Cost Per Copy vs. Buying Toner as Needed: Does Every SMB Really Need a CPC Agreement?

Cost per copy can be an excellent way to manage a busy print environment. But it is not the only way for a small or midsize business to control printing costs, receive dependable service, or protect itself from unexpected toner expenses.

For decades, businesses purchasing office printers and copiers have been offered a relatively simple proposition.

Rather than purchasing toner when it is needed and paying separately for repairs, place the equipment under a cost per copy agreement. The customer pays an agreed amount for each page printed, while toner, service, parts and maintenance are bundled into the cost.

There are good reasons why this model became popular.

It can simplify administration. It can make budgeting easier. It can provide automatic toner replenishment. It can give an organization one company to call when equipment requires service. For larger fleets, multiple locations and high-volume environments, those benefits can be substantial.

But somewhere along the way, cost per copy has sometimes been positioned as something more than a billing and service model.

It can be presented as a form of protection.

The implication is that without a cost per copy agreement, an SMB risks losing control of toner consumption or suddenly facing unpredictable printing costs.

That raises an important question:

Does a small or midsize business really need to pay for every page it prints in order to control its printing costs and receive dependable service?

Not necessarily.

There is another model worth considering.

A business can purchase toner only when it is actually required, maintain an ongoing relationship with a local printer specialist, receive on-site maintenance and repairs as part of that relationship, and still understand exactly what its printing is costing.

In other words:

Professional print management and cost per copy billing are not the same thing.

What Cost Per Copy Actually Does

A cost per copy, commonly called CPC, converts a number of printing expenses into a per-page charge.

Instead of receiving an invoice when a toner cartridge is purchased or when a technician services the machine, the customer is billed according to the printer's meter.

A typical arrangement may include some combination of:

• toner

• parts

• labour

• maintenance

• repairs

• meter collection

• automatic toner replenishment

• device monitoring

For some businesses, that is exactly what they want.

The important distinction is that CPC is a method of purchasing those services.

It should not automatically be interpreted as a permanent guarantee that the original quoted cost per page can never change or that every possible amount of toner consumption will always be absorbed by the supplier.

The protection the customer actually receives is determined by the agreement.

That is why a business evaluating CPC should look beyond the number printed beside "black and white cost per copy" or "colour cost per copy."

The contract matters.

Can rates increase?

Are there minimum volumes?

Are certain parts or consumables excluded?

Is excessive toner consumption addressed?

Are unused or excess supplies reconciled?

What happens when printing patterns change dramatically?

What happens at renewal?

Those questions are not criticisms of CPC. They are simply part of understanding what is being purchased.

A CPC agreement may provide very strong protection and excellent value.

But the words cost per copy do not, by themselves, answer those questions.

What Does 5% Coverage Actually Look Like?

One of the most misunderstood parts of toner pricing is cartridge yield.

A toner cartridge might be advertised as producing 8,000, 12,000 or 20,000 pages.

But that does not mean the cartridge will produce exactly that number of pages regardless of what is being printed.

Toner yield is determined using standardized testing procedures.

For monochrome toner cartridges, one of the best-known standards is the ISO/IEC 19752 test page which is a letter size document with 5% toner coverage. And this is where something interesting happens.

Most people in an office have heard the phrase 5% page coverage.

Very few actually know what 5% coverage looks like.

Figure: ISO/IEC 19752 monochrome toner yield test page

Take a good look at the page.

There is a lot of white space.

That matters.

ISO page yield is based on a standardized office-style test document. Actual yield depends on the average amount of toner used across everything you print. Occasional photographs, brochures or heavily covered pages won't necessarily reduce yield dramatically if most of your printing consists of ordinary business documents.

A page containing a short business letter uses much less toner than a page containing large black headings, dense graphics, photographs, shaded backgrounds or large filled areas. Some pages may be more than 5% in coverage but many pages will be less than 5% in coverage.

So when a toner cartridge is given a rated page yield, that number is useful for comparing products under standardized conditions.

It is not a promise that every customer will receive exactly that number of pages regardless of content.

That is true whether the toner is purchased individually or supplied under a managed print agreement.

The physical printer still uses toner according to what is placed on the page.

Higher Coverage Does Not Disappear Under CPC

This is an important point.

Suppose one business primarily prints invoices, correspondence and ordinary text documents.

Another prints heavily shaded forms, graphics, presentations and pages containing much larger areas of toner coverage.

Those two businesses may own identical printers and print the same number of pages.

But they may not consume toner at the same rate.

If they purchase toner individually, that difference becomes obvious because one business replaces cartridges more frequently.

Under cost per copy, the difference can appear less visible to the customer because toner is supplied as part of the agreement.

But the toner is still being consumed.

That cost has not disappeared.

It has simply moved into the economics of the service agreement.

Depending on the particular contract, unusual toner consumption may be accommodated completely by the provider, reflected in future pricing, addressed through reconciliation provisions, or handled in some other manner.

Again, the contract determines the answer.

This is why CPC should not simply be described as a lifetime insurance policy against toner usage.

It is better understood as a service and billing arrangement that allocates certain costs and risks between the customer and provider.

Buying Toner as Needed Does Not Mean Giving Up Cost Control

There is another misconception worth addressing.

Purchasing toner individually is sometimes portrayed as though the business has no way of knowing what printing actually costs.

That is not true.

In fact, the basic calculation is very simple.

Actual toner cost per page = toner cost ÷ actual pages printed from that toner

If a cartridge costs $200 and the business actually produces 10,000 pages before replacing it, its observed toner cost is two cents per page.

The important word is observed.

That figure is based on what the business actually experienced with its own documents, employees and printing habits.

Over several toner replacements, a business can develop a very good understanding of its normal consumption.

Other operating costs can also be considered, including drums, maintenance items and service.

That leads to an important distinction:

Cost per page is information. Cost per copy is a billing method.

A business does not need to be invoiced by the page in order to know what a page costs.

There Is a Third Option

The traditional discussion often presents SMB customers with two choices.

Option One: Cost Per Copy

Pay for every page and have toner, service and maintenance bundled together.

Option Two: Buy Toner Yourself

Purchase supplies independently and then find and pay a service technician whenever something goes wrong.

But that is not the only alternative.

There is a third model.

Buy toner only when required while maintaining an ongoing service relationship.

This is the model we use at The Fax & Printer Guy Inc.

Our customers purchase their toner from us as and when it is needed.

They are not required to pay us for every page simply to maintain a relationship with a printer service company.

Instead, the relationship is based on mutual commitment.

The customer supports us through loyalty and by purchasing the toner for the covered equipment exclusively through us.

In return, we support the customer and the equipment with on-site maintenance and repairs under the program.

The customer gets the toner they need.

The equipment remains supported.

And there is no need to convert every printed page into a billing event.

Managed Without Being Metered

Perhaps the easiest way to describe this model is:

Managed without being metered.

A printer can still be professionally supported without requiring a monthly click charge.

The customer can still have someone to call when there is a problem.

The equipment can still receive maintenance.

Repairs can still be handled on site.

The supplier can still become familiar with the customer's printers and printing environment.

There can still be an ongoing business relationship rather than a series of anonymous toner purchases from whichever online marketplace happens to offer the lowest price that day.

The difference is how the relationship is funded.

Instead of paying the supplier every time a sheet of paper goes through the machine, the customer purchases toner when toner is actually required.

If the customer prints less, toner lasts longer.

If toner lasts longer, the next purchase happens later.

If the office becomes busier, toner is purchased more frequently.

Supply purchases naturally follow actual consumption.

There Is Value on Both Sides of the Relationship

It is important to be transparent about why this works.

On-site service has value.

Technical expertise has value.

Maintaining a relationship with a customer and standing behind their equipment has value.

The model works because the relationship has value for both parties.

The customer agrees to purchase the appropriate toner for the covered printers through The Fax & Printer Guy Inc.

That ongoing business allows us to continue supporting the equipment.

So this is not a story about receiving service for nothing.

It is about a different way of paying for the relationship.

With CPC, the relationship is monetized through a meter.

With the toner-as-needed model, the relationship is supported through ongoing supply purchases and customer loyalty.

That can be a very good fit for many SMB environments.

CPC and Toner as Needed Side by Side

Consideration	Traditional Cost Per Copy	Toner as Needed + Service Relationship
Toner	Typically included	Purchased when actually required
Billing
	Based on page count	Based on toner purchases
Meter readings	Usually required	Not required for supply billing
Service	Typically included according to contract	On-site maintenance and repairs supported through toner relationship
Lower print volume	Financial effect depends on agreement	Toner naturally lasts longer
Higher print volume	More clicks billed	Toner purchased more frequently
Toner usage visibility	Often less visible to customer	Directly visible through cartridge consumption
Contract provisions	CPC contract terms determine coverage	Relationship governed by supply/service program terms
Customer commitment	Usually contractual	Loyalty and exclusive toner purchasing relationship
Cost per page	Predetermined billing rate	Can be calculated from actual consumption
Administration	Very simple for many organizations	Also simple in smaller environments
Typical fit	Larger fleets, high volume, complex management	Many SMB and business-class printer environments

Neither model is automatically better.

The right choice depends on the customer.

When Cost Per Copy Makes Sense

There are many situations where CPC remains a very sensible option.

A company may have dozens or hundreds of devices.

Equipment may be distributed across several offices and geographical areas.

Print volumes may be substantial in the 10's or 100's of thousands of pages per month.

The organization may want centralized reporting.

Its accounting department may prefer predictable per-page operating expenses.

IT staff may want automated monitoring and supply replenishment.

A large multifunction copier may be business critical, and the organization may place a high value on a comprehensive service agreement.

In those situations, a well-structured CPC program can be an excellent solution.

The purpose of this discussion is not to argue that CPC is bad.

It is to challenge the idea that CPC is automatically or always necessary.

When Toner as Needed May Make More Sense

Now consider a typical SMB.

It may have one, three, five or ten good business-class laser printers.

Its monthly volumes may be moderate.

The printers may be reliable.

The business may not require sophisticated print analytics or centralized fleet reporting.

What it really wants may be surprisingly simple:

Good equipment.

Reasonably priced toner.

Someone knowledgeable to call when something goes wrong.

Does that customer necessarily require a complex multi-year cost per copy agreement?

Maybe not.

A toner-as-needed service relationship can provide a much simpler alternative.

The customer purchases supplies as they are consumed and receives the support needed to keep the equipment operating.

There is no philosophical requirement that every sheet of paper leaving the printer needs to create a charge.

A Question Every SMB Should Ask Before Signing

Before agreeing to cost per copy, a business should ask:

What problem am I trying to solve?

If the answer is:

"We have a very large fleet and want one predictable operating cost."

CPC may be ideal.

If the answer is:

"We never want our employees worrying about toner inventory."

A managed program may be valuable.

If the answer is:

"Our operation runs 24/7 and we need guaranteed response times and sophisticated fleet management."

Again, CPC or managed print may be the right solution.

But if the answer is simply:

"We want reasonably predictable printing costs and someone to look after our printers."

Then it is worth asking whether paying by the page is really necessary.

Read the Agreement, Not Just the Click Rate

Perhaps the most important advice in this entire discussion is this:

Do not evaluate a cost per copy agreement based solely on the advertised or quoted CPC.

A black-and-white rate expressed in fractions of a cent can look extraordinarily attractive.

But the starting rate is only one part of the arrangement.

Ask what can change.

Ask what is excluded.

Ask what happens with excessive toner usage.

Ask whether rates can increase, when and how they will be calculated.

Ask if rates can increase is there a cap or maximum.

Ask what happens when print volume falls.

Ask what happens if the equipment is replaced.

Ask what happens at the end of the agreement.

And then compare the entire arrangement and its cost against the alternatives.

The question is not:

"Which company has the lowest click charge?"

The better question is:

"What will it actually cost us to operate and support these printers, and which model gives us the combination of service, flexibility and predictability that our business needs?"

The Bottom Line

Cost per copy has an important place in the office equipment industry.

For the right organization, it can simplify a complicated print environment and deliver excellent value.

But it is not the only responsible way to manage printing.

An SMB can purchase toner as it is actually consumed.

It can measure its real-world toner cost.

It can understand its actual cost per page.

It can receive on-site maintenance and repairs through an ongoing relationship with its toner supplier.

And it can do all of those things without necessarily signing an agreement that bills every page passing through the printer.

That leads to what may be the most important distinction for an SMB evaluating its options:

You do not need to pay by the page in order to manage your cost per page.

And you do not necessarily need a cost per copy agreement simply to have someone standing behind your printer.

Sometimes the better model is much simpler.

Buy the toner when you need it. Maintain a relationship with a supplier you trust. And make sure that relationship includes someone who will be there when the printer needs them.