Laser versus inkjet running costs: when does printing volume matter?

A printer with cheaper consumables per page can still cost more over your ownership period if its purchase price is higher and you print very little. Compare the same job over the same period, then include the exact compatible supplies and any required maintenance before treating the result as a complete ownership cost.

Start with the Printer Cost Calculator. The example below explains how volume changes a comparison; its invented prices are not quotes for the printers in the calculator.

Start with a job both printers can do

This illustration is mono document printing only. It cannot decide between a mono laser and a printer you need for colour documents or photos. Check colour, scanning, paper size and connectivity requirements before comparing costs.

Inkjet is also a broad category: a cartridge printer and an ink-tank printer need not have the same purchase or running costs. The ink-tank versus cartridge guide covers that separate purchase-premium question. There is no universal laser-versus-inkjet winner.

Three printing volumes over three years

Assume an invented £80 cartridge inkjet with 8p of replacement ink per mono page, and an invented £180 mono laser with 3p of replacement toner per page.

The example uses 36 months, constant monthly usage and prorated consumables. It credits no starter supply and excludes drums, other required maintenance, paper and electricity. All prices, rates and volumes are teaching inputs, not typical UK prices or named-product defaults.

At 25 pages a month, the inkjet subtotal is £55 lower. At 100 pages a month, the laser subtotal is £80 lower; at 300 pages it is £440 lower. These are purchase-plus-consumables subtotals, not complete product TCO or verified savings.

For example, at 100 pages a month the inkjet subtotal is £80 + (3,600 × £0.08) = £368. The laser subtotal is £180 + (3,600 × £0.03) = £288.

When does the purchase premium catch up?

In this simplified example, the laser costs £100 more to buy and uses 5p less in replacement consumables per page. Dividing £100 by £0.05 gives 2,000 pages, where the two subtotals are equal.

At 25 pages a month, equality is at month 80, beyond the 36-month example. At 100 pages a month, equality is at month 20 and the laser subtotal is lower afterward. At 300 pages a month, equality falls between months 6 and 7; month 7 is the first whole month with the lower laser subtotal.

This is a straight-line subtotal crossover, not a complete ownership break-even result. Starter credits, required drums, changed consumable prices or a different usage pattern can move it. Whole-pack purchases can also produce a different cash-spending pattern from the prorated estimate.

Check the costs the illustration leaves out

Use the exact compatible replacement ink or toner price and its published yield. Treat the published yield as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Epson explains that actual ink yields vary with document content, settings, paper, frequency of use and environmental conditions.

Record starter supplies separately. For example, if a hypothetical laser included 500 usable starter pages and you printed 3,600 mono pages, only 3,100 pages would use replacement toner in this simplified model. At the invented 3p rate, replacement toner would be £93 instead of £108, a £15 difference. That credit changes the example; it is not an included supply claim for a named printer.

Check whether the exact laser needs a separately charged drum or another mandatory component, and use its supported yield or replacement interval. Do the equivalent check for the inkjet. An unknown required cost is not zero. Missing purchase or required-component information prevents a complete ownership comparison.

Paper is optional in TrueCost. Electricity is excluded from the installed calculator. Delivery, finance, unscheduled repairs, downtime and resale are outside the approved headline printer estimate. The home-office running-cost guide explains how a mono/colour mix changes the task.

Common questions

Is laser always cheaper to run?

No. The result depends on the exact printer, compatible consumables, required maintenance and printing scenario. A lower consumables rate does not by itself prove lower ownership cost or suitability.

Can I compare a mono laser with a colour inkjet?

For a matched mono task, you can compare the mono cost inputs. If you need colour output, a mono-only machine does not meet the same requirement. Do not apply this all-mono example to a mixed-colour workload.

What if I print nothing?

There is no consumable use in this simplified example, but purchase cost remains. A per-page ownership figure is unavailable at zero pages because it would require division by zero.

Sources and example basis

• TrueCost printer_tco_1.0: prorated headline consumables, separate starter credits, required maintenance, complete-versus-incomplete outputs and zero-usage treatment.
• Epson’s page-yield explanation, checked 2 October 2026, supports the yield limitation only. It does not supply any price or rate in the example.
• All example acquisition prices, per-page rates, volumes and the 500-page starter illustration are synthetic. Decimal arithmetic independently checked 2 October 2026. No retailer offer, product winner or typical market cost is asserted.