In today’s economy, the answer to this question becomes more important because the cost of ink has been increasing. In fact, in February 2009, one of the major ink manufacturers (Altex) reported price increases ranging from 3% to 10%, depending on the brand of ink. Ink suppliers around the world are trying to keep prices as low as possible to retain their customers, but eventually they will start to lose money; so prices for the end user are likely to be seriously increased.

After surveying our own customers’ ink usage and volume, we found that the average user spends $1.75 per thousand pieces to send mail. The price goes up even more with special inks. At this price, mailrooms and mail houses would spend $872 per month just to send 500,000 pieces of mail. That’s enough to cover the lease payment for another piece of equipment, and many mailrooms go through much more than this on a single machine.

Some shippers try to reduce this cost with recycled cartridges. After all, they have to cut costs where and when they can. But the results are disappointing. Sometimes they offer instant relief, but the long-term financial burden is greater than the short-term financial relief.

The failure rate of recycled cartridges is much higher than that of new cartridges. Every cartridge that fails means more downtime. The operator has to stop the machine, reinstall another cartridge, test the cartridge, and then pick up where he left off (sometimes reprinting thousands of pieces of mail that had minor flaws due to faulty nozzles).

Recycled cartridges do not always contain as much ink. Depending on the recycling company, refilled cartridges can sometimes have only half the ink of a new cartridge. And some cartridges constantly fail before they are completely empty.

Cartridges that fail before they are empty can cause unseen problems for operators. When operators have to stop production due to cartridge failure, they sometimes tend to replace ALL cartridges, whether they are empty or not. This is due to the low expectations they have for refilled cartridges. Many postal companies throw away thousands of dollars worth of ink simply because operators want to avoid downtime.

Here we see that downtime and ink usage can fight each other. Less downtime equals more wasted ink. Less wasted ink equals more downtime.

So how can you reduce the cost of ink consumption without compromising production?

• Upgrade to an Atlas inkjet system: The Atlas system uses a commercial printhead (as opposed to a cartridge) and solvent-based ink. Ink is pumped to the print heads while the machine is running, allowing continuous supply without changing cartridges. This unit can print addresses for as low as 30 cents per thousand. That’s 82% less than the average cost of inkjet systems. While the initial purchase price is higher, mailrooms could easily make up the price difference in as little as one year using ink alone. As an added benefit, they will be able to print at DOUBLE the speed of a cartridge-based system. Atlas ink can be dried on most glossy papers with the help of an infrared dryer.
• Use an Aurora UV inkjet system: UV ink uses a chemical process that allows ultraviolet light to “cure” the ink instead of drying it out. Most systems use an infrared dryer, which evaporates water or solvent from an ink with intense heat. With UV, the ink is “cured” under a UV lamp, allowing the ink to dry INSTANTLY on most glossy materials and even plastic. The ink actually becomes a plastic form and has a high “laser quality effect”. The cost of ink in this unit is only 40 cents per thousand. Speed ​​and operation are similar to the Atlas. That’s 77% less than the cost of using cartridge systems.
• Buy quality ink: If you’re using an HP-based system, buy quality inks from a reputable company. Don’t waste time with ink cartridges that are half full and prone to failure. Buy cartridges from HP or HP-certified sources at competitive prices. This will ensure that you get the most ink usage from each cartridge.

Don’t waste another penny on expensive supplies. With the mail industry in a tailspin, ink usage is the last thing you need to worry about. Look for a better system and start seeing a bigger profit.