Do A3 printers have lower running costs?

[thefonz78]

I currently own a Canon ip46000 which is a great printer. I use it for work, and I work it very hard i go through lots of ink maybe 2 full sets a month. Its started to lose quality, i'm guessing the head is wearing out. As the purchase price is just a small part of the over all cost because of the amount of ink i use. I'm thinking of upgrading to a a3 printer or maybe larger. I'm under the impression that they take larger cartridges. Does this make the running costs less than a smaller cartridge a4 printer?

Anyone know a website where there is a comparison on printer running costs of different brands and models?

[swan lover]

You could always invest in a Ink flow system, I know someone who uses such a system and he says its cheaper to run than cartrideges on his A3 printer, cannot remeber the brand he uses but if you check the web I'm sur eyou'll find something

[OldBoy]

Check this site out. http://www.printerinfo.com/

The bigger printers use more ink but that ink may be cheaper. If you do a lot of printing then a large format printer may be your best bet but they cost upwards of £3,000. You can use software to print different sizes/ number of pictures on one page/run, so saving money in the long run. Most of them come with inkflow systems.

[thefonz78]

Before the ip4600 i had the ip4500 which worked great with jettec ink cartridges which i thin k are the best third party ink. But the boffins at Canon made the ip4600 with different cartridges and the results from jettec are not very good. Thats why i've been reluctant to buy ink flow systems because of the third party ink.

Anyone using the Canon ix6650? At £160 it look very good value for a a3 printer. Uses the same printhead and inks as the small ip4950 i imagine. I've always liked Canons.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004N5J9V...SIN=B004N5J9V4

[cosmicma]

the dilemma i have with printers in general ( ink jet that is ) is the running cost
for small prints ( 6x4 7x5 ) it's cheaper to have them printed than to print yourself especially in bulk and it's getting to the stage where even larger prints up to a3 are becoming as cheap to have printed

ok we have the argument that it's more convenient to do your own which it is theres no doubt about that but for me the price of ink ( original i won't use 3rd party ) has become ridiculas
it costs over 60 quid to fill my current printer with inks ( canon s9000 ) that can buy quite a lot of prints when you start to add the cost of decent paper into the equation and lets not forget the price of the printer itself it doesn't really make economical sense to print your own

a while back i was looking into investing in a canon large format printer to do canvas the printer was around 2000 quid and to fill it with ink was around 500 quid the printer comes with ink cartridges only 1 3rd full so it won't be long before your shelling out for more ink
in the end i decided against it i can have a hell of a lot of canvases printed for the asking price of the printer considering the fall in prices of canvas prints over the last year or so

the simple answer is on an a3 printer i don't think you would save a penny considering that most use the same ink cartridges as the a4 equivalents and on the large format printers where the ink is cheaper in the long run the cost of the printer is too high

just my thoughts on the issue....

[GeoffWessex]

If your printer uses larger cartridges you would usually pay less for the contents, ml for ml. So it stands to reason that printing costs are lower for ink..... but then A3 paper can be expensive and the printer that you're using would be more expensive to buy.

So, in running costs, yes, the contents of large cartridges would be cheaper but the additional costs of A3 (or roll paper).... quite a bit of which gets wasted on Nozzle checks etc.... make it more expensive.

On the other hand, if you're exhibiting your prints you can't beat the extra size and impact of A3.... but you may find decent prints, cheaper, at your local big supermarket or 'big-box store', depending on the staff and the amount training and interest they have.