CUTTING PAPER - ACTIONS - PRINTERS - Buying a Duplexing Unit

Can I afford a duplexing unit?

Most laserprinters that can have a duplexing unit don't actually have one. There cost for the hardware to turn over the paper to be able to print on both sides is high enough that manufacturers are reluctant to make duplexing a standard feature . When people buy a laser printer, the duplexing unit is a significant additional cost, so most don't order it. If you are going to buy a duplexing unit, you probably want reassurance that it is a good idea -- a good investment.

The following factors are important in assessing a duplexing unit purchase.

The cost of the duplexing unit.
The amount of duplexing you will do.
The amount of printing you do.
How much your paper costs, and if you can include other savings.
How long your printer is likely to last.

With all these factors, you can calculate if you will come out ahead in money by investing in the duplexing unit. Even if you don't save money, it might be worth it for the environmental benefits, but if you figure out that you come out ahead money-wise, you don't even need to make that decision.

Key Assumptions

Costs	As shown in the Duplexing Printer Table, duplexing units cost from about $350 to $700. For most printers over 40 pages per minute, they are standard so there is no extra cost to having one.
Duplex Fraction	The data on how much of printer output is or could be duplexed are scarce. Your visual observation of your own printer use is probably your best guide, but to provide an example, we'll assume that half of the images printed can be duplexed. This accounts for 1 page printouts, the last page of odd-numbered outputs, and those prints that really need to be single-sided. .
Printer Use	For how much printing you do, you might be able to check the image counter for your current printer. Try printing a 'test page' for the printer and there is a good chance that it will list the number of images printed. By finding out when it was bought, you can divide and get the monthly imaging rate. Your next best option is to find out how often you buy a printer cartridge and how many images the cartridge is rated to produce. Next you might estimate your printing by the number of people who use the printer. Something like 40% of copy paper is used in printers, so for the typical office worker that is 4,000 sheets per year, and if none are duplexed, that would be 4,000 images per worker.
Paper Savings	Paper costs about half a cent a sheet. Calculating your other savings is difficult, but it is reasonable to assume that you might double your savings from less costs in storage, mailing, and disposal. Thus, you might save 1 cent/sheet, or $2,000/ton.
Printer Life	As to how long the printer will last, it may well become functionally obsolete before it stops printing, but any printer is likely to last at least three years and not likely more than six. Four years is a reasonable figure to use.

An example

So, lets run through an example. We will assume that:

The duplexing unit costs $400.
After it is installed half of all images are duplexed.
The printer makes 4,000 images per month.
Savings are one cent per sheet (twice the paper purchase cost).
The printer lasts four years.

With 4,000 images per month and a 50% duplex rate, the duplexing unit avoids 1,000 sheets per month. Over four years this is 48,000 sheets avoided. At a cent per sheet of savings, this is $480 of savings, or 20% more than the duplexing unit's cost, so it is a good investment.

And Finally....

Printers with duplexing units are typically rated for about ten times the 4,000 images/month we used for this example, or more. So, any printer used to its manufacturer's rated capacity will pay off the duplexing unit very quickly, but most printers are used at a rate far below this.

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