Posted by TexasTJ on July 27, 2000 at 00:15:58:
In Reply to: Printing Photos posted by Alice on July 26, 2000 at 23:24:48:
$1.00/page??? Me thinks this is still not enough.
Call Kinkos and see what they charge per page for a color print. Yes, granted theirs is from a laser printer, but last time I checked it was $10/page.
If the "home office" of your client is real picky asking them to purchase the cartridge could be more of a nightmare than a per page fee (how do they know you aren't using the cartridge for someone else; what if the ink cartridge dries up before it is empty [assuming you remove it for other clients' work]; what if they want you to use a generic brand of cartridge to save money [not in MY printer I wouldn't!]); do you mark-up your cost to cover time to go to store and buy the cartridge; etc.
Get your client some ammunition to present to the home office in the form of what it would cost per page to go elsewhere to get this done - remembering to add in the extra time lost to go elsewhere to take care of this chore. This will also give you an idea of what the market is charging for this service. Also find out from your printer's manufacturer the # of pages each ink cartridge is rated to print. (Granted, this doesn't help when you print allot of red and have to switch to a new cartridge because you run out of red.) This will give you an idea of what your costs could be.
Then price yourself below the competition, but being sure you don't lose money in the process.
I have a color printer, but it's just for this type of reason I don't offer color prints to my clients.
Best of luck.