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Express the costs of consumables (over $12,100) to operate printer services offered for free to Chem majors, over a period of 1.5 years. Does not include the cost of the $2.5K printer itself.

Summary

Consumables = (Ink + maintenance kits) + paper = $10,200 + $1,930 = $12,130 over 35 months.

This comes to about $4,160/year.

Data and analysis

Hardware costs, including "consumable" maintenance kits

Printer's initial cost, including 3 year warranty: $2,500

• Amortizing cost of printer over 540K pages printed comes to 0.46 cents per page.

Cost for maintenance kits, up to now: $1,945

• 10 have been installed for the most recent 240,000 pages, at $86.40 each: $864 + $1 = $865
• Thus estimate we 1.25 additional kits (~12.5 kits) for the first 300K pages printed: $1,080

Thus, $4,445 spent so far on hardware, including maintenance kits.

Ink cost calculations

Total ink costs: $8,250

Usage Dec 2012 - Feb 2014

• $3,665 for 240,000 pages comes to 1.53 cents per page, on average.
• Thus, estimate that an additional 300,000 pages used previously (1.25 as much again) would cost about $4,585.

Paper costs

Cost for paper, up to now: $1,930

• 0.575 cents per page, if buying cheap and you don't care about the environment.
• Total of 335,000 sheets of pater used.
  • 149,000 paper sheets used for 240,000 pages printed.
  • Thus estimate that an additional 186,000 paper sheets used for previous 300,000 pages printed.

Paper purchase cost options

0.575 cents/ page for Staples® Copy Paper, LETTER-Size, 92/104 US/Euro Brightness, 20 lb., 8 1/2" x 11", 5,000 Sheets/Ct (if $28.77 for 5000 sheets).

1.03 cents / page for Staples® 30% Recycled Copy Paper, LETTER-size, 92/104 US/Euro Brightness, 20 lb., 8 1/2"H x 11"W, 5,000 Sheets/Ct ($51.59 for 5000 sheets)

• Contains at least 10% post-consumer recycled content

Summary, July 2014

Challenge

Find a way to reduce $5,800 annual printing costs for two color printers.

• This was critical to do following the decision by the Chemistry department to continue to not account for use by student, much less meter their use.
  • Costs for providing the portion ChemIT could control was around $4,625 per year.

Action, by ChemIT

(Thank you, Michael Hint!)

1. Enrolled in a service contract with Eastern.
   1. This service provides us cheaper Xerox-branded consumables.
   2. This included maintenance services for the printers, even if off-warranty.
2. Bought a new, second color printer for a ninth of its expected cost.

Result

Effected recurring savings of almost $2,000 per year.

• Reduced costs by over $1,000 per year for just consumables through use of new service contract with Eastern.
• Saved $333 per year on warranty-type services, covering both printers. ($500/3 yrs * 2 printers)
  
  • Accomplished this by not having to pay $500 for 3-year warranty service on new printer, or similar services for old printer, since service included with new service contract with Eastern.
• Saved ~$550 per year for new printer.
  • A new printer was bought at 1/9th the expected price, giving the lab two, full color printers.
  • Assume printer survives 4.5 years.
• Note 1: Paper costs remain as they were.
• Note 2: On-going actual savings assumes Eastern delivers on their service promises, of course.

Cost savings summary, PER YEAR

NOTE: On-going actual savings assumes Eastern delivers on their service promises, of course.

DETAILS

(1) Saving on consumables costs

ChemIT arranged for saving ~$1,000 per year by moving to Eastern service contract

We are now on Eastern service contract, so our consumables cost less. And our service costs are largely fixed, and also less.

• We were paying about 1.89 cents per page for ink and maintenance kit replacement, on average. So for 280,000 pages (Dec 2012 - July 2014 (~17 months) from the oldest printer (Buckbeak); 40,000 from 2/14 to 7/14), that would be $5,292 ($3,736/yr). Service only if under warranty (new printer). Otherwise, for old printer, pay for repair services and parts out-of-pocket.
• For the same volume, now we would have paid $3,850 over ~17 months (see below chart). That's $2,718/yr.
  
  • That's a savings of $1,442 over 17 months, which is a savings $1,018/yr.

(2) Saving on capitalization costs

New Xerox printer bought by ChemIT for less than 1/9th the expected price.

New printer, with 3-year warranty, was expected to cost $2,500. During the summer 2014, Michael Hint bought the printer for $256.56!

• Did this through loyalty rebate ($1,443.91) and trade-in ($224.75) of (old, broken Abruna) printer to Xerox.
• Did not buy the extra warranty (~$500 for 3 years), since under Eastern service contract. So price of printer was $1,925.22, not the expected $2,500.
• This gives Lars' undergraduate lab two Xerox color printers. This new printer displaced a B&W HP printer, which went to Dan Lorey.

(3) Assumption: No change in costs of paper.

Paper costs holding steady at $1,670/year.

ChemIT not involved at all on paper procurement. Did not invest in determine actual costs, so made estimates based on assumptions stated below.

Paper sold by CCB stockroom is $4.73 for ream (500 pages) of 8-1/2"*11" paper.

• Thus: $0.00946/ paper. (That's 0.946 cents per paper page.)
• To get paper used, used snapshot that 148,666 paper was used to print 231,116 imprints (due to double-sided jobs), or 64.3%.
• Of 280,000 pages printed, can estimate 180,000 paper sheets used (due to double-sided jobs).
• Of 180,000 paper sheets used over 17 months, that comes out to about 127,000 paper sheets used per year.

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