Defeating the Desktop Menace

"They need to be made aware of the costs," says Tucker. "Sure, a printer costs $200, but let's look at volume and supplies and do a cost-per-copy analysis. It's been an eye-opener for them. There are some things you need a printer for because it's convenient, but there's a significant cost."

So true: According to Ken Weilerstein of the Gartner Group, printing a monochrome page with 5-percent coverage on a personal laser or ink-jet printer costs more than 2.5 cents just for the consumables, not including the paper and overhead. This cost can go as high as 20 cents a page on a color ink-jet printer (assuming 5-percent coverage for each color, or 20-percent coverage across the four colors).