Inkjet printers are already available today at absolutely low prices. The manufacturer’s strategy: generate lucrative income with the follow-up costs. Because sometimes a complete set of new cartridges can cost more than the device with which they are used. TECHBOOK reveals which printers are particularly economical.
The central criteria when buying an inkjet printer are the price, the print quality, the question of whether it should be a multifunction device and the follow-up costs. In the case of the latter, it is crucial: Is the device compatible with cheap cartridges? In the recent past, it was found that some well-known manufacturers are starting to block ink from third-party suppliers by means of firmware updates. HP even explicitly refers to alleged safety aspects, which can mean that print cartridges with a non-HP chip may no longer be compatible. But in addition to choosing third-party products, which do not always come close to the original ink in terms of quality, there are other ways to really save money when printing.
What is the best way to save on inkjet printers?
First of all: Printing costs and the question of the economy of devices are really important for consumers with a high volume of printing. For those who print a lot, for example, the ink subscriptions of the printer providers will be of interest. How it works? You book a tariff – usually depending on your individual printing behavior – and you automatically get new cartridges delivered. This is particularly worthwhile for frequent printers who regularly use up their booked contingent.
Another strategy: If you own a so-called bottle printer, which is equipped with refill bottles instead of exchangeable cartridges, you can also save. Here the device prices are in the higher segment, but the follow-up costs are lower.
The crucial question when determining the printing costs: How many pages does an inkjet printer create with one set of cartridges? But be careful: Parameters that can put the result into perspective are aspects such as the print quality, which can be individually configured, similar to the photo resolution in digital cameras. And the print content, i.e. what is printed, is also decisive (only texts or also photos and graphics with intensive resource consumption). The following applies: the better the quality expected from the printed product, the higher the consumption.
Editor’s recommendation: Epson EcoTank ET-2720
Among the top 3 in many economy tests: The Epson EcoTank ET-2720 model is an inkjet printer with a large, refillable ink tank – no ink cartridges are required. The ink tank is located on the front of the device, which allows for clean and convenient refilling. The Epson original ink for refilling is also relatively inexpensive in comparison and can be obtained in large-volume ink bottles. These correspond to the content of up to 88 ink cartridges and are sufficient for up to 3600 pages in black and white and 6500 pages in colour. When printing text on DIN A4 normal paper, a page costs around 0.28 cents. An unbeatable bargain hunter at a price that would make the competition’s ink green with envy.
Furnishing
advantages and disadvantages
Evaluation at computerbild.de: test winner (satisfactory/grade 2.8)
Per
- + Extremely low printing costs
- + Good text printing
- – Moderate color printing on plain paper
- – Low paper supply
The laser alternative: Canon Pixma G7050
The Canon PIXMA G7050 inkjet printer is suitable for printing images and color graphics thanks to its high resolution. A real workhorse: the device manages up to 18,000 pages if you equip it with three bottles of black ink (the color set achieves 7,700 pages). Automatic two-sided printing, a plain paper capacity of up to 350 sheets and two paper trays also contribute to increased productivity. The Canon PIXMA G7050 model is a good alternative to classic color lasers that work with expensive toner cartridges. Because with him, a text page costs around 0.3 cents, a color page around 0.5 cents and an A4 photo around 7 cents. However, the test winner in the “Ink or toner costs” category at Stiftung Warentest is significantly slower than the laser competition with 13 or 6.8 pages per minute (color).
Furnishing
advantages and disadvantages
Rating at Stiftung Warentest: good/grade 2.3
- + Extremely low printing costs
- + Large paper compartment and LC display
- + Automatic feeder for copies and scans
- + High image resolution of 4800 × 1200 dpi
cons
- – Significantly slower than laser printers
- – Poor readability of the display
Pack the ink in the tank: HP Smart Tank Plus 655
The HP Smart Tank Plus 655 is a multifunction printer (printer, scanner, copier, fax) that is sold with original HP ink for up to three years of printing (based on ISO/IEC 24712). It can print up to 12,000 pages in black and white or 8,000 pages in color per tank of fuel. Its speed is mediocre at 11 pages per minute (black and white) and five pages per minute (color), but the print quality is good. All prints are water and light resistant. With the HP app you can print from anywhere and check the fill level. Should the large-volume ink tank ever be empty, it can be refilled without dripping. At Stiftung Warentest, the inkjet printer is in second place in the “Ink or toner costs” category with the category grade “very good” (0.5).
Furnishing
advantages and disadvantages
Rating at Stiftung Warentest: satisfactory/grade 3.1 (overall grade), very good/grade 0.5 (category “ink or toner costs”)
Per
- + Low printing costs
- + Touch display
- + Quiet operation
cons
- – Copier needs improvement
- – Slow
Think big: Canon Maxify MB2750
The Canon Maxify MB2750 model is a full-fledged inkjet printer, scanner, copier and fax machine – specially designed for the home office with high productivity requirements. With a large 500-sheet paper tray and an automatic document feeder for up to 50 sheets, it offers a generous paper capacity. Economic efficiency is a top priority with this multifunction printer: Because with an energy consumption of only around 0.2 kilowatt hours (TEC), it manages 2880 pages of text printing on DIN A4 normal paper (1.01 cents) with one cartridge, and 790 pages with one set of colored ink Graphic printing on DIN A4 plain paper (6.83 cents) or 328 photos in 10 × 15 format on photo paper (16.45 cents). The ink tanks of the Canon Maxify MB2750 printer are also individually interchangeable. Support for Google Cloud Print, Apple AirPrint (iOS), Mopria and the Canon PRINT app enables easy printing and scanning from mobile devices. A mobile device can be connected directly to the multifunction system via the access point mode – a WLAN network is not required for this.
Furnishing
advantages and disadvantages
Evaluation at computerbild.de: 2nd place (good/grade 2.1)
Per
- + Low printing costs
- + High quality printing
cons
- – Frequent flushing and cleaning of the print head
- – Long waiting times until printing begins
The productive one: Brother MFC-J5730DW
The professional inkjet printer Brother MFC-J5730DW is a 4-in-1 multifunction device with full duplex function for double-sided printing, scanning, copying and faxing up to DIN A4. Four separate, optional XL ink cartridges keep printing costs at a moderate level. The Brother MFC-J5730DW model creates 6156 pages of text printing on DIN A4 normal paper (0.70 cents) with one cartridge, and 993 pages of graphics printing on DIN A4 normal paper (8.76 cents) or 404 with a set of color ink 10×15 photos on photo paper (21.53 cents). High-quality prints are achieved using pigmented ink. The device also impresses with its high speed and numerous additional functions, especially in productive use. The automatic duplex printing is a practical feature in combination with the dual scanner. With it, extensive documents can be quickly scanned, copied or faxed without manual intervention – even on both sides if required.
Furnishing
advantages and disadvantages
Evaluation at computerbild.de: good/grade 2.1
Per
- + Low printing costs
- + High speed
- + Numerous additional functions
cons
- – Relatively large
- – Cumbersome menu navigation
The most economical inkjet printer – conclusion
When it comes to economy, the Epson EcoTank ET-2720 model is hard to beat. Because this is the inkjet printer with the lowest price per page printed. But beware: the competition is hot on the heels of the bargain hunter! So it’s worth comparing.
More articles worth reading about economical inkjet printers
Still not enough about economical inkjet printers? The editors of TECHBOOK have put together a number of other exciting and helpful articles dealing with the printing cost controllers.