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Brand Hand

Brand Hand March 17, 2025, 4 p.m.

Fed up with expensive printer ink - need best printer for home use with cheap ink!

After my ancient HP finally died and the last ink cartridge cost more than the printer was worth, I'm shopping for a new home printer that won't bankrupt me with ink costs. Seems every printer manufacturer is running the "give away the printer, charge a fortune for ink" scam.

Requirements:

  1. Primarily for occasional home use (maybe 20-30 pages per week)
  2. Must have reasonable ink/toner costs - this is non-negotiable
  3. Wireless connectivity for multiple laptops/phones
  4. Would prefer all-in-one with scanning capability
  5. Don't need photo-quality, just decent text and occasional color
  6. Budget flexible if it means lower long-term costs

I've heard about tank systems and third-party inks but not sure which way to go. Any recommendations from people who've actually tracked their printing costs over time and not just initial purchase price?

Sidestep

Sidestep March 17, 2025, 10:06 p.m.

Those "super affordable" printers with $8 cartridges that print 50 pages need to die in a fire. Learned this expensive lesson over 3 painful years. Just buy something decent upfront

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lotinsom

lotinsom March 18, 2025, 3:22 p.m.

Whatever you do, AVOID inkjet if you only print occasionally. Those printheads clog if not used weekly and good luck cleaning them. Laser all the way for occasional users

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+++I

+++I March 18, 2025, 9:13 p.m.

+1 on this. had to literally disassemble my canon to clean dried ink before ultimately throwing it away. toner just sits patiently waiting for whenever you decide to print

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775

775 March 19, 2025, 8:25 p.m.

Most important stat nobody looks at: genuine cost-per-page. Manufactureres legally required to report this but bury it in specs. Anything over 6 cents/page = absolute ripoff regardless of initial price

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mger77

mger77 March 20, 2025, 11:19 p.m.

Grabbed the Canon MAXIFY GX7020 for my home office setup when I started freelancing. Box claims "up to 1 year of ink" in starter cartridges - legitimately hit 9 months of daily invoices, contracts and client presentations before replacing. Initial price higher but the math worked out nicely for tax deduction + actual savings

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9092

9092 March 21, 2025, 1:21 a.m.

Abandoned brand loyalty after 15+ years with canon. Now maintain TWO printers: cheap $50 B&W laser for documents + drugstore photo printing when needed. Total game changer for my sanity and wallet

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01

01 March 22, 2025, 7:01 p.m.

ink subscription plans = monthly ransom for hardware you supposedly own. calculated HP instant ink costs vs my typical usage - would pay for TWO premium cartridges yearly while only using fraction of allowed pages. outright scam

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leonbor

leonbor March 23, 2025, 12:45 p.m.

My solution: office supply store rewards programs. Buy whatever printer's cheapest then exclusively print important stuff during their "free printing" promotions. Everything else = public library for $0.10/page

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li22

li22 March 24, 2025, 6:58 p.m.

Essential to understand page yield metric when comparing options. Manufacturers advertise cartridge price rather than yield because it obscures true expense. 1,000 pages from $20 cartridge beats 200 pages from $15 cartridge every time

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