A page that's mostly white uses far less ink than a full-bleed photo. Multiply your full-coverage ink cost by the page's coverage percentage to estimate ink cost per page.
Coverage is the share of the page actually covered with ink, from 0% to 100%.
The example
Full-coverage ink runs $0.08 a page; this design covers 25% of the page.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Label | Value |
| 2 | Ink at 100% coverage | $0.08 |
| 3 | Page coverage | 25% |
| 4 | Ink cost / page | $0.02 |
The formula
Scale the maximum ink cost by the coverage:
How it works
The estimate, step by step:
- Find your ink/toner cost for a fully inked page (B2) — from your cost-per-page data or supplier specs.
- Estimate the page's coverage as a percentage (B3); 100% is a solid full-bleed page.
B2*B3scales the cost down to the actual ink on the page.- $0.08 × 25% = $0.02 of ink per page.
Multiply by the run length to get total ink cost: =B2*B3*B5.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the full-coverage cost and this page's coverage — see the ink cost.
Variations
Total ink for the run
Multiply per-page ink by the number of pages.
Average across mixed pages
Use the average coverage of the document for a blended estimate.
Pitfalls & errors
Coverage is an estimate, not a measurement. Photo-heavy jobs can hit 70–100%; text pages are often under 10%.
Many RIPs and printer reports give per-job ink coverage — use those numbers to calibrate your full-coverage cost.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Where do I get the 100%-coverage cost?
How do I estimate coverage?
Is this exact?
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