Printers are unanimously notorious as ink guzzlers that they might as well be paper shredders that eat money given how often you need to replace those cartridges. It’s sadly a common business practice to sell printers and ink this way. However, not all printers are made this way, there’s a kind of printer you can buy if ink maintenance is a concern.
There are printers that use ink tanks instead of cartridges and naturally, the ink for these kinds of printers are more affordable. Printers that use ink tanks have a lower maintenance cost and higher ink capacity, making them more ideal for the average consumer.
These are thus our recommendations for ink tank printers. You’ll never have to go back to cartridges again.
Epson EcoTank ET-2850
PROS
- Reasonable price
- Automatic 2-sided printing is handy
- Scan and copier are a welcome bonus
- Good print quality
CONS
- Low printing volume
- Slow
Features:
- 7,500 black pages / 6,000 color pages
- Scan and copy
- Auto 2-sided printing
- 10.5 pages per minute
- Wireless
For the most economical option, it’s hard to find faults with the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 especially for the price. The value this printer brings is phenomenal, especially when compared to traditional cartridge printers.
It puts more emphasis on black printing which is the most normal use case for the average person who needs a printer. But it still won’t shy down from a color printing challenge. It’s not for heavy duty stuff, however, as the speed isn’t really stellar and the output casing is small. For a personal or home printer, however, it does its job commendably.
Epson EcoTank ET-2850
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw
PROS
- High volume, great for offices
- Excellent print quality
- Fast
- Comes with a fax machine
- Impressive toner/cartridge output
- Comes with an app
CONS
- Initially more expensive
- Big and bulky
Features:
- 40,000 pages
- Scan, copy, and fax
- 22 pages per minute
- High volume
- Wireless
Laserjets are known for being expensive preimum options for printers but if you’re looking for the wisest option that will save you money in the long run, then the HP Color Laserjet Pro MFP is considered as one of the best.
You certainly don’t have to worry about its quality since it’s a laer printer and you can even use it for businesses since it comes with a fax machine. This printer has everything you need but it’s bit, bulky, and the upfront cost is higher compared to ink printers.
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw
Epson EcoTank ET-4850
PROS
- Good print quality
- Comes with a fax machine
- Fast printing
- Generous paper tray
CONS
- Expensive
- Flimsy paper tray
Features:
- 7,500 black pages / 6,000 color pages
- Scan, copy, and fax
- High volume
- 15 pages per minute
- Wireless
If you have an office and the printer sees plenty of uses throughout the day, every day, then something more heavy-duty like the Epson EcoTank ET-4850 might be the better deal.
It also comes with a fax machine and the ink tank has the same capacity as the EcoTank-2850. The difference is this one’s faster and can queue up 250 pages in its paper tray for a more hands-free operation.
Epson EcoTank ET-4850
Canon PIXMA G6020
PROS
- Fast printing
- High capacity for color printing
- Excellent print quality
- Alexa compatibility is handy
- Reasonable price
CONS
- Meager LCD screen
Features:
- 6,000 black pages / 7,700 color pages
- Scan and copy
- Alexa compatible
- 13 (black) / 6.8 (color) pages per minute
- Wireless
for photographers and those who need constant printing in color or in photo paper but don’t have money or space for laserjets, then the Canon Pixma G6020 is more than ready to prove its namesake.
Its main strength compared to the other printers we mentioned in the more robust color or photo printing capacity per ink tank. Due to this specific use, the printer isn’t exactly high volume, but it prints photos and color pages fast.
Canon PIXMA G6020
Brother MFC-J4335DW INKvestment
PROS
- Fast printing
- Alexa compatibility is handy
- Print volume is decent for the price
- Affordable price
- Comes with a fax machine
- Good print quality
CONS
- Initial setup is a bit tedious
Features:
- 6,000 black pages / 5,000 color pages
- Scan, copy, and fax
- Alexa compatible
- 20 (black) / 16 (color) pages per minute
- Wireless
Despite being our pick for the budget segment, this printer is great for people who are on a hurry. It has one of the fastest printing speeds we’ve seen and almost matches a laserjet in terms of printing speed.
The ink tank capacity for printing is no slouch either and it comes with a scanner and copier despite costing below $150. Overall, a worthy investment as its name states.
