If you own a plotter printer or are considering buying one, your biggest question may be how much it costs. To assume that the upfront cost of a plotter printer is the only thing to consider while budgeting would be incorrect. Aside from the initial price tag, you need to be aware of a few overlooked costs of plotter printers.
Printhead Cleaning and Replacement
A printhead transfers colors onto paper or other media using various methods, such as inkjet or electrographic. Printheads have a few things in common—they all go through cleaning cycles and need replacements.
Your printer’s manufacturer sets up maintenance cycles in which the print heads use ink to flush out the nozzles. This fills up ink waste tanks that you also have to empty often. This eats up a lot of ink, and anyone who owns a printer knows that ink is expensive. While you can’t change these cycles, you can reduce the number of cycles your printer goes through by turning off the printer when you’re not using it. By keeping your printer off when not in use, you avoid triggering an unnecessary maintenance cycle.
The Cost of Printing
Printing supplies, like ink and paper, are expensive. Those costs can add up quickly, depending on how much you print and what you’re printing. Before buying a plotter printer, calculate the average cost of printing for your business. Unfortunately, you can’t do much to save on paper because you can’t reduce the number and size of prints you make.
However, you can save on ink by printing in draft mode often. It’s in your best interest to buy a plotter printer that uses ink efficiently. Although it may cost more upfront, you’ll be saving more than you would with a cheap plotter. Printers with high-quality technology don’t spend as much time starting up from idle, which prevents triggering unnecessary maintenance cycles.
Recurring Maintenance Costs and Downtime
Plotter printers are complex equipment, and sometimes the learning curve is just too great. When things go awry, you’ll have to rely on service experts to perform maintenance or help you troubleshoot issues. Recurring maintenance costs and service downtime add up and are commonly overlooked costs of plotter printers. These expenses rack up even more if your printer doesn’t have a service package.
At Plotter Paper Guys, we know how expensive it is to print and keep a printer running. We offer the best prices on our xerographic paper rolls so you can get more out of your printer for less!
