Calculations are based on the Computer Food freight free price incl GST divided by the OEM manufacturer’s stated claims for page yield.

We show the costs in cents for:

1. Black only printing costs (CPP Black)
2. Colour Printing costs (CPP Bk + Colour). This adds the Black cost plus any Colour costs used for normal printing. Laser printers include costs for Drums, Fusers and other consumables.

Only OEM (Original) cartridges are used for the calculations. In most cases printers also have compatible or re-manufactured cartridges available which can save costs considerably – you can click on the “Details” link for more information. Mono Laser printers show a zero colour cost of course. All costs are in cents and includes GST.

For page yields we have used manufacturer supplied information, which in most cases for OEM cartridges is based on ISO/IEC standards. For older printers where this is not available, we have used the slightly less consistent 5% coverage per colour method. We have not included some Photo and Wide Format printers as there are no standard per page yields available.

For most home users, Inkjet multifunction printers are best. They are cheap to buy and if you select carefully they are much cheaper to run than they used to be. If you want to print photos go for a printer that has photo quality inks such as the Canon MG series.

Small to mid-sized businesses are usually best to go for mid-range business inkjet printers if colour is needed and if not, get a mid-priced Mono Laser Printer.

Larger Businesses that need high volumes and consistent good quality colour printing can go for a High end Colour Laser Printer. If these are too expensive to buy an alternative is high end business inkjet printers which can offer similar speeds for a lower initial outlay. If you don’t need colour then high end mono printers offer reliable and fast low cost printing.

Note that it is a myth that Colour Laser printers are cheaper to run and faster than similar priced inkjet printers. Colour Lasers are very complex machines and the prices reflect this. Inkjet printers for general purpose use have come a long way in the last few years and now offer very low cost printing.

Each drop-down heading is explained below:

1. Type of Printer - Multifunction printers: In addition to printing, these can also do at least one of these: copying, scanning and/or faxing.
2. Type of Printer - Single Function Printers: These only print. Ideal if you already have a copier or you have no need for copying and scanning.
3. Colour - Inkjet (Colour): These use inks and largely use 4 or more colours - Black (K), Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y)
4. Colour - Mono (Black only): These use black toner powder only and do not print any other colour.
5. Colour - Colour Laser: These use 4 toner cartridges and like inkjets use Black (K), Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y).
6. New Printers: Printers that are currently for sale. This changes almost daily and excludes Dell printers as they don't sell to Dealers. It also excludes printers where an accurate cost per page figure is not available or printers where stock is hard to get or is not competitively priced.