Gee...I want a printer

Interesting treatise on ink costs... http://www.redrivercat​alog.com/cost-of-inkjet-printing.html

Yes, running costs are high, but so is satisfaction...

I just got a Pro-100 and am loving it. Find the right deals on paper from Canon like they are now will drastically lower your costs. If you use Precision Color inks and refill your cartridges printing costs are almost inconsequential.

So take the costs that Red River gives and take those at the high end if you just buy their paper and use oem cartridges.

This was meant to indicate that home printing is not cost effective.

I can print photos cheaper at home than to send them out, almost in every situation, up to 13x19. I agree with Steve.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #17837279
I can print photos cheaper at home than to send them out, almost in every situation, up to 13x19. I agree with Steve.

I almost agree with you. It may be cheaper to do it at home. I find it more convenient to use Walmart on-line. I prep the photos. Upload the photos. Wait for USPS delivery. If something isn't right (that rarely happens), Walmart will correct it in store - free - until I like it. No worrying about which paper or size I need. No running out of one color of ink in a tank. I find the online thing a lot EASIER, even if it does cost a bit more. Smaller prints are almost free ~$0.09?. The bigger stuff gets a bit more salty.

When ya factor in the cost of the printer/paper/ink/wast​ed images...how many prints to fiscally break even?

chauncey wrote in post #17837274
This was meant to indicate that home printing is not cost effective.

Neither is owning a Mercedes, as compared to a VW. But I really like my CLS 550.

If money were the point, then this might make sense to discuss. At least note that a professional printer has a running cost of about half of a non-pro printer.

chauncey wrote in post #17837369
When ya factor in the cost of the printer/paper/ink/wast​ed images...how many prints to fiscally break even?

I have had a total of 4 images I had to throw away, 2 were due to poor colors not matching what I saw on the computer, 2 were to do the calibration for a custom profile to fix that issue, 2 were 13x19s, the calibrations were 8x10s.

I have tons of paper at my house, from 4x6 to 13x19. One of my orders for Canon photo paper was such:

100 5x7
250 8x10
100 4x6

$48 total to my door...

I then had to buy 8 ink bulk refills from OCP from Germany, along with a chip resetter. This totaled $60ish, I cannot find the exact receipt/amount, as it was 2 years ago.

If I assume that I will use all that ink for the 8x10s and printed 250 of them (which is not even close, the ink bulk bottles will print much more than this), then my total outlay of cash for each of the 250 8x10s are:

$37 for the paper = 24 cents per 8x10 (EDIT: adjusted price based on square inches from 8x10 vs entire order)
$60 for the ink and resetter = 24 cents per 8x10

The printer was free when you consider the rebates. This means that each 8x10 costs me less than 48 cents to print. In reality, the ink refills will be enough to print over twice that many, so the cost may be actually be around 36 cents each.

My 13x19 prints (which I do alot of) are only around 60 cents each tops, I believe, if I remember my assessment the last 5 times this came up.

The trick is 4 parts:
- Get a Pro 100 or other Canon printer during the rebate season basically making the printer free if you sell off the other items.
- Get good bulk ink and a chip resetter
- Get Canon paper during the Halloween and Christmas period where when you buy one box of paper, they throw in 4 other boxes for free, free shipping, and other perks.
- Never let the cartridges ever dry out, always keep them filled.

You do this once, and you are good for a few years for hundreds of prints, saving you alot of money.

Bassat wrote in post #17837349
I almost agree with you. It may be cheaper to do it at home. I find it more convenient to use Walmart on-line. I prep the photos. Upload the photos. Wait for USPS delivery. If something isn't right (that rarely happens), Walmart will correct it in store - free - until I like it. No worrying about which paper or size I need. No running out of one color of ink in a tank. I find the online thing a lot EASIER, even if it does cost a bit more. Smaller prints are almost free ~$0.09?. The bigger stuff gets a bit more salty.

Convenience is in the "mind" of the beholder (ie. subjective). When somebody wants a print from a portrait session, or my wife decides to frame up 4 prints from Hawaii, etc. I find it easy to just locate the images and send them to the printer. The only hassle is to load the paper and send it to the printer. For online, I have to upload the images and go through the checkout process. Then I either have to wait for them to ship, or go and pick them up, depending on when they are needed. I am not sure which is way is more convenient? Coupled with the cost savings, it just makes sense to do this at home for me anyways.

Why would a paper company that produces paper exclusively for home printing publish something that it's not cost effective? They actually say, "The choice to pursue photo inkjet printing is in the end an individual economic choice."

I choose to purchase paper on sale and ink bulk.y economic choices are cheap!

Printing at home is cost effective if you sell your prints. That is if you get enough for them to cover your costs.

We are comparing methods and some are more less costly than others, and that has nothing to do with whether you sell the prints or not. We are not discussing business needs and profit, just the costs side of the equation.