How much ink does the printer use per square foot of paper printed?
There is no good answer, as it really depends on the nature of the images you print (and probably the Media Type as well). There is a forum thread with various usage figures. However, here is what I consider a good estimate and fits with my own experience: “I just made 2 prints on the iPF5000 (glossy photo) both 11 x 17 (actual image aprox 10 x 15 = about one square foot). One was almost white (0.3 ml of ink) and one almost black (1.5 ml of ink). I would use an average of 0.9 ml per square foot so at full retail for the inks I calculate ink cost at about 55 cents per square foot.” JGentry reports using 6,401 ml to print 7,911 square feet of media. This works out to 0.81 ml per square foot. In comparison, most estimates of ink use I have seen for the Epson 4800 are around 2 ml per square foot, which with 220 ml cartridges at cheapest street price would run about 78 cents per square foot. DJ Garcia estimates the following ink costs for various print sizes: • 8.5×11: $0.71 • 11×17: $1.42
