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EPSON SP 7600/9600/10000 Printed Image Cost
in $ Per Square Foot
| EPSON MEDIA | EPSON PRINTER/INK |
| | SP 7600 UltraChrome | SP 9600 UltraChrome | SP 10000 Photo Dye | SP 10000 Archival |
| Premium Glossy | 1.32 | 1.15 | 0.87 | 1.14 |
| Premium Luster | 1.22 | 1.07 | 0.87 | 0.99 |
| Premium Semimatte | 1.22 | 1.07 | 0.87 | 0.99 |
| ColorLife Photo Paper Semigloss | | | 0.90 | |
| Photo Glossy | 1.11 | 1.05 | 0.85 | 0.97 |
| Glossy Paper HW | | | 1.38 | |
| Photo Semigloss | 1.07 | 0.93 | 0.74 | 0.85 |
| Semigloss Paper HW | | | 1.37 | |
| Glossy Paper PW (22x36) | 2.13 ? | 1.95 ? | | 1.90 ? |
| Enhanced Matte | 1.09 | 0.94 | | 0.84 |
| Doubleweight Matte | 0.95 | 0.78 | 0.74 | 0.74 |
| Presentation Matte | | | 0.52 | |
| Canvas | 2.83 | 2.70 | | 2.63 |
| Somerset Velvet (Sheet 24x30) | 3.00 ? | 2.89 ? | | 2.68 ? |
| Somerset Velvet (Roll) | 2.33 | 2.19 | | 1.93 |
| Fine Art Paper (Sheet 24x30) | 2.42 ? | 2.31 ? | | 2.10 ? |
| Fine Art Paper (Roll) | 2.43 | 2.29 | | 2.03 |
| Proofing Paper Comm. Semimatte | 1.19 | 1.02 | 0.83 | 0.94 |
| Synthetic Paper | 1.34 ? | 1.06 | | 0.83 |
| Adhesive Synthetic Paper | 1.94 | 1.80 | | 1.57 |
| Adhesive Vinyl | 2.04 | 1.91 | 1.66 | 1.80 |
| Backlight Film | 1.38 | 1.27 | 1.12 | 1.29 |
| Tyvek | 1.97 | 1.87 | 1.74 | 1.76 |
All cost per square foot comparisons
are based upon the 24" x 36" bicycle
image on the left, printed at 720 x 720
dpi unless otherwise noted.
Prices used are EPSON MSRP.
SP 7600 based on 24" rolls, all
others based on 36".
Download this document in Acrobat format (96K PDF).
NOTE: This table shows the TOTAL COSTS per square foot for BOTH ink and media. The information on this page was recently supplied by Epson in the form of an Acrobat PDF, which we converted to this easier to view Web page. The red question marks (?) indicate figures we believe might be in error. Inkjetart and TSS are not responsible for the data Epson has supplied, but have supplied it here for your reference.
(Example: if the MSRP cost of the Fine Art Sheet Paper is $2.29 per sq. ft, the "$2.31" Epson has listed in the SP 9600 column, would leave only 2 cents per sq. ft. for the ink costs! There are similar errors in the Somerset Velvet Sheet Paper row.) We plan to bring these errors to Epson's attention and have them corrected.
Despite the errors, HERE ARE SOME INTERESTING FACTS we discovered in our analysis:
- The 7600 UltraChrome consumes on average about $.57 worth of ink per square foot (comparing 15 different media types that we felt had accurate figures). Actual costs per sq. ft. ranged from a low of $.48 to a high of $.69/sq. ft.
- The 9600 UltraChrome consumes on average about $.45 worth of ink per square foot (comparing 16 different media types that we felt had accurate figures). Actual costs per sq. ft. ranged from a low of $.37 to a high of $.54/sq. ft.
- The 10000 Photo Dye consumes on average about $.26 worth of ink per square foot (comparing 14 different media types that we felt had accurate figures). Actual costs per sq. ft. ranged from a low of $.13 to a high of $.41/sq. ft.
- The 10000 Archival consumes on average about $.33 worth of ink per square foot (comparing 15 different media types that we felt had accurate figures). Actual costs per sq. ft. ranged from a low of $.24 to a high of $.49/sq. ft.
- It should be obvious that the 10000 Photo Dye is the least expensive printer to operate, because 1) the Photo Dyes are less expensive that the pigment "Archival" inks, and 2) the high capacity (500 ml) cartridges of the 10000 printer; and the 10000 Archival is a little less expensive to operate than the 9600, because it also has higher capacity cartridges (500 ml) than the 9600's 220 ml cartridges.
- The 9600 UltraChrome printer costs 21% less to operate (in ink costs) than the 7600 UltraChrome printer (due to the 9600's 220 ml cartridges); and the 10000 Archival printer costs 27% less to operate (in ink costs) than the 9600. The 10000 has the advantages of greater economy and speed, but the 9600 (and 7600) has better, more neutral color.
- The "bicycle" image Epson used for these ink consumption tests is a standard in the inkjet printing industry, but it does not reflect most real life situations. While many of signage prints, GIS prints (maps) and some fine art watercolor images may use an amount of ink similar to the bicycle image, most commercial photographic images, photographic fine art (color or B/W), and illustrative fine art (i.e. oil paintings), will often consume TWICE the amount of ink as the bicycle image.
REAL LIFE IMAGES: Our readings on the bicycle image show an average of 20.5% ink coverage per CMYK channel (here is what Epson's standard 5% ink coverage per channel looks like, that is used to rate the desktop printer's ink consumption). However, when we randomly examined over 100 images that were listed for sale on the Internet, we found these photographs and fine art illustrations would have an average ink coverage of 41.5% per CMYK channel -- which would result in a little more than TWICE the ink usage of Epson's bicycle image!
 For instance, even the PhotoDisc test target that is used by many of us, would have an average ink coverage of 31.5% per CMYK channel (using 54% more ink than the bicycle image).
 Here's a portrait of a young woman (her name is "Stephanie") that would have an average ink coverage 46.5% per CMYK channel (using more than twice the ink of the bicycle image):
We're not saying Epson's tests are deceptive, because the bicycle image is used by other inkjet manufactures for comparison, and it does mimic typical signage printing applications; however, since many of OUR clients are into photographic and fine art reproduction, we thought you'd like to know the facts as we see them.
7600/9600 Information Page
7600/9600 Pre-order Page
Best 7600/9600 UltraChrome Ink Prices
Best 10000 Archival Ink Prices
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