We’ve tracked down all the best printers with cheap ink, and taken a look at why they’re worth your time and money.
Buying one of the best printers is always a good move but it can prove expensive in the long term. While the initial outlay might seem affordable, you have to keep your printer stocked up with ink on a regular basis. Printer ink can be incredibly expensive over a long period of time and can even make buying cheap printers feel more sustainable. No one likes that kind of waste, plus it means you miss out on some of the best printer technology by keeping things super cheap.
Instead, you’re best off buying one of the best printers with cheap ink. That can mean an expensive printer at first but one that uses cheap ink so in the long-term, you’re not actually spending too much to maintain your printer. Alternatively, some of the best printers with cheap ink can use less ink than you’d expect, therefore keeping prices down. We’ve picked out all the best printers with cheap ink, based on expert opinion. We’ve considered printers that are high-end devices with remarkably cheap ink, as well as looked at more budget offerings that still provide good value ink in the future.
Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850Best premium printer
The Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 isn’t cheap by any means but it is a very worthy investment if you’re looking ahead and planning on printing a lot of documents and images. It uses Epson’s EcoTank system which means rather than replacing cartridges, you refill specific colors as needed, thereby keeping costs down and cutting down on waste as well.
It’s also a fantastic printer with the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 capable of printing up to 25 pages per minute with no warmup time for fast first page out. While fast, it also provides great picture quality with print-shop level of standards. Epson Durabrite inks are pigment-based so you get crisp vibrant prints with color that is instantly dry for added convenience.
Any time you’re printing, you won’t have to worry about refilling the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 with paper either as it has a 500-sheet paper capacity with two front trays and a rear feed for specialty paper. Working as a scanner and copier, the Epson EcoTank Pro ET-5850 has all the bases covered for anything you could need.
Brother MFC-J1205W INKvestmentBest budget printer with cheap ink
As we discussed, not everyone needs a printer that is fast or high-end The Brother MFC-J1205W INKvestment fulfils that role, simply working well as an inkjet printer with basic scanning functionality, but nothing more. It promises up to one year of ink via the four cartridges that come with it with replacement inks proving cheap too.
The Brother MFC-J1205W INKvestment isn’t the fastest offering speeds of up to 16 pages per minute in black and white and up to 9 pages in color, but it’s fine for occasional use. It has a 150-sheet paper tray so you won’t need to swap out paper too often, while there’s mobile app printing capabilities which are useful.