Ink Coverage Cost Calculator
Estimate the real ink cost per page and per job from your cartridge yield, price and how much ink your artwork actually lays down.
How it works
Effective pages = rated yield × (5 ÷ coverage%) · Cost/page = cartridge cost ÷ effective pages · Total = cost/page × pages
Cartridge page-yield numbers on the box are measured at a standardized 5% ink coverage — roughly a light business letter. Real documents lay down more ink: text-heavy pages hit 10-20% and full-color photos can reach 30-70%, so a cartridge empties in far fewer pages than advertised. Scaling the rated yield by 5 ÷ your actual coverage gives a far more honest cost per page.
Worked example
A $25 cartridge rated for 400 pages at 5% coverage, used on 15%-coverage pages, really prints 400 × (5 ÷ 15) ≈ 133 pages. That is $0.1875 per page, so a 500-page run costs about $94 in ink and needs 4 cartridges.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my real cost so much higher than the box says?
Because rated yields assume 5% coverage. Most documents use two to ten times that much ink, and effective yield drops proportionally, so real per-page cost is often several times the advertised figure.
How do I know my ink coverage?
Some printer drivers and RIP software report it. As a rule of thumb: plain text is 5-10%, colorful documents 15-25%, and edge-to-edge photos 30-70%.
Does this include paper cost?
No, this is ink only. Add your paper cost per sheet separately to get the full cost per printed page.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.