By Digital Output Staff
Print providers look for ways to do more while spending less. One of the largest expenditures is ink—no matter if it’s aqueous, latex/resin, solvent, or UV. If your shop is printing, it’s using ink and the more ink used, the more ink you need to buy. This certainly isn’t a bad problem to have, but recognizing the costs related to ink as well as other parts of the production process is important. Reviewing business practices helps to create a fuller picture on where money is being spent.
Our annual report on the state of ink looks at the cost of ink for print service providers (PSPs).
Above: Sublimation printed output from Mimaki.
Cost Analysis
For the purpose of this article we consider four major categories of ink—aqueous, latex/resin, solvent, and UV.
Latex/resin inks are the most expensive based on a per-liter basis, suggests Simon Daplyn, product and marketing manager, Sun Chemical. “Latex inks require specific substrates and primers or fixators applied after printing, which in some cases increase the total cost.”
StratoJet USA argues that UV ink is the most expensive per liter. “This is due to its specialized chemical composition, which includes photoinitiators that cure under UV light, making it suitable for printing on a range of substrates without the need for coatings.”
Conversely, John D. Peterman, EVP, Big Systems, LLC, believes aqueous inks continue to be the most expensive, based on cost per milliliter (mL) of ink. “Larger capacity cartridges significantly help lower that cost versus smaller capacity ones. That being said, even at the larger capacity, aqueous remains the most expensive. At an intermediate level, latex and eco-solvent inks offer better weather durability and scratch resistance at a lower cost. UV-curable inks continue to be the least expensive per ml option, and are typically available in bulk cartons to provide a significant amount of output without the need to keep swapping inks for longer runs.”
Tony Martin, president, Absolute Inkjet Inc., also cites aqueous inks as the most expensive, followed by latex/resin, UV, and solvent.
“Full solvent inks are the least expensive in terms of upfront cost. They use organic solvent carriers that effectively dissolve pigments and adhere well to non-porous surfaces, making them ideal for applications like banners and vehicle wraps. The lower production cost of solvent inks contributes to their affordability,” notes Adam Tourville, channel manager and ink expert, Fluid Color.
Viewing ink cost from an acquisition perspective, Erik Norman, president, swissQprint America, agrees that aqueous is usually the highest, and solvent tends to be the lowest, with UV inks falling somewhere in the middle.
However, Norman points out that, “not all inks are created equal and low acquisition cost does not mean low total cost. More important than acquisition is the operational running cost; the true cost to the print service provider (PSP) based on how the print device and operator manages ink efficiency.”
Paul Edwards, VP of the digital division, INX International Ink Co., suggests measuring cost in other ways. “Either by the ink cost per liter or kilogram, or the cost of the image created. This could, at a minimum, consider the cost per liter of the ink, as well as how much ink or mileage is used per image. Several factors influence the cost of ink per liter including chemistry and application types, ink performance, volume used, and supplier margin expectations.”
Hardware expenses also factor into total running costs. “Solvent ink prices are lower than aqueous, however, solvent requires complex and expensive hardware, due to the heating requirements to cure the inks. So, it could be concluded that solvent ink is less expensive, but the hardware is more expensive,” adds Reed Hecht, group product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc.
“Different ink technologies require different hardware to ensure high-quality, sellable output. Some inks require additional hardware such as heat presses for dye-sublimation, or a powder shaker for direct to film, and pending the equipment size it may affect overall installation costs,” continues Hecht.
The reason inks cost what they do, according to Martin, has “little to do with the manufacturing cost of each ink type, but instead is driven by market cost per square foot and application volume.”
Martin proves his point with this example. “A one-off, high-end photographic or fine art aqueous ink print commands a high market price per square foot and uses a low amount of ink, whereas a large billboard-size print using UV or solvent inks produced in volume has a much more competitive price point per square foot and uses much larger volumes of ink. So ink costs must be lower in order to compete with traditional print technologies.”
Cost should be considered based on application, agrees Pedro J. Martínez, CEO, Afford Industrial. “If a lower cost aqueous ink requires a pretreatment step to enable adhesion to non-porous materials while a UV ink does not, UV can be a lower cost solution.”
Keep it Contained
How ink is contained—bag or cartridge—influences the price.
Norman states, “the more complex the container, the more it adds to the acquisition cost of the ink.”
“The packaging method directly impacts the cost of inks. Cartridges offer convenience and ease of use but can increase the cost per mL due to added materials and packaging. Bags are also often used to reduce waste and offer lower costs per mL, particularly for high-volume production environments,” says Brian Brooks, manager of product management, Roland DGA Corporation.
Bags, cartridges, buckets, barrels, and totes, lists Alfredo Cruzat, ink business manager, Mimaki USA, Inc., for container options. “Usually the higher the amount of ink in your container the more economical it is per cubic centimeter.”
In general, bags and cartridges are higher in cost than bulk packaging for all ink categories. “A major cost factor is the cost of encrypted chips, which are often part of the packaging scheme for bags and cartridges. Chips provide the functionality of validating that the proper ink was installed, monitoring usage, and providing a low ink level warning,” admits Martínez.
“Most aqueous-based wide format printers use cartridge-based systems, and so the cost of the cartridge, cartridge filling, and ink monitoring chip does factor into the ink price when compared to a grand format solvent or UV printer with a bulk tank based system where inks are supplied in lower cost bulk bottles,” agrees Martin.
A consideration for water-based inks is degassing. “The cartridge application for water-based inks—usually in the lower volume—is degassed during filling. This improves the reliability of the ink but does add cost to manufacturing. Larger packages are a lower cost per liter than smaller ones, so volume is key,” explains Edwards.
UV inks also have packaging needs. “Ink packaging impacting cost is largely due to the requirements that need to be met to ensure correct delivery to the printer. For example, UV inks must be stored without light exposure so are often packaged in black bottles,”shares Daplyn.
Latex/resin ink, according to the representative from StratoJet USA, is increasingly moving toward bagged systems that reduce waste and offer a better price-per-liter compared to cartridges.
Along the lines of eco-friendly practices, less traditional cartridges are used. “The trend has become more eco-conscious by transitioning to collapsible ink bags. If there is an outer ‘cartridge,’ it is typically a cardboard sleeve that can be folded flat and recycled. This is better for the environment, and results in less going into landfills,” explains Peterman.
Size Matters
Depending on the cartridge size or volume in a bulk ink bottle, the expense of ink per container is also a determining factor when comparing ink costs.
“The ink cost per liter will be higher as the amount of ink in a particular packaging configuration decreases. This is true for all ink categories,” states Martínez.
The cost for inks packaged in a 220 mL cartridge includes the cartridge, packaging, and chip. “Those same or similar costs flow to a 500 mL cartridge. Simple math would suggest that a 500 mL cartridge costs approximately 2.3 times more than a 220 mL cartridge based on the ink volume alone. In reality, the 500 mL cartridge might only be 1.75 times the cost of the 220 mL cartridge given that there are more cost elements than the ink,” continues Martínez.
According to Daplyn, as a general rule, the larger the container, the lower the processing costs. “A 220 mL ink cartridge includes technology for the cartridge construction and mechanism, a chip to register the printer, and degassing and ink filling processes. All these elements add certain costs to the ink while also offering a simple, contained solution for the customer. A five liter jug of ink would fill 22 220 mL cartridges, making the smaller cartridges have a higher overall cost for the same volume of ink as the larger jug. The main cost benefits of ink come with production volume rather than with container packaging.”
“Bulk ink supply systems offer a more cost-effective return and are ideal for high-production shops using eco-solvent or textile inks,” notes Cruzat.
Aqueous ink cartridges vary in size depending on the wide format printer, but according to Martin use either 330/350 mL or 700 mL sizes. “For aqueous wide format printers that generally have a cartridge-based ink delivery system then the cost of ink runs at around $350 to $400 per liter when using OEM brand inks.”
“In the example of latex, a printer model that utilizes only one liter cartridges at $147 ($0.15/mL) versus a model that uses three liter bulk ink at $326 ($0.11/mL) shows savings. It is important for end users to compare their estimated run usage and select the best value,” suggests Peterman.
For solvent inks, Tourville states that bulk systems dominate in high-production environments, for applications like vehicle wraps and outdoor signs. “Bulk containers offer the lowest cost per mL, ideal for large scale applications.” Smaller cartridges are used to suit low-volume or niche operations, but he says “smaller cartridges are significantly more expensive per mL and generate higher waste.”
Flatbed or roll-to-roll UV printers “thrive” on bulk containers, but smaller UV printers use cartridges from 500 mL to one liter for reasons including ease and reduced risk of ink spoilage, adds Tourville.
More than Ink
Ink is of course one part of the cost in the overall expenditure equation. But is it the highest?
Tourville argues that ink is both a recurring and significant cost, but it isn’t always the highest. “Media costs and the initial printer investment often weigh heavily. However, for high-volume printing or graphics requiring dense ink coverage, ink costs can rival or exceed other expenses. Balancing these factors is crucial to optimizing total cost of ownership (TCO).”
“Higher volumes lead to lower ink pricing, but if you have picked a UV ink where solvent was all that was needed, then even at high volumes the return on investment will not be as good as expected,” recommends Edwards.
Peterman believes ink is the most significant operating cost with the exception of labor and very expensive specialty media choices. “Selecting a printer model that might be a little more expensive, but offers higher ink savings due to the ability to run larger cartridges, or uses a bulk ink delivery system, would pay back that initial cost rather quickly.”
Cruzat says ink is not the highest cost, but the most visible. Media on the other hand can sometimes cost three to four times the value of ink. “It all depends on the application. The ecosystem of printing is more than just the value of the press, the cost of the ink, and the cost of service. While this is what most customers look at in the beginning, it can be likened to looking at an iceberg—you only see the tip above the water, but 90 percent of its size is below.”
“Ink is of course a major cost component; however, the printer acquisition, media, labor, and maintenance costs can rival or exceed ink costs,” suggests Norman.
Several factors impact the total cost of printing, agrees Daplyn. “Energy consumption, substrate cost, pre- or post-print processes, software and licenses, service contracts, and replacement parts, for example. All of which should be budgeted into the overall running cost of the printer.”
Don’t Overlook TCO
While the price per liter of ink is something to seriously consider, it’s part of the TCO of the printer. Look at the entire picture when comparing ink.
Apr2025, Digital Output
