Why Do Some Printers Still Charge More for Color?

Why Do Printers Charge More for Color Printing vs. Black and White?

If you’ve ever wondered why some printers or print shops charge more for color prints compared to black and white, you’re not alone. While this pricing model may make sense in certain scenarios—especially in certain print methods and older equipment—the logic behind it doesn’t always carry over to modern large format printing and our customer's needs and expectations.

At Ink Monstr™, we believe in transparency, fairness, and making sure our customers can print whatever they want without surprises or unnecessary upcharges. Here’s why color costs more in some places—and why it doesn’t at Ink Monstr.

Outdated Practices in Small Format Printing

The idea of charging more for color originated when color printing became a more readily available option to consumers. Older printers, copiers, and office-style machines often used separate consumables for color printing, and the costs of color ink were significantly higher than black toner or ink. Additionally, color printing demanded more maintenance and calibration, which increased operating expenses. More inks, more tech, more consumables = higher prices - it makes sense.

While this model may still apply to some small format or legacy equipment setups, it’s not necessarily the same when it comes to modern large format printing industry—especially when you're working with advanced, industrial-grade equipment.

Modern Printing Tech Changes the Game

At Ink Monstr™, we’ve invested over $250,000 in the last three years to upgrade our entire fleet of printers. Our lineup includes cutting-edge large format machines from HP and Canon, offering unmatched speed, clarity, and efficiency.

Key Advantages of Our Equipment:

• UV Gel and Latex Inks: We offer both water-based latex and UV gel ink technologies to deliver vibrant, long-lasting colors. Both ink options cure fast, minimize fading and cracking issues while giving you an eye-catching vibrant print.
• CMYK + White Ink Capability: All our printers operate on a CMYK base and offer optional white ink support for specialized applications.
• Precision Calibration: Our printers use advanced onboard software and hardware to optimize color accuracy and ink efficiency—even for complex gradients or color-heavy designs.

No matter what you’re printing—a simple black graphic or a tie-dye mural—our rates remain the same. We never upcharge for color because our technology allows us to control costs without compromising quality.

Do Some Graphics Use More Ink?

Yes—but we’ve planned for that. If there's one thing we love about what we do it is the limitless creativity we see both from our team but as well as our customer's visions and ideas. Don't get us wrong, we're a sucker for minimalist and simple prints like slate textures, dramatic black and whites etc. but when a customer really leans into design and gets creative with color we love to watch it come together!

Some designs naturally consume more ink to hit specific color tones or coverage levels. However, our software and hardware work together to maximize ink efficiency while maintaining color precision. This reduces ink waste and keeps our operating costs lower.

We also review our ink consumption and pricing quarterly to ensure our prices are in alignment with our ink costs—without having to tack on extra charges for color prints.

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When Do We Charge for Ink? (Hint: It’s Rare)

Great question. There’s really only one situation where we apply additional charges for ink—and that’s when printing with white ink.

Why Does White Ink Cost More?

White ink isn’t just “another color.” It’s a completely different animal when it comes to print production, output and maintenance. Here’s why it comes at a premium:

1. White Ink Requires Specialized Tech

• Though white ink tech started around the early 2000s, it only became a practical solution in the last 10 years.
• New printers include onboard circulation systems that constantly stir and circulate the ink to keep it printable.
• These systems and machines come at a much higher upfront investment.

2. The Ink Itself Is More Expensive

• White ink costs more than CMYK ink.
• As with most technology, early white ink options were cost-prohibitive. While prices have improved and the barrier to entry for this technology has dropped tremendously in the last 10 years, it is still not on par with traditional CMYK inks.

3. It’s Much Slower to Print

• Printing with white ink—especially in “sandwich” (3 and 5-layer print modes) —can be 10-15x slower than standard prints.
• Example: A printer that outputs a default rate of 400 sq. ft./hr might only produce 30 sq. ft./hr in high-demand white ink modes.
• That massive slowdown also reduces availability for other jobs and increases operational costs as it's literally layers upon layers of ink increasing your ink costs by multiples.

What This Means for You

If your project requires or would be an optimal choice for white ink, we’ll let you know up front and explain the added cost. Otherwise, you can print anything in full color—without worrying about extra fees.

Not sure whether your project needs white ink or just CMYK? No worries. Our team will guide you through every step, helping you choose the best, most cost-effective solution for your vision.

Final Thoughts

Color printing shouldn't be complicated—or expensive. At Ink Monstr™, we’ve built our business around quality, transparency, and cutting-edge technology so that you can bring your ideas to life without worrying about hidden costs.

Have questions or want to learn more about your print options? Reach out to our team anytime—we're here to help.