Maybe you should also consider the HP 855c also...
Here's a letter I sent to an EDTECH member recently...
I found consumable tests in PC Magazine for the HP 855 and Epson had
consumable costs on their web site at the following URL:
Linkname: EPSON Stylus Color II
URL: http://www.epson.com/prod/inkjet/sty2/index.html
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HP 855 color costs (November PC Magazine printer guide)
3 cents per page text at 600 dpi and 5% coverage
11 cents per color page at 600 by 300 dpi and 25% coverage
37 cents per color page at 600 by 300 dpi and 75 % coverage
10 cents per page for slightly glossy HP paper
$1.00 per page for high glossy HP paper
special paper not required for 600 by 300 dpi color printing.
transparencies can be printed at 600 by 300 dpi
Street price of HP 855 color cartridge: $28.00
Street price of HP 855 black cartridge: $25.00
So using a little basic math:
total pages for text at 600 dpi for black cartridge: 833
total pages color if used at 25% coverage and 600 by 300 dpi: 254
total pages color if used at 75% coverage and 600 by 300 dpi: 75
Epson Stylus (using Epson WWW site specifications)
Total pages black ink at 360 dpi and 5% coverage: 620
Total pages color ink at 360 dpi and 15% coverage: 320
No figures reported by Epson for 720 dpi or 75% coverage:
Coated paper necessary for 720 by 720 dpi color
10 cents per sheet for slightly glossy Epson paper
Black cartridge $18 at Microwarehouse
Color cartridge $34 at Microwarehouse
So a little math here:
price per page color output at 360 dpi and 15% coverage: 11 cents
price per page black output at 360 dpi and 5% coverage: 3 cents
Now I didn't do any extrapolating to see what the consumables would
be if we calculated the Epson figures to reflect the 720 dpi mode and to
match the higher percentage rates tested by PC Magazine for the HP 855.
But it doesn't take a math teacher to see a pretty significant edge to the
HP for consumables based on the figures reported by PC Magazine and
Epson's own figures. I wish PC Magazine had included the Epson printers in
their November annual issue. But for some reason there wasn't a single
printer submitted for their annual review. They did have a one page
article about the Epson inkjets, but no consumable costs were listed other
than an estimated 12 cents per page for the 720 paper (which I have since
seen for 10 cents a page at Office Depot).
Later,
Russell Smith rssmith@tenet.edu rssmith@camalott.com
Region 14 ESC Abilene, Tx Edtech Consultant, Certified teacher, Journalist