Member Avatar for Calisto

Hi friends,

can anyone advise on a budget inkjet printer that I could purchase with cartridges that don't cost a fortune to replace!

Speed is not a priority.

Using Windows Xp (Home).

Many thanks x x

  • 5 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 124 Views
  • 1 Month Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Thong_Ispector

Dani AI

Generated

Brief, practical guide to complement points raised by , , and . The right budget inkjet is the one with the lowest ongoing cost for the way you print, not necessarily the cheapest up front. The following method turns opinions into numbers so a clear decision can be made.

Estimate and compare:

  • Work out your monthly page volume and the split between plain text, colour documents and photos.
  • For each candidate printer, note the retail price of the replacement cartridges and the manufacturer stated yield (look for ISO/IEC page-yield figures where available).
  • Calculate cost per page = cartridge price ÷ yield. For colour pages add the per-page costs of the colour cartridges used, or use the combined cartridge yield if the model uses a tri-colour cartridge.
  • Example: a black cartridge that costs 12 units and yields 400 pages = 0.03 units/page. A colour tri-pack at 20 units yielding 500 colour pages = 0.04 units/page for colour output. Add, compare and scale to your monthly usage.

Practical checks and savings:

  • Check driver support for your OS before buying (older systems may not be supported by new models).
  • Confirm whether cartridges are individual or combined and whether printheads are replaceable—this affects long-term costs.
  • Consider high-yield variants, refill programs or reputable remanufactured cartridges but weigh savings against possible print-quality issues and warranty implications.

Maintenance tips:

  • Print something weekly to avoid head clogging, use draft mode for routine text, batch prints, enable duplex to save paper.
  • Run low-frequency head-clean cycles only when needed (they use a lot of ink).

Do the math for a 6–12 month period and pick the model with the lowest total cost of ownership for your specific print mix.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for Techguy

Well, you need to give us some more info..

Do you want just a printer, or an all-in-one?
How many pages you usually print?

Are you happy to refill catridges or you want new ones? I'd say HP is economic, but if you do mostly colour, go with a Canon, they usually have 3 separate tanks for colour these days.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Canon are about the most inexpensive for ink replacement. Do NOT go for the ultra cheap models though.

Member Avatar for Big_Bubbaloola

Depends on how much printing you do? If it's a resonable amount, i would say, bite the bullet and go for a cheaper laser printer. It may be more expensive than an inkjet, but they tend to be more reliable, last longer and the toner can keep going much longer than ink. If you need it for colour picture printing, go for a canon inkjet, but then take a look at the colour lasers that are around, they coming down in price rapidly.

Have fun.

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

I agree with Cat...
The Cannon are the most cost effective because they do not have the print head incorperated into the cartridge. The have a resovoir which is easy to refill.. and is clear so you can see when it gets low, and seperate print heads.
You can go with a higher end Cannon because it will save you money in print cart's in the long run.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.