Background
In this post we’re going to learn the cost of using a printer from several aspects.
Printers are divided into commercial and home use.
First, let’s look at commercial machines.
Commercial printers, especially A3 copiers, have many hidden costs, and the costs here are not just toner kit and drum unit.
For A3 color photocopier, you also need to consider accessories such as fuser, developer unit, laser, transfer belt, transfer roller, pickup roller, photoconductor drum, photoconductor drum blade, transfer belt blade, and developer blade.
At the same time, the A3 color copier has 4 toner cartridges, 4 developers, as well as fuser, pickup roller. These parts are the most frequently replaced parts, and other parts have a longer life and do not need to be replaced easily.
The consumable parts of the A3 black and white copier are similar to those of the color machine, but the black and white machine has only 1 toner cartridge and 1 developer. Some machines have transfer belts, while others do not, so the cost will be much lower.
Fuser Unit
When the fuser fails, the heating tube or pressure roller, as well as the separation claw and the heating lamp or sensor are usually replaced. The cost of directly replacing the fuser is too high. Of course, these accessories will not be damaged at the same time. It is either the separation claw, the heating tube or the pressure roller that needs to be replaced frequently.
Developer Unit
Developer unit will not fail easily. Usually, the carrier is replaced, and sometimes the developer blade needs to be replaced. Unless the number of printed sheets is very large, hundreds of thousands of sheets have been printed, then the entire developer needs to be replaced.
Toner Cartridge
Toner is a common consumable part. You can replace the entire cartridge or the photoconductor drum. By the way, the blade is also replaced, otherwise it will not be wipe clean, which will cause the grey background to appear.
Pickup Roller
The life of the pickup roller is also relatively long. Generally, it is replaced once every hundreds of thousands of sheets. Wear of the pickup roller will cause difficulty in feeding paper.
Therefore, before purchasing a commercial printer, you must check the prices of the above-mentioned consumable parts, and don’t just look at the prices of toner kit and drum unit. These consumable parts involve the later service life and maintenance costs, and the toner kit and drum unit can only determine its use cost.
Home printer
Home printers include laser printers and inkjet printers.
For inkjet printers, you only need to consider the price of ink cartridges, or directly buy an ink tank printer.
For home inkjet printers, printing volume is small, and there are almost no problems with other parts. As long as the ink cartridge is cheap, it is a good machine.
In terms of consumable storage, inkjet printers can be divided into: ink cartridge machines and Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) machine.
What is an ink cartridge machine?
Ink cartridge machine can only replace cartridge but not refill ink. Although the machine is cheap, but cartridge capacity is small, and price is expensive. Thus, use cost is high, and it is not suitable for users with a large print volume.
What is the Continuous Ink Supply System (CISS) machine?
CISS refers to a printer can directly refill ink. The machine body comes with an ink filling port. It can reduce printing costs.
This type of machine has a low cost of use, is convenient to refill ink, and is suitable for users with large print volumes. If you do not refill ink randomly, it will not easily fail, so the maintenance cost is relatively low.
Laser printer
As for home laser printers, the main consideration is the price of toner cartridges. Before buying, find out compatible toner cartridge cost. Home printers have a small print volume. As long as you buy a reliable model, you don’t need to repair it in the later stage. Just change the toner cartridge or refill toner.
There are drum-powder integrated and drum-powder separated type of printer consumables.
“Drum-powder integrated” means that the toner kit and drum are together, and they can be replaced together when changing. “Drum-to-powder separation” means that the toner kit and drum unit are separated. You can replace the toner kit at ordinary times, and replace drum unit only when there is a problem with the drum.
If you choose compatible toner cartridges, and the cost is very low.
Summary:
When we buy a printer, in addition to the print quality, there are many hidden costs to consider. Especially for commercial color printers, which have many consumable parts. You can’t just consider the cost of the toner kit and drum unit, but also the cost of subsequent maintenance and repair.
For home printers, try to choose reliable models, which almost don’t need repairs in the future, just replace the cartridge, or refill ink.
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