The printer market is shifting away from expensive ink cartridges toward refillable ink tank systems that dramatically reduce per-page costs. Whether you print occasionally or run a busy home office, choosing the right printer technology saves hundreds of dollars over the life of the machine.
We printed 1,000 pages on each printer including documents, photos, and mixed content. We measured print speed, quality at various settings, ink or toner costs per page, wireless reliability, and ease of setup. We also evaluated scanning quality and ADF reliability for multifunction models.
Traditional ink cartridges cost $30-60 each and print 200-500 pages. Ink tank printers use refillable bottles costing $10-15 that print 4,000-8,000 pages. If you print more than 50 pages per month, an ink tank printer pays for itself within a year. For occasional printing, a cartridge printer with lower upfront cost may make more sense.
Laser printers excel at fast, crisp document printing with very low per-page costs. They are ideal for offices that print lots of text but rarely need color or photos. If you print photos or need color, stick with inkjet. The Brother HL-L2460DW is our pick for a document-only laser.
Best overall — fast, reliable, and great for home offices
Best no-subscription — no forced ink subscriptions
Best ink tank — refillable ink saves hundreds per year
Best HP ink tank — refillable with HP quality
Best laser — fast and cheap for document-only printing
Best budget ink tank — affordable supertank printer
| Product | Price | Rating | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e | $259 | 5/5 | Buy |
| Brother MFC-J4535DW | $199 | 5/5 | Buy |
| Canon PIXMA G7020 MegaTank | $349 | 5/5 | Buy |
| HP Smart Tank 7602 | $279 | 4/5 | Buy |
| Brother HL-L2460DW | $149 | 4/5 | Buy |
| Epson EcoTank ET-2850 | $249 | 4/5 | Buy |