The “Cheap Printer” Trap: Why That Bargain Machine is Costing You a Fortune
We have all been there. You need a printer for the office, so you head to a high-street electronics store or browse Amazon. You spot a sleek-looking laser printer for £150. It seems like a bargain. You click “Buy Now,” thinking you have saved the company money.
Six months later, you have spent three times that amount on toner cartridges alone.
At MB Digital, we see this scenario every week. Businesses fall into the “Razor and Blade” trap—buying cheap hardware only to be stung by extortionate running costs.
Here is the truth about the hidden costs of unmanaged printing and why that “bargain” printer is actually the most expensive machine in your office.
1. The “Cost Per Page” Shock
The price tag on the printer is a distraction. The only metric that matters is Cost Per Page (CPP).
Manufacturers of consumer-grade printers often sell the hardware at a loss. They make their profit back on the ink.
- The Cheap Printer: A standard high-street toner cartridge might cost £80 and yield only 1,500 pages. That’s roughly 5.3p per page.
- The MB Digital Managed Way: Our commercial machines use high-yield toners that drive the cost down to less than 0.5p per page.
If you print just 2,000 pages a month, the “cheap” printer costs you £100+ per month in toner. A managed machine would cost you less than a tenner for the same volume.
(Don’t just take our word for it—consumer champion Which? regularly highlights how running costs for cheap printers can spiral out of control.)
2. The “Toner Cupboard” Waste
Go and open your office stationery cupboard. What do you see? Likely a stockpile of expensive toner cartridges “just in case” you run out. Or worse, cartridges for a printer you broke and threw away three years ago.
This is dead money sitting on a shelf.
- Panic Buying: When toner runs out mid-project, staff often rush out to buy a replacement at full retail price.
- The Managed Fix: With a Managed Print Service, our software monitors your toner levels remotely. We ship you a replacement cartridge automatically when you reach 20%. You never hold excess stock, and you never run dry.
3. The Productivity & Support Black Hole
What happens when that £150 printer jams or stops connecting to the WiFi? There is no support line. You—or your highest-paid manager—spend two hours googling error codes, wrestling with paper trays, or reinstalling drivers.
If your billable rate is £50+ an hour, you have just spent more on “fixing” the printer than the machine is worth.
With a Managed Service Contract, maintenance is our problem, not yours. If a machine faults, our engineers are there to fix it. We invest in commercial-grade hardware (like Konica Minolta and Develop) designed to run for hundreds of thousands of prints without complaining.
4. The Environmental Cost
Cheap printers are “disposable technology.” They are built with plastic components designed to fail after a few years, leading to more e-waste in landfills.
Commercial multifunction devices (MFPs) are built to be repaired and refurbished. Plus, modern managed machines have advanced eco-modes to reduce energy consumption, helping you meet your sustainability goals. (Read more about the environmental impact of office equipment here.)
Summary: Stop Paying Retail
You wouldn’t buy a fleet of company cars on a credit card and pay full retail price for petrol every day. So why do it with your printing?
A Managed Print Service gives you:
- Fixed, predictable costs.
- Automated toner delivery.
- Service and support included.
- Commercial-grade security.
Stop feeding the “cheap printer” money pit.
Are you paying too much for print?
Most businesses have no idea what their true print costs are. Let us find out for you. We offer a Free Print Audit where we analyse your current spend and show you exactly how much you could save by switching.