Q and A: Printing and Ink

WOW! You have all been asking some great questions - we had no idea there would be so many questions! We will try to get to them all, but, I think for today we will try to answer your number one question - and that has to do with...

printing and ink

Well, let me give it to you straight... we have only tried 2 brands of ink jet printer, Epson and HP. HP wins for us hands down on quality and ink price. We did some research for everyone and here are our numbers, ready?

Printer:
The HP Photo Smart is a fairly middle of the road ink jet printer, you can pick one up for anywhere between $90 and $130 (we also use an HP DeskJet, that came free with our new computer).

HP PhotoSmart Ink:
black cartridge = $19.99 (according to manufacturer, prints an average of 660 pages)
color combo cartridge = $48.00 (according to manufacturer, prints an average of 350 pages)

Break down on a Printable Party for 8 guests:
Fabulous Flowers Birthday = 65 pages
Pirate Birthday = 62 pages
Gothic Halloween (with 20 lanterns) = 112 pages
Peace on Earth Christmas (with oodles of ornaments, centerpiece items, etc...) 99 pages

Total print at home party cost: (all approximate of course)
$0.18 per page for ink (based on manufacturers estimate - also, ink usage will vary from page to page)
$8.00 for expensive package of card stock
$14.95 for most expensive P&C printable party collection


Want a comparison? Here is what we could find:
Custom invitation from Tiny Prints: $21.40 + shipping for 10 invites
Paper pennant banner from Etsy: $28.00 + shipping (includes ribbon)
Paper Birthday crown from BabySakes.com: $13.50 + shipping
Cupcake decor from Meri Meri: $11.95 + shipping


Let me know if you need a translator for all of that! Also, be sure to check out our Facebook page for more answers to your questions.