QualityLogic Cost of Ink Per Page Analysis
September 2007
Includes ink cartridge pricing provided by 
Summary and Scope of Analysis
For more than 20 years, QualityLogic Inc. has been a premier developer and provider of essential testing solutions to companies that design, build, or purchase printers and printing technology. Our products and services help our customers understand how the products they make or buy conform to specifications, or compare to reference implementations or competing products. We are active members of international standards organizations including ISO and Ecma International, and provide testing assistance to leading technology publications who publish printer reviews.
At the request of Eastman Kodak Company, QualityLogic calculated and compared the Cost of Ink Per Page (CoIPP) of the EASYSHARE 5100, 5300 and 5500 All-in-One Printers to 11 competing printers selected by Kodak. Kodak’s intent was to select printers with significant market share from leading manufacturers.
Monochrome and color cartridge yields for all printers were determined following ISO yield standards, and photo yields were determined using QualityLogic’s photo yield methodology*.
Ink prices from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany for printers in the test were provided to QualityLogic by IDC**, a premier global provider of market intelligence. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) includes VAT, TTC and MwST as applicable for each country. Kodak provided cartridge pricing for their printers. For this report, only standard as-shipped-in-box cartridges or the standard-yield ink cartridges in single quantity pricing (i.e no multi-packs, high yield, combo packs, value packs or special promotions) were evaluated for the purpose of making like-basis comparisons between all printers.
Although there are many factors in total cost of ownership, Cost of Ink Per Page (CoIPP) is an important factor when evaluating total cost of ownership with printer systems.
Cost of Ink Per Page was calculated by dividing these cartridge prices by the yield of each cartridge in the test.
* All references to ‘photo’ in this report refer to 4x6 inch (approximately 10 x 15 cm) borderless photos.
** IDC believes that the list pricing information provided is accurate; however, it is not responsible for any errors, inaccuracies, or variances caused by changes made outside of its defined survey period (July-August 2007).
The following printers and corresponding ink cartridges were included in this Cost of Ink Per Page analysis:
| Company | Printer | Cartridges |
| Kodak | EASYSHARE 5100 EASYSHARE 5300 EASYSHARE 5500 |
3J8965, 3J8966 3J8965, 3J8966 3J8965, 3J8966 |
| Brother | MFC-215C |
LC-900BK, LC-900C, LC-900M, LC-900Y LC-1000BK, LC-1000C, LC-1000M, LC-1000Y |
| Canon | PIXMA MP600 |
PGI-5, CLI-8C, CLI-8M, CLI-8Y, CLI-8B |
| Epson | Stylus DX6000 |
T0711, T0712, T0713, T0714 |
| HP | Photosmart 2575 Photosmart C4180 Photosmart C4280 Photosmart C5180 Photosmart C5280 |
HP338, HP343 |
| Lexmark | X5470 |
18C0032, 18C0033 |
| Cost of Ink Per Page |
The following charts summarize the Cost of Ink Per Page for the printers tested using cartridge prices from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. There are four charts presented for each country: separate charts for monochrome, color, and photo printing, and a chart that adds these costs together to present a total. Details of how these costs were calculated can be found in the “Methodology for Calculation of Cost of Ink Per Page” following these graphs.
United Kingdom: Mono - Cost of Ink Per Page
United Kingdom: Color - Cost of Ink Per Page
United Kingdom: Photo - Cost of Ink Per Page
France: Mono - Cost of Ink Per Page
France: Photo - Cost of Ink Per Page
Germany: Mono - Cost of Ink Per Page
Germany: Color - Cost of Ink Per Page
Germany: Photo - Cost of Ink Per Page
| Methodology for Calculation of Cost of Ink Per Page |
The following is a step-by-step outline of how QualityLogic, using standardized yield testing methodologies and standard pricing information provided by IDC, executed this ‘Cost of Ink Per Page’ test for Kodak.
- QualityLogic Yield Declarations
Yield testing is a process by which the target printers are operated with their ink or toner cartridges to exhaust the amount of ink/toner, and then pages printed are counted to determine the number of pages each cartridge yields. The requirements and operating conditions of such testing are determined by a standard set of testing criteria that will provide an objective and repeatable result.
QualityLogic is a leader worldwide in providing yield testing services. We support and follow the ISO (International Standards Organization) standards for mono and color testing. The advantage of using the ISO standards for yield testing is also supported by leading manufacturers, including Canon, Dell, Epson, HP, IBM, Kodak, Lexmark, Oki Data, Pitney Bowes, Ricoh, Toshiba, Xerox, and others.
ISO is currently working on a standard for photo ink. Until this standard is released, QualityLogic uses a methodology we developed that closely follows the current ISO standards approach.
Key provisions of these standards include:
- Standard test suites
- Minimum of nine cartridges across three printers representative of products in open market
- Clear, objective end-of-life criteria
- Controlled test environment – temperature, humidity, continuous printing
- Yield reporting requirement well defined
- Mono ink – the black cartridge
- Color ink – all full density cartridges containing cyan, magenta, or yellow
- Photo ink – color cartridges or others where nine cartridges were exhausted
- Ink Cartridge Pricing
Cartridge prices used in this Cost of Ink Per Page analysis were researched and provided for QualityLogic by IDC as of July/August 2007. IDC’s methodology for data collection used the manufacturer’s website for each country (Kodak cartridge pricing was provided by Kodak). Pricing shown includes country-wide taxes (VAT, TTC and MwST as applicable for each country and only standard as-shipped-in-box cartridges or the standard-yield ink cartridges in single quantity pricing (i.e no multi-packs, high yield, combo packs, value packs or special promotions) were evaluated for the purpose of making like-basis comparisons between all printers. Below is the summary of the ink cartridges and their individual prices (using U.K. pricing as an example):
Source: IDC, includes VAT
- Cost of Ink Per Page – Per Cartridge
QualityLogic then calculated the Cost of Ink Per Page per cartridge by dividing the price of each cartridge (as defined by IDC’s localized cartridge price, noted above in Section B) by the yield for each cartridge in each model (as defined above in Section A). This calculation results in the Cost of Ink Per Page per cartridge for each test mode: mono, color and photo. (The following is an example based on U.K. pricing.)
Price per cartridge= Cost of Ink Per Page - Per Cartridge Ink yield (in number of pages/photos
Cost of Ink Per Individual Cartridge per Page (UK)
- Cost of Ink Per Page
Cost of Ink Per Page for each printer is calculated by summing the Cost of Ink Per Page per cartridge for each cartridge tested in a given printer model (as determined above in Section C).
Cost of Ink Per Page = CMY + C + M + Y + K1 + K2 + LC + LM
The Cost of Ink Per Page per printer is reflected below (using U.K. pricing as an example). Note that, due to rounding, the total CoIPP may not match the individual ink cartridge costs.
Cost of Ink Per individual Cartridge and total Cost of Ink Per Page (UK)
Cost of Ink Per individual Cartridge and total Cost of Ink Per Page (UK)
The following pages contain tables that relate to yield testing results. The tables show the number of pages per cartridge that can be expected with 90 percent confidence based on our testing. Numbers in black indicate primary cartridges – any cartridge where a minimum of nine cartridges across three printers could be exhausted. Supplemental cartridges are indicated by red numbers and represent those cartridges that are secondary to the purpose of the test. Although supplemental cartridges are not the key focus in the tests as shown, they are included in the test reports to ensure we get a complete understanding of the ink being used.
Generally, the ‘primary’ cartridges for each category of testing are:
QualityLogic performed yield tests and provided yield test reports for all cartridges for models listed below (which are European models). Each table has abbreviated sub-headings that represent the specific ink cartridge types as follows:
CMY |
= | A single cartridge containing cyan, magenta and yellow * |
| C | = | Cyan |
| M | = | Magenta |
| Y | = | Yellow |
| K1 | = | Black |
| K2 | = | A second black cartridge |
| LC | = | Light cyan |
| LM | = | Light magenta |
These yield numbers apply to printers for all three countries included in this analysis. Yields of primary and supplemental cartridges are reported, and the details of these results can be found in Appendix C.
| Contact Information |
For information regarding this Cost of Ink Per Page Analysis, please contact the following person/s:
QualityLogic:
Dave Jollota
Chief Operating Officer
Phone: +1-805-531-9030 x22
djollota@qualitylogic.com
Bridgeman Carney
General Manager, Services
Phone: +1-805-558-5097
bcarney@qualitylogic.com
Address: 5401 Tech Circle, Moorpark, CA, 93021-1793 USA
IDC:
Brian Clarke
Vice President, Pricing and Leasing Evaluation IDC
Phone: +1-508- 935-4765
Fax: +1-508-935-4015
bclarke@idc.com
Address: 5 Speen Street, Framingham, MA, 01701 USA
About IDC
IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 900 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 90 countries worldwide. For more than 43 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.
| Appendices |
| Appendix A: Yield Tables |
| Appendix B: Tables for Cost of Ink - Cartridges & Cost of Ink Per Page |
| Appendix C - QualityLogic Declared Yield Test Results |
| Sub-Appendix C1 - Test Pages |
Test results and cost information provided by QualityLogic. Tests were performed under laboratory conditions and end-user’s results may vary. Test results, ink cartridge pricing and cost per page pricing subject to change without notice by QualityLogic. All test results and cost information are provided “as-is,” “as available,” and all warranties, expressed or implied are hereby disclaimed. Users of the information contained herein assume full responsibility and risk of loss resulting from usage thereof.
Request Yield Reports by Printer Tested
Quick Scroll:
| - | UK: | Mono |
| Color | ||
| Photo | ||
| - | France: | Mono |
| Color | ||
| Photo | ||
| - | Germany: | Mono |
| Color | ||
| Photo |
Methodology for Calculation of Cost of Ink Per Page:
| A. | QualityLogic Yield Declarations |
| B. | Ink Cartridge Pricing |
| C. | Cost of Ink Per Page - Per Cartridge |
| D. | Cost of Ink Per Page |
Appendices: