Since Digital Equipment Corporation introduced the first dot matrix printer in 1970, the printer has made significant progress. It prints only 30 characters per second, makes incredibly loud noises, and often has paper alignment or paper jam errors.

Modern printers are quiet, fast, provide wireless connectivity and are cheaper. However, due to frequent ink replacement needs and low page yields, some low-cost printers become expensive over time. Therefore, even if you quickly print 200 monochrome pages per minute, the running costs of your printer may be very high.

Here are some affordable home printers that are cost-effective when refilling or replacing ink.

Printer manufacturers are known for their simple entry-level printers at low prices. However, they recovered the money by charging high prices for replacement ink and toner cartridges. In many cases, the cost of a printer cartridge for a year exceeds the price of the printer. Therefore, consider these qualities when buying an affordable printer.

Economical printers have long-term high ink efficiency, which can be determined by the ink cost per page of the printer. This is also called page output.

Each ink cartridge prints a certain number of pages before it needs to be refilled or replaced. The number of pages specifies the number of pages that the ink cartridge can print before it runs out.

To determine the cost per page of the printer, simply divide the ink cartridge cost by the number of pages.

For example, here is how to determine the cost per page of the HP OfficeJet Pro 8210 all-in-one printer. Divide the cost of a standard HP 952 cartridge ($33.89) by the number of pages (1,000 pages). This means that the cost of printing per page is $0.03.

Now, compare the price per page with the HP OfficeJet Pro 8035 wireless all-in-one machine. Divide the original HP 910 ink cartridge price ($18.89) by the number of pages (300 pages). The cost of printing each page on this printer is $0.06.

Since the cost per page of the HP 952 ink cartridge is lower than that of the HP 910 ink cartridge, the ink efficiency of the HP OfficeJet Pro 8210 is higher than that of the OfficeJet Pro® 8035.

Ink cartridges are usually available in standard and high-yield sizes.

High-yield ink cartridges can print twice as many pages as standard ink cartridges, but they are more expensive. However, the cost per page is usually lower than the cost of standard ink cartridges.

When choosing a new printer, please choose a printer that provides standard high-efficiency ink cartridges and high-yield ink cartridges. Over time, you will save hundreds of dollars.

Original brand ink cartridges are expensive. However, third-party aftermarket ink cartridges are an affordable alternative. The cost of these remanufactured or recycled ink cartridges is 50% cheaper than the original ink cartridges.

When searching for a new printer, check if it accepts low-cost compatible ink cartridges. Some printers only accept branded ink cartridges, so please check this information before purchasing.

Printer manufacturers provide monthly page ratings for their products. These indicate how many pages it can print per month within a reasonable range.

This estimated number of pages per month is an important factor in the choice of workload printers for businesses. It may also be useful when choosing a home printer, especially if you are working remotely. Exceeding the monthly print load of the printer will overburden the mechanical structure of the printer and may cause malfunctions, leading to expensive repairs and premature replacement.

If you want to print in rich colors for photography or advertising reasons, it may be worthwhile to consider using an inkjet printer. Check out the best inkjet printer buying guide on BestReviews for more information.

HP OfficeJet Pro 9015: Available on Amazon

Our view: This ink-saving inkjet printer provides a printing speed of 22 pages per minute, a 35-page automatic document feeder, and automatic duplex copying and scanning. This is ideal for personal or home office printers.

What we like: up to 1,000 pages with standard black ink cartridges, up to 2,000 pages with XL or high-yield black ink cartridges. HP offers an ink home delivery plan, including the first two months free, which helps to further reduce ink replacement costs.

What we don’t like: LCD is very small, only 2.65 inches.

Canon PIXMA TR8620 Wireless Inkjet Printer: Available on Amazon

Our view: TR8620 provides excellent printing resolution up to 4,800 x 1,200 color DPI, and adopts integrated technology to provide high-quality output and fast printing and scanning.

What we like: You can use high-capacity print cartridges, so you can print 200 pages with standard cartridges or up to 600 pages with ultra-high-yield cartridges.

What we don’t like: using the Canon online installation process to wirelessly connect to the Win10 desktop can be challenging.

Canon office products PIXMA TS5020 BK wireless color photo printer: available at Amazon

Our view: TS5020 is a low-cost, small-batch printer, and the cheapest printer in the PIXMA series. It is designed for budget-conscious buyers considering home use.

What we like: TS5020 offers printing, scanning and copying modes. It weighs only 12.1 pounds and weighs only 5 inches x 14.7 inches x 12.5 inches. It can be placed comfortably on any table.

What we don’t like: There is no automatic document feeder.

Brother MFC-J5845DW INKvestment Tank color inkjet all-in-one machine: Available on Amazon

Our view: MFC-J5845DW provides high-quality document printing and the ability to scan, copy and fax to tabloid-size pages. It is an ideal home printer.

What we like: The printer is relatively fast, with black and white printing speeds of up to 15 pages per minute, and color printing speeds of up to 11 pages per minute. It also provides low operating costs. The black ink cartridge can print 6,000 pages, and the color ink cartridges can print 5,000 pages each.

What we don’t like: the automatic document feeder is limited.

Epson EcoTank ET-2720 Color All-in-One Printer: Available on Amazon

Our view: This cheap entry-level printer is very suitable for home users.

What we like: It has printing, copying, and scanning functions, with an average printing speed of 10.5 pages per minute in black and 5 pages per minute in color. ET-2720 uses four independent T522 ink bottles (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) for printing. The black T522 ink bottle can print up to 4,500 pages, and the cyan, magenta and yellow T522 ink bottles can print about 3,000 pages.

What we don’t like: no fax function.

HP Neverstop Laser 1001nw: Available on Amazon

Our view: The entry-level cartridgeless laser printer is extremely fast, with 21 pages per minute, which is very suitable for printing book reports, term papers and other documents.

What we like: One of the fastest monochrome text printers with cheap ink. The capacity of 5,000 pages makes Neverstop Laser an excellent choice for personal use, up to 2,000 pages per month.

What we don’t like: graphics output quality is lower than inkjet competitors.

Jeffery Harper is a contributor to BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company whose mission is to help simplify your buying decisions and save you time and money.

BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products, recommending the best choice for most consumers. If you purchase a product through one of our links, BestReviews and its newspaper partners may receive a commission.

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