Understanding Click Charges: Mono vs Colour Cost Per Page
Click charges are the per-page cost of printing. Here is how mono and colour rates work, why colour costs more, and how to keep the bill down.
A click charge is the amount you pay each time the machine prints a page. It is separate from the lease and it is metered, so it tracks your real usage. Understanding it is the single best way to control print costs.
Why colour costs more than mono
A mono page uses only black toner. A colour page can use up to four toners (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) plus more imaging wear. That is why a mono click might be under a penny while a colour click is several pence. Crucially, a page counts as colour even if it only contains a small coloured logo.
Typical rates
- Mono: around £0.003 to £0.007 per A4 page.
- Colour: around £0.040 to £0.060 per A4 page.
How to keep clicks down
- Default the driver to mono and double-sided printing.
- Reserve colour for documents that genuinely need it.
- Watch for minimum-volume clauses that charge you for pages you never print.
- Fix the click rate, or cap any annual increase at CPI or 3 percent.
Small per-page numbers add up fast at volume. Estimate your monthly click cost from your mono and colour page counts to see where the money really goes.