This Canon printer still makes sense, though, if you need a printer right away and can’t afford to shell out hundreds of dollars. As the years go by, you’ll end up spending more on the Canon Pixma MG3620 than you will if you invest in a tank model. The Epson sells for about $250 right now, but yearly ink costs are just $6. That’s not outrageous for a conventional inkjet, but compare it with the ink costs of the tank printer above, the Epson EcoTank ET-2720. You can buy this model for about $80, and annual ink cost estimates are $56. But do a little math before you buy it.Ĭartridge prices have gone up a bit, so it’s more important than ever to factor in yearly ink costs. If you’re looking for a solid printer with a low price, the Canon Pixma MG3620 is one of the best models you’ll find in our ratings. Our analysis suggests that the best laser printers are more likely than inkjets to last a long time and meet consumer expectations. The Brother MFC-L2690DW also gets outstanding ratings for predicted brand reliability and owner satisfaction. It’s a CR Best Buy, which means the sticker price is low by all-in-one laser printer standards, and yearly toner cost estimates come to just $16. In fact, it aces every single one of our tests except for graphics quality, but that’s a shortcoming for every printer in this category. The most cost-effective black-and-white lasers don’t come with a scan or a copy function, but for people who need an all-in-one, the Brother MFC-L2690DW is one of the most appealing options in our ratings.Ī monochrome laser is your best printer choice if you need crisp, clean text, and this printer shines in that department. The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 also lacks an automatic document feeder, so if you want to scan a stack of papers, you’ll have to do it one by one because upgrading to the ET-2800 won’t check that box.ĭon’t need to print in color? A black-and-white laser printer will be much less expensive than a color laser printer, and over the long haul, laser printer toner will cost you less than inkjet cartridges. For one, the ET-2800 doesn’t do auto-duplexing, meaning it won’t print on both sides of a page if this feature is important to you, check out the ET-2850. (For truly professional-quality graphics, you need to spring for a more expensive color laser printer like the ones listed below.) It doesn’t excel at printing photos, charts, and graphics, but it does those jobs about as well as any ink-stingy inkjet. It pumps out text with decent quality at admirable speed. That’s dirt cheap compared with most inkjets. The average ET-2800 user should expect to use just $5 of ink per year, according to our estimates. You can often find it priced under $250, which may still sound like a lot until you factor in ink prices. The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 is a great example. The models used to be so expensive they made sense only for people who needed to print all the time, but they’ve dropped in price significantly. These inkjets use a refillable ink reservoir instead of cartridges, which makes for rock-bottom ink costs. Tank printers hit the market a few years ago. If you want to make an even more informed purchase, consult our printer buying guide and our report on the high cost of wasted printer ink. The models below print out text with dependable quality, many excel with graphics, and all but one of them will scan and copy, too. To make things even easier, we’ve combed through our ratings to bring you the best printers of the year, each selected to meet different needs. We combine those test results with brand reliability and owner satisfaction ratings derived from our member surveys to arrive at an Overall Score that lets you compare every model on the same scale.

Each model is purchased at retail and evaluated on more than 250 data points. CR members can consult our ratings for a detailed breakdown of close to 175 printers.

But with Consumer Reports on your side, the process is a lot easier. That’s easier said than done if you have only the marketing copy written on the side of the box to go by. We’ve found that most bargain-priced printers burn through hundreds of dollars’ worth of ink as the years roll by, money you can save if you buy a more ink-efficient printer that fits your specific needs. No matter what you decide, don’t run out and buy the cheapest model you can find. Laser or inkjet? Regular or all-in-one? Should you invest in a printer that uses a reservoir tank? There’s a lot to sort through when you’re shopping for your next printer.

Best inexpensive inkjet printers