Report-Lower-Back-Watusi caused by hefting your loquacious compendium of home inspection defects. Tell us, was that covered by your E&O provider or did it require a medical rider from your insurance company?

Originally Posted by Stephen DeCosta

Help! I'm having a time trying to find a good cost efficient printer w/color. I presently have a Cannon IP 90, I believe it is costing me about 30 cents per page. When doing a full
report with three sets of copies that gets pretty pricey. Any suggestions out there?
I'd like a color printer that might cost about 5 to 7 cents per page , aprox. 11 to 12 ins. width.no more than 6 in. high. and about 10 in. max depth. quality and trouble free .
The IP90 works great and is small, but very costly to run.

Stephen,
I would recommend the HP 470 portable printer. It has a much larger ink cartridge then the i90 and you can easily refill the cartridges also.

Jeff

Stephen,
I have to print out reports once in a while and would never give up my Dell Laser color printer. It prints as cheaply as my clunky old Brother laser printer ( about 10 years old but I hate to give it up, it justs keeps working). The Dell is pretty expensive to buy, but I bought a used one on EBay dirt cheap and the toner lasts forever. The big drawback is - the unit is huge, about the size of 2 desktop computers side by side. I did see a HP color laser for $199 a couple weeks ago, but I think the per page cost is a little higher on the HP's.
An added plus is I no longer have to cuss and swear at an inkjet printer when the ink dries out in the print head. I have thrown away 3 or 4 "boat anchors" in the past several years.
Lee

Stephen I recently purchased an HP Officejet Pro L7590 for $250 on sale at Staples. It's an all in one ink jet printer, the print cartridges last a very long time and are fairly inexpensive. You can buy both standard size and XL size cartridges. Before this printer I was using a cheap HP all in one printer going through ink cartridges like crazy, I always had to have extra ink on hand. You can't go wrong with this printer at this low price.