Qof kastaa wuu maqlay hal-ku-dhegga ah in shirkadaha waaweyn ee daabacadaha khad-jabinta-Brother, Canon , Epson , iyo HP- ay ka sameeyaan^(HP—make) wax ka badan khad-ka ilaalisa daabacaadadooda halkii ay ka iibin lahaayeen madbacadaha laftooda. Tani ma aha oo kaliya axiom; gabi ahaanba waa run.

Khadka daabacaadda ma aha ka kaliya ee la isticmaalo ee hurinaya faa'iidada warshado gaar ah. Tusaalaha kale ee inta badan la sheego waa kartoonada beddelka mandiilka. (Immisa kale ayaad^(you) ka fikiri kartaa?)

Waqtiga ugu dheer, in kastoo, doorashada kaliya ee aan haysanay waxay ahayd (marka laga reebo isticmaalka qolo saddexaad ama kartoonada khad ee dib loo hagaajiyay, laakiin taasi waa sheeko kale) si aan u nuugo oo aan u bixinno qiimaha - haddii, taasi waa, waxaan rabnay inaan sii wadno daabacaadda. Dhawrkii sano ee la soo dhaafay, in kastoo, ugu horrayn ay ugu wacan tahay cadaadiska macaamiisha iyo saxafiyiinta tignoolajiyada, daabacayaasha hadda waxay na siinayaan doorashooyin, doorashooyin badan.

Dhammaantood waxay ku bilowdeen barnaamijka is- diiwaangelinta Khadka degdegga^{(Instant Ink)} ah ee HP , laakiin hadda daabace kastaa wuxuu bixiyaa nooc ka mid ah badeecada "bulk-k" kaaso ugu yaraan xoogaa nafis ah ka siisa qiimaha khad laftiisa iyo, ka sii wanagsan, kordhinta daahfurnaanta waxa ay dhab ahaantii ku kacayso ka dhig daabacahaagu inuu sii socdo.

Soo-saare kasta oo daabacaadeed kastaa wuxuu leeyahay alaab khad badan oo u gaar ah, sida soo socota:

• Walaal^(Brother) = Haamaha INKvestment
• Canon = MegaTank
• Epson = EcoTank
• HP = Khad degdeg ah

Marka laga reebo EcoTank iyo MegaTank , alaabooyinkani aad bay uga duwan yihiin habka iyo inta ay dhab ahaantii ku badbaadinayaan marka la eego qiimaha khad kasta. Iyada oo ku xidhan sida iyo waxa aad daabacdo, badeecad kastaa waxay leedahay faa'iidooyin iyo faa'iidooyin u gaar ah.

In ka badan Foosto Qad^{(Over an Ink Barrel)}

Su'aal la'aan, qalin daabacadu waa mid ka mid ah dareeraha ugu qaalisan, laga yaabee xitaa mid ka mid ah walxaha ugu qaalisan, meeraha. Waxaad bixinaysaa wax aad uga badan halkii wiqiyadood oo khad daabace ah oo ka badan inta aad ku bixiso, dheh, shidaalka, khamriga ugu badan, inta badan cadarka quruxda badan, iyo xitaa, xaaladaha qaarkood, dahab.

Dhaqan ahaan waxaanu ku qiyaasnaa kharashka khadkiisa kharashka boggiiba, ama "qiimaha bogga" ( CPP ). Sannado badan oo aan wax ku qori jiray tignoolajiyada macluumaadka, mid ka mid ah cabashooyinkayga ugu weyn (iyo kuwa badan oo asxaabtayda ah) waxay ahayd warshadaha daabacaadda CPP-yada xad dhaafka ah - gaar ahaan^{(CPPs—especially)} guriga ku salaysan iyo qalabka xafiiska ganacsiga yar yar ee CPPs , aka " kharashaadka socodsiinta.”

Dhowr arrimood, oo ay ku jiraan qiimaha daabacaha, qiimeyntiisa mugga, iyo wixii la mid ah, ayaa saameeya kharashka guud ee mashiinka, iyo farqiga u dhexeeya kharashka socodsiinta mashiinka mid kale wuxuu noqon karaa ilaa 2-ilaa-5 ama xitaa 6 senti bogga monochrome iyo xitaa ka weyn kaas-badanaa aad uga weyn-bogagga midabka.

Wax badan uma eka, waxaad leedahay? Kaliya waa dinaar! Ka eeg dhinacan: 100,000 bog kasta oo aad daabacdo, farqi 1 senti ah oo ka mid ah daabacaha ayaa kugu kici doona $100 dheeraad ah.

Haa, waan ogahay, waxay u badan tahay inaadan daabicin kumanaan bog bishii, ama tobanaan kun sanad walba, arrinkaas. Hagaag^(Okay) markaa. Isku day dhacdadan: Haddii aad daabacdo oo aad nuqul ka sameyso, dheh, 2,000 bogag midab leh bishii, farqi 5-cent ah ayaa kugu kici doona $100, ama $1,200 sanadkii.

Ka fakar inta madbacadaha-fasalka-yar ee madbacadaha ah ee aad ku iibsan karto kaydkaas… Sidaan ku tilmaamay si aan kala go' lahayn boqollaal faallooyin daabacaha ah, inta badan, inta kharashka daabacaha lagu isticmaalo ayaa aad uga muhiimsan inta ay le'eg tahay inta Mashiinka laftiisa ayaa ku kacaya iibsashada.

Akhbaarta wanaagsan ayaa ah in dhammaan madbacadaha inkjet-ka ee maanta ay si fiican u daabacaan, taasoo kuu ogolaaneysa inaad wax badan ka walwasho sifooyinka iyo kharashyada socodsiinta. Haddii aad isticmaasho daabacahaaga marar badan, mid ama in ka badan oo ka mid ah alaabta khad-bulk-ga ah ee soo socota waxay kuu badbaadin karaan lacag-mararka qaarkood lacag weyn. Alaabta khad-badanehee kugu habboon waxay kuxirantahay inta iyo waxaad daabacdo.

Haanta INKvestment ee walaal^{(Brother’s INKvestment Tank)}

Tan ugu cusub ee tignoolajiyada khad-bulk-ga ah, Walaalka INKvestment Tank waxa uu ka soo baxay alaab hore oo ay shirkaddu ugu yeedhi jirtay si fudud INKvestment, kaas oo kaliya ka koobnaa kartuunada khad-soosaarka sare ee caadiga ah oo lagu iibiyo qiimo jaban si ay u keento kharashaadka socda ee hoose.

Si kale haddii loo dhigo, INKvestment AIO waxay la timid khad weyn, iyo markii la gaadhay wakhtigii la iibsan lahaa kuwa cusub, qiimaha boggiiba wuu yaraa-aad buu u hooseeyaa, arrinkaas, in ka yar 1 senti bogga monochrome iyo qiyaastii 4.75 senti midabkiiba bogag

Soo-celinta labaad ee INKvestment , INKvestment Tank , waxay ka kooban tahay haan ku dhex jirta haanta. Magaca farsamada ee nooca ugu dambeeya ee Walaalka^(Brother) lagu magacaabo INKvestment Tank Extended Print ama, mar kale, INKvestment Tank oo kooban.

Haanta INKvestment^{(INKvestment Tank)} waa isku dhafka u dhexeeya kartridges khad caadiga ah iyo kayd kayd dushiisa ah, sida ka muuqata sawirka kore. Marka khadku ku yar yahay, wali waxaad soo iibsataa oo aad ku rakibtaa kartoonada sida caadiga ah, laakiin kartoonada ayaa ku shuba taangiyada sare ee gudaha.

Inta u dhaxaysa kartoonnada dibadda iyo kaydadka gudaha, daabacuhu waxa uu hayaa kumanaan bog oo khad qiimihiisu yahay. Iyo, halkii ay ku soo bandhigi lahaayeen kuwa cadhada leh ee mugga khad ee aan sax ahayn ee guddiga kantaroolka ama boggaga shabakadda ee daabacaha, INKvestment Tank waxay la socdaan inta bog ee aad daabacday ka dibna qiyaasi inta daabacaad ee hadhay, sida ka muuqata sawirka hoose. .

Intaa waxaa dheer, oo la mid ah barnaamijka Khadka degdegga ah ee HP , INKvestment ^{(Instant Ink)}Tank waxay^{(INKvestment Tank)} daawataa heerarka khadadka, waxay kaaga digaysaa marka ay hooseeyaan, waxayna ku siinaysaa inaad ka dalbato kartoonada beddelka si toos ah mareegaha dusha sare ee mishiinka ama guddigeeda kantaroolka.

Waxaad ka iibsan kartaa Brother's Business Smart iyo Business Smart Plus AIOs midkood INKvestment Tank ama INKvestment Tank XL ku celcelinta, iyadoo farqiga u dhexeeya uu yahay kan dambe inuu la yimaado khad labanlaab ah, ama laba qaybood oo khad ah.

Sida laga soo xigtay Brother , mid kasta oo taangiyada khad xajin ilaa-ku salaysan formula of 300 prints bishii, 60 boqolkiiba bogag madow iyo 40 boqolkiiba midab boggag-qiimaha khad sannad ah. Taasi aad ayey uga hooseysaa labadaba wareegga shaqada ee ugu badan iyo/ama daabacaadda lagu taliyey ee billaha ah ee inta badan daabacayaasha Brother .

Haddii aad u isticmaasho mishiinka sidi loogu talagalay, waxaa suurtogal ah in aad khad soo iibsan doonto ka hor inta aan la qiimayn hal-ama labada sano ee kartoonada. Akhbaarta wanaagsan ayaa ah, in qiimaha bog kasta ee boggaga monochrome uu wali yahay (sida bixinta asalka ah ee INKvestment ) oo ka hooseeya 1 senti iyo bogagga midabada ayaa wali ku socda wax ka yar 5 senti midkiiba, taasoo ka dhigaysa daabacayaasha Haamaha INKvestment^{(INKvestment Tank)} ee Brother qiimo gaar ah.

Canon MegaTank

Afarta madbacadaha khad ee waaweyn, ka go'naanta Canon ee daabacayaasha khad-bulk-ka iyo AIO^(AIOs) -yada ayaa ahaa kuwa ugu xamaasadda badan. Sida Epson's asalka EcoTank , halkaas oo kaydka kaydka dushiisa ay ka buuxaan dhalooyin, Canon's MegaTank waa kuwo caqli-gal ah, fududahay in la isticmaalo, oo aad qaali u ah.

Nasiib darro, tan iyo markii la sii daayay dhowr sano ka hor, inkastoo, waxaan aragnay kaliya shan MegaTank mashiinnada, iyo mid ka mid ah, Canon Pixma G4210 MegaTank Wireless All-in-One Printer , waa cusbooneysiin mid ka mid ah afarta nooc ee asalka ah.

Mid kasta oo ka mid ah shirkadda MegaTank , ama G-taxane, Pixmas , halka dhammaantood ay la yimaadaan qaabab kala duwan oo kala duwan, waxay ku socdaan xawaare isku mid ah, awoodda, iyo qiimeynta mugga, iyo dhammaan afarta waxaa loogu talagalay isticmaalka guriga iyo qoyska, inkastoo Pixma G4210 wuxuu taageeraa Ethernet wuxuuna la yimaadaa feedhiyaha dukumeenti toos ah si loogu diro dukumeenti bogag badan iskaanka. Laakiin, sida kuwa kale, aad bay u gaabis u tahay shay kasta oo aan ahayn daabacaadda mugga yar iyo koobiyeynta, taas oo ka dhigaysa mid ka yar mid ku habboon inta badan goobaha ganacsiga.

In kasta oo ay caadi ahaan ku iibiyaan laba ilaa saddex jeer in ka badan kuwa aan ahayn MegaTank u dhigma, MegaTank Pixmas waxay la timid kumanaan bog oo khad ah oo sanduuqa ku jira. Iyadoo G4210 , tusaale ahaan, Canon waxaa ku jira khad ku filan oo la mid ah waxa shirkadu sheegtay inay daabaci doonto ilaa 18,000 bogag madow ah iyo 7,000 bogag midab leh.

Taasi waa khad madow oo ku filan in la daabaco 500 oo bog oo monochrome ah bishii muddo saddex sano ah. Si kastaba ha ahaatee, haddii aad isticmaasho dhammaan khadkii la socda daabacaha oo ay tahay inaad iibsato wax ka badan, ama haddii kale, kharashka boggaga boggaga madow iyo midabada labadaba waa wax ka yar 1 senti midkiiba.

Ma aha oo kaliya tani waa qiimo aad u fiican, laakiin kaliya kama fiicnaanayso tan. Si kastaba ha noqotee, daabacaadda 500 bog bishii mashiinka MegaTank , iyada oo ay u badan tahay inay awood u leedahay, waxay ku riixeysaa mid ka mid ah Pixmas-yarahan^(Pixmas) ilaa xad.

Epson's EcoTank

Epson , dabcan, waa shirkaddii ugu horreysay ee la timaadda kaydka kaydka dushiisa ee laga soo buuxiyey dhalooyinka, shirkadduna waxay samaysay ballan-qaad weyn oo ku aaddan khadka wax soo saarka ee EcoTank .

EcoTank madbacadaha^(EcoTank) oo dhan iyo kuwa goonida ah waxay ku yimaadaan qaabab iyo cabbirro kasta, laga bilaabo guriga-dhamaadka hoose ee shirkadda iyo muujinta^(Expression) qoyska iyo muujinta Premium-ka-yar-ku-jirta^{(Expression Premium Small-in-Ones)} ilaa qaar ka mid ah qalabyada xafiiska ku wajahan xafiiska WorkForce Pro .

Shirkaddu waxay sidoo kale hindisay xasillooni heer sare ah oo isku-dhafan EcoTank WorkForce Pro oo ka soo qaata khadkooda bacaha aluminium ee waaweyn, halkii ay ka ahaan lahaayeen dhalooyin. Kuwani waa mashiinnada beddelka laysarka ee loogu talagalay, si fiican, loogu beddelo daabacadaha laysarka ee goobta shaqada. Laba ka mid ah beddelka laysarka monochrome ee shirkadda, WorkForce Pro WF-M5799 iyo WF-M5299 , waxay taageeraan bacaha XXL ee haya ilaa 40,000 bog.

Sida mashiinnada MegaTank, moodooyinka ^(MegaTank)EcoTank waxay caadi ahaan ku kacaan laba ilaa shan jeer in ka badan kuwa aan ahayn EcoTank . Iyada oo ku xidhan awoodda iyo sifooyinka, macaamiisha-iyo-fasalka-ganacsiga-koobyada miisaska waxay ka socdaan qiyaastii $300 ilaa $1,000, iyo, sidoo kale sida dhiggooda MegaTank , waxay la yimaadaan kumanaan bog oo khad ah oo sanduuqa ku jira.

Iyada oo ku saleysan hababka gaarka ah ee alaabta su'aasha ah, Epson waxay sheeganeysaa in nooc kasta oo EcoTank ah uu la yimaado khad u dhigma laba sano. Caadi ahaan, si kastaba ha ahaatee, hababkani waxay ku salaysan yihiin kootooyin yar oo bishii ah.

Si kastaba ha ahaatee, sida mashiinada MegaTank , haddii aad isticmaasho dhammaan khadyada la socda daabacaha oo ay tahay inaad iibsato wax ka badan, ama haddii kale, kharashyada socodsiinta bog kasta waxay ka hooseeyaan 1 senti labadaba boggaga monochrome iyo midabka. ^(monochrome)(CPP-yada isku-dhafka aluminium-bag- yada^(CPPs) waxay ku shaqeeyaan wax ka sarreeya taas, in kastoo.)

Dhab ahaantii , way adkaan kartaa in loo caddeeyo kharashka $400 ama $500 ee daabacaha, taas oo la'aanteed casriyaynta EcoTank , ay caadi ahaan ku kacayso laba ilaa saddex jeer wax ka yar-ma hubo inaadan helin $400- ama $500- astaamo u dhigma, mugga, ama awoodda; kaliya waxaad helaysaa khad aad u jaban (xilli ahaan, dabcan).

Waxaa muhiim ah in la ogaado in daabacadaha EcoTank aysan ahayn qof kasta, laakiin haddii aad qorsheyneyso inaad daabacdo boqollaal (ama kumanaan) bog bishiiba, waxay ku badbaadin doonaan boqollaal (mararka qaarkood xitaa kumanaan) dollars inta ay nool yihiin EcoTank . walaalaha iyo tartamayaasha. Inta badan oo aad daabacdo, wax badan ayaad badbaadin doontaa. Muddada^(Period) .

Khadka degdega ah ee HP^{(HP’s Instant Ink)}

HP wuxuu bilaabay isbeddelka khad-bulk-ga dhowr sano ka hor, hadda. Barnaamijkeeda is-diiwaangelinta Khadka^(Ink) degdega ah waxa ay bixisaa khad qiima dhimis ah oo bog ka-fog ah, iyadoo kharashka boggiiba uu ku xidhan yahay heerka is-diiwaangelinta bisha ee aad ballan-qaadeyso. Barnaamijyada kala duwan ayaa isbeddelay sannadihii la soo dhaafay, laakiin markaan qorayo tan shirkadu waxay bixisaa, iyadoo ku xiran daabacaha aad leedahay, lix heerar is-diiwaangelin.

• Qorshaha Daabacaadda Bilaashka ah^{(Free Printing Plan)} : 15 bog bishii, si fiican, bilaash ah
• Qorshaha Daabacaadda Mar Mar^{(Occasional Printing Plan)} : 50 bog bishiiba $2.99, oo midkiiba 10 bog oo dheeraad ah lagu helayo $1
• Qorshaha Daabacaadda Dhexdhexaadka ah^{(Moderate Printing Plan)} : 100 bog bishiiba $4.99
• Qorshaha Daabacaadda Joogtada ah^{(Frequent Printing Plan)} : 300 bog bishiiba $9.99, oo midkiiba 20 bog oo dheeraad ah uu yahay $1
• Qorshaha Ganacsiga 1:^{(Business Plan 1: )} 500 bog bishiiba $14.99
• Qorshaha Ganacsiga 2^{(Business Plan 2)} : 700 bog bishiiba $19.99, midkiiba 20 bog oo dheeraad ah $1

Qorshaha ugu yar halkan waxa uu wadaa ilaa 6 senti boggiiba, qorshaha ugu wayna waxa uu ku wadi doonaa ilaa 2.9 senti boggiiba, iyada oo daabac kasta oo dheeraad ah uu ka badan yahay 700-kii hore midkiiba 5 senti.

Marka la barbar dhigo qaar ka mid ah qorshayaashan kale ee laga yaabo inaysan u ekaan gorgortan wanaagsan, laakiin waxa maskaxda lagu hayo Khadka Instant^{(Instant Ink)} waa in heerkaas gurigu yahay bog kasta, madow ama midab, 5% caymis ama 100% caymis.

Faa'iidada Khadka degdega^{(Instant Ink)} ah ayaa ah in, si ka duwan kuwa kale ee halkan ku taxan, tani maaha mid hal-balaadhan ah oo ku habboon-dhan xal; way kori kartaa ama dib u miisaami kartaa iyadoo lagu salaynayo sida daabacaada iyo nuqulkaagu u kobcayaan.

Meesha alaabtani ku noqoto gorgortan aad u fiican waa, in kastoo, haddii aad daabacdo sawirro badan, gaar ahaan cabbirka xarfaha (8.5 x 11 inji) sawiro, iyo/ama sawiro bog buuxa oo si fudud ugu kici kara 10 ama 20 jeer 2.9 senti. Sida INKvestment Tank , oo leh khad degdeg^{(Instant Ink)} ah, daabacuhu waxa uu la socdaa khadkaaga oo ka dalbo kuwa cusub HP marka ay bilaabaan in ay hoos u dhacaan.

Penny Halkan, Penny Halkaa^{(A Penny Here, A Penny There)}

Sida aan u sheegay weerarka, kee ka mid ah alaabtan khad-bulk-ga ah ayaa kuu shaqeyn doona waxay ku xiran tahay inta badan waxaad daabacdo. Markaa, sidoo kale, waxaa jira ku habboonaanta daabacayaasha gaarka ah iyo AIO-yada^(AIOs) laftooda.

Alaabooyinka MegaTank^(MegaTank) ee Canon , tusaale ahaan, halka daabacadaha wanaagsan iyo qiyamka weyn ay ku dhex jiraan suuqyadooda bartilmaameedka ah ee xoogaa cidhiidhi ah, kuma habboona codsi kasta oo ganacsi oo leh mug kasta oo daabacaad iyo nuqul ah si looga hadlo.

Guntii iyo gabagabadii, haddii aanad daabicin dhawr bog bishiiba, badi alaabooyinkan, marka laga reebo kuwa ugu yar ee khad^(Ink) -ku-qorista, waa kuwo aan khusayn, iyo xaaladaha qaarkood, lacag lumis. Ma rabi doontid, tusaale ahaan, in aad $500 u dirto EcoTank AIO^{(EcoTank AIO)} oo ay ku jiraan kumanaan bog oo khad ah oo ku jira sanduuqa, haddii dhammaan waxaad daabacdo ay tahay 10 bog bishii.

Ugu yaraan hadda waxa aad haysaa alaabooyin kala duwan oo hortaada la dhigay-xidhiidhka sirta ah, haddii aad rabto- taas oo kuu ogolaanaysa in aad dhaqaaluhu ku habboonaato codsigaga gaarka ah.

Printer Ink Wars — EcoTank, Instant Ink, MegaTank, INKvestment Tank , Instant Ink

Everybody has heard the adage that the major inkjet printеr manufacturers—Brothеr, Canon, Epson, and HP—make more from the ink that keeps their printers going than from the sale of the printers themselves. This is not just simply an axiom; it’s absolutely true.

Printer ink is not the only consumable that fuels the profit margin of a particular industry. Another often-touted example is razor blade replacement cartridges. (How many others can you think of?)

For the longest time, though, the only choice we had was (except for using third-party or refurbished ink cartridges, but that’s another story) to suck it up and pay the price—if, that is, we wanted to keep printing. Over the past few years, though, due primarily to pressure from consumers and technology journalists, printer makers now offer us choices, many choices.

It all started with HP’s Instant Ink subscription program, but now each printer maker offers some kind of “bulk-ink” product that provides at least some relief to the price of ink itself and, better yet, increased transparency into what it actually costs to keep your printer churning.

Each printer manufacturer has its own bulk-ink product, as follows:

• Brother = INKvestment Tank
• Canon = MegaTank
• Epson = EcoTank
• HP = Instant Ink

Except for EcoTank and MegaTank, these products are quite different in approach and how much they actually save you in terms of the per-page cost of ink. Depending on how and what you print, each product has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages.

Over an Ink Barrel

Without question, printer ink is one of the most expensive liquids, perhaps even one of the most costly substances, on the planet. You pay much more per ounce of printer ink than you do for, say, gasoline, most exclusive wines, the majority of fancy perfumes, and even, in some cases, gold.

Traditionally we quantify the cost of ink by its per-page cost, or the “cost per page” (CPP). For the many years that I’ve been writing about information technology, one of my biggest complaints (and that of many of my colleagues) has been the printer industry’s exorbitant CPPs—especially home-based and small-business office appliance CPPs, a.k.a. “running costs.”

Several factors, including the price of a printer, its volume rating, and so on, influence a machine’s overall running costs, and the difference between one machine’s running costs over another’s can be as much as 2-to-5 or even 6 cents per monochrome page and even greater than that—often much greater—for color pages.

Doesn’t sound like much, you say? It’s just pennies! Look at it from this perspective: for every 100,000 pages you print, a 1-cent difference from one printer to another will cost you an additional $100.

Yeah, I know, you probably don’t print thousands of pages each month, or tens of thousands each year, for that matter. Okay then. Try this scenario: If you print and copy, say, 2,000 color pages per month, a 5-cent difference will cost you $100, or $1,200 per year.

Just think of how many consumer- or small-office-grade printers you could buy with those savings… As I’ve pointed out incessantly in hundreds of printer reviews, often, how much a printer costs to use is far more important than how much the machine itself costs to buy.

The good news is that all of today’s inkjet printers print relatively well, thereby allowing you to worry more about features and running costs. If you use your printer often, one or more of the following bulk-ink products can save you money—sometimes big money. Which bulk-ink product is right for you depends on how much and what you print.

Brother’s INKvestment Tank

The newest of the bulk-ink technologies, Brother’s INKvestment Tank evolved from a previous product the company called simply INKvestment, which merely entailed traditional high-yield ink cartridges sold at prices low enough to deliver lower running costs.

In other words, the INKvestment AIO came with big ink takes, and when it came time to buy new ones, the cost per page was low—very low, for that matter, less than 1 cent for monochrome pages and about 4.75 cents per color pages.

The second iteration of INKvestment, INKvestment Tank, consists of a tank within a tank. The technical name for this latest version Brother dubbed INKvestment Tank Extended Print or, again, INKvestment Tank for short.

INKvestment Tank is a blend between standard ink cartridges and a set of onboard reservoirs, as shown in the image above. When you’re low on ink, you still buy and install cartridges as you normally would, but the cartridges offload into internal secondary tanks.

Between the external cartridges and internal reservoirs, the printer holds thousands of pages worth of ink. And, rather than displaying those annoyingly inaccurate ink volume indicators on the control panel or the printer’s built-in webpages, INKvestment Tank sensors keep track of how many pages you have printed and then estimate how many prints are remaining, as shown in the image below.

In addition, similar to HP’s Instant Ink program, INKvestment Tank watches ink levels, warns you when they’re low, and offers to order replacement cartridges directly from the machine’s onboard website or its control panel.

You can buy Brother’s Business Smart and Business Smart Plus AIOs in either standard INKvestment Tank or INKvestment Tank XL iterations, with the difference being that the latter comes with twice as much ink, or two sets of ink cartridges.

According to Brother, each set of ink tanks hold up to—based on a formula of 300 prints per month, 60 percent black pages and 40 percent color pages—a year’s worth of ink. That’s well below both the maximum monthly duty cycle and/or the recommended monthly print volume for most of Brother’s printers.

If you use the machine as it’s designed for, chances are you’ll be buying ink long before the one- or two-year period the cartridges are rated for. The good news is, that the per page cost of monochrome pages is still (like the original INKvestment offering) under 1 cent and color pages still go for less than 5 cents each, making Brother’s INKvestment Tank printers an exceptional value.

Canon MegaTank

Of the big four inkjet printer makers, Canon’s commitment to bulk-ink printers and AIOs has been the most tepid. Like Epson’s original EcoTank products, where onboard reservoirs are filled from bottles, Canon’s MegaTank products are sensible, easy-to-use, and highly cost-effective.

Unfortunately, since its release a few years ago, though, we’ve seen only five MegaTank machines, and one of them, the Canon Pixma G4210 MegaTank Wireless All-in-One Printer, is an update to one of the original four models.

Each of the company’s MegaTank, or G-series, Pixmas, while they all come with slightly different feature sets, runs at the same speed, capacity, and volume ratings, and all four are intended for home and family use, though the Pixma G4210 supports Ethernet and comes with an automatic document feeder for sending multipage documents to the scanner. But it, like the others, is too slow for anything but low-volume printing and copying, making it less than ideal for the majority of business settings.

Though they typically sell for two to three times more than their non-MegaTank equivalents, MegaTank Pixmas come with thousands of pages worth of ink in the box. With the G4210, for example, Canon includes enough ink to equal what the company says will print up to 18,000 black pages and 7,000 color pages.

That’s enough black ink to print 500 monochrome pages per month for three years. In any case, whether you use all the ink that comes with the printer and must buy more, or not, your cost per page for both black pages and color pages is less than 1 cent each.

Not only is this a terrific value, but it just doesn’t get much better than this. However, printing 500 pages a month on a MegaTank machine, while it is most likely capable, would be pushing one of these little Pixmas to its limit.

Epson’s EcoTank

Epson is, of course, the first company to come up with the onboard reservoirs refilled from bottles, and the company has made a major commitment to its EcoTank product line.

EcoTank all-in-one’s and standalone printers come in all shapes and sizes, from the company’s lower-end home and family Expression and Expression Premium Small-in-Ones to some rather robust office-oriented WorkForce Pro office appliances.

The company has also engineered a stable of higher-end hybrid EcoTank WorkForce Pro iterations that get their ink from large aluminum bags, instead of bottles. These are laser alternative machines designed to, well, replace laser printers in the workplace. Two of the company’s monochrome laser alternatives, the WorkForce Pro WF-M5799 and WF-M5299, support XXL bags that hold up to 40,000 pages.

Like MegaTank machines, EcoTank models typically cost two to five times more than their non-EcoTank equivalents. Depending on capacity and features, consumer- and small-business-grade desktops run from about $300 to $1,000, and, also like their MegaTank counterparts, they come with thousands of pages worth of ink in the box.

Based on formulas specific to the product in question, Epson claims that each EcoTank model comes with the equivalent of two years’ worth of ink. Typically, though, these formulas are based on relatively small per-month quotas.

However, as with MegaTank machines, whether you use all the ink that comes with the printer and must buy more, or not, the per-page running costs are under 1 cent for both monochrome and color pages. (The aluminum-bag hybrids’ CPPs run somewhat higher than that, though.)

Granted, it may be difficult to justify spending $400 or $500 for a printer that, without the EcoTank upgrade, would normally cost two to three times less—you certainly don’t get $400- or $500-equivalent features, volume, or capacity; you just get very (relatively, of course) inexpensive ink.

It’s important to note that EcoTank printers aren’t for everybody, but if you plan to print hundreds (or thousands) of pages each month, they will save you hundreds of (sometimes even thousands of) dollars over the life of their non-EcoTank siblings and competitors. The more you print, the more you’ll save. Period.

HP’s Instant Ink

HP started the bulk-ink trend several years ago, now. Its Instant Ink subscription program offers ink at a by-the-page flat rate, with the cost per page dependent on the monthly subscription level you commit to. The various programs have changed over the years, but as I write this the company offers, depending on the printer you own, six subscription levels.

• Free Printing Plan: 15 pages per month for, well, free
• Occasional Printing Plan: 50 pages per month for $2.99, with each additional 10 pages for $1
• Moderate Printing Plan: 100 pages per month for $4.99, with each additional 15 pages for $1
• Frequent Printing Plan: 300 pages per month for $9.99, with each additional 20 pages for $1
• Business Plan 1: 500 pages per month for $14.99, with each additional 20 pages for $1
• Business Plan 2: 700 pages per month for $19.99, with each additional 20 pages for $1

The smallest plan here runs about 6 cents per page, and the largest plan will run you about 2.9 cents per page, with each additional print beyond the initial 700 at 5 cents each.

Compared to some of these other plans that may not seem like that good a bargain, but the thing to keep in mind with Instant Ink is that that flat rate is for any page, black or color, 5% coverage or 100% coverage.

An advantage of Instant Ink is that, unlike the others listed here, this is not a one-product-fits-all solution; it can grow or scale back based on how your print and copy needs evolve.

Where this product becomes a terrific bargain is, though, if you print a lot of photos, especially letter-size (8.5 by 11 inches) photos, and/or full-page graphics that could easily cost 10 or 20 times 2.9 cents. Like INKvestment Tank, with Instant Ink, the printer monitors your ink cartridges and orders new ones from HP when they start to run low.

A Penny Here, A Penny There

As I said at the onslaught, which of these bulk-ink products will work for you depends mostly on what and how much you print. Then, too, there is the suitability of the specific printers and AIOs themselves.

Canon’s MegaTank products, for example, while good printers and great values within their somewhat narrow target market, aren’t suitable for any business application with any volume of printing and copying to speak of.

The bottom line is, if you don’t print but a few pages every month, most of these products, except perhaps the smallest Instant Ink subscriptions, are irrelevant, and in some cases, a waste of money. You wouldn’t want to, for instance, shell out $500 for an EcoTank AIO with thousands of pages worth of ink in the box, if all you print is 10 pages a month.

At least now you have the various products laid out before you—the shroud of mystery, if you will—allowing you to apply the economics appropriate to your specific application.

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